Evidence suggests that preschool children are more likely to use and explore print when their environment actively supports the use of print through real-life contexts. Children who have knowledge about print have been shown to have greater success with literacy development on entering school. This paper describes the Preschool Literacy Project (PLP) which has been established to examine the provision of literacy-based experiences in preschool programs in Victoria (Australia). The paper reports the project has been implemented in three stages over an 18-month period--the first stage has examined, in a survey, preschool teachers' views about literacy in the preschool; the second stage has been designed to provide professional development for teachers in those aspects of reading and writing development they had indicated they wished to learn about; and the third phase will measure the impact of the changes in practice in preschool on children's concepts about print on entry to school. The paper explains that the PLP involves 40 preschool centers within socio-economically depressed areas of metropolitan and country regions of Victoria. It further explains that responses from a questionnaire of preschool staff indicated an overwhelming uncertainty about the role of literacy in their programs and that, when reflecting on their current practice, teachers indicated that the major focus for literacy in their programs were a range of pre-reading and pre-writing activities. According to the paper, the project's findings illuminate how preschool teachers are limited in their expectations of young children and their development of literacy. (NKA)