An invitational seminar, which was sponsored in March 1991, by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research, focused on research on the role of parents in early childhood education. Papers presented covered: (1) the preprimary project, a study of children's experiences prior to formal schooling (C. Garden); (2) the role of the state versus the role of parents in early childhood education (P. Kennedy); (3) three studies of the role of parents as teachers (S. McNaughton); (4) a government project for parent support and education (J. Gerritsen); (5) the Maori Women's Welfare League and its parenting programs (A. Reriti-Crofts); (6) the Te Kohanga Reo Trust, which aims at fostering the use of the Maori language among Maori young people (I. Twhiwhirangi); (7) general condsiderations on parent education in New Zealand (B. McMillan); and (8) a home-based intervention project to help parents support their children's mathematical development (J. Young-Loveridge). A reference list or bibliography is appended to some of the papers. A letter summarizing the major themes of the seminar is included. (BC)