In November of 1981, an International Consultation on Preschool Education was organized by UNESCO with the cooperation of UNICEF. This consultation was implemented at a stage when the experiences of the past 10 years were in need of evaluation to enable the UNESCO preschool education program to move toward a more comprehensive approach to meeting children's needs, especially in the context of limited resources. Objectives of the consultation were (1) to examine the situation of preschool education in the world over the past 10 years in terms of, among other factors, the needs expressed, problems identified, results achieved, trends materializing, difficulties encountered, and growth anticipated; (2) to review national strategies contributing to a global approach that have been put into practice in the course of the past decade and that take account of the socioeconomic conditions and cultural traditions of the countries concerned; and (3) to present the director general of UNESCO with specific recommendations concerning priority areas for medium- and long-range activities at the national and international levels, as well as to describe UNESCO's contribution to the development of these relevant strategies. (Results of actions taken to attain these objectives constitute the main sections of the report.) (RH)