In order to place multiculturalism at the center of early childhood curriculum and practices in Canadian schools, relevant materials must be developed and teachers must be trained to teach in a multicultural society. The rationale for multicultural education at the early childhood level is found in principles of child development in terms of what is known about how children develop cognitively, socially, and emotionally and the implications of that development. For a child from a cultural background different from the teacher's or the majority of children, curriculum content which builds on the child's experiences will be more easily incorporated into existing cognitive structure and be more readily learned/understood. Teachers who know something about every child's background and use that knowledge to make the child feel comfortable with the material will increase a child's security, sense of belonging, and self-confidence, thereby enhancing learning and adaptation to school and Canadian culture in general. Because early experience influences later development, if young children are exposed to various ethnic groups and multicultural material in early childhood as an integral part of a curriculum, they will learn that multiculturalism is an integral part of life. This will facilitate participation as adults in Canada's multicultural society. (NEC)