Early childhood education is defined as group settings which are deliberately intended to effect developmental changes in children in the age range from birth up to the age of entering first grade. The following parameters of early childhood education are proposed and explored: (a) characteristics of clients, (b) characteristics of teachers and assisting adults, (c) curriculum, (d) philosophical orientation and historical factors, (e) parent power, (f) administrative factors and sponsorship, (g) length of program, and (h) physical plant and climate. A matrix is generated from these parameters, in order to demonstrate that early childhood education is a complex field deserving of extensive analysis. The focus today seems to be either on characteristics of clients or on program organization, with the assumption that packaged early childhood education programs may be used in situations which are not analagous, with positive results. Although these two parameters are of major importance, it is emphasized that an increased understanding of all the parameters of early childhood education, and the ways in which they interact and influence each other, may make it more possible to successfully translate theory into practice. (Author/NH)