| This research made use of the theoretical framework and method that Tobin, Wu and Davidson(1989) used in their cross-cultural research on preschools of the United States, China and Japan in the middle of 1980s, to update the research on Chinese preschools at the turn of the 21st century. The present research examined early childhood education in the contemporary context of rapid economic and social change in China, particularly the ways in which parents and preschool teachers dealt with change.Four video programs were based on the daily life of Daguan Preschool in Yunnan Province, Sinan Road Preschool in Shanghai, China, Alhambra Preschool in Arizona, the United States, and Komatsudani Preschool in Kyoto, Japan, were shown to teachers and parents in 27 preschools which are located in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Kunming, Changchun, Xi'an, Shijiazhuang, Chongqing, Hanzhong, Jingzhou. 535 teachers and 120 parents who participated in interviews after viewing the videos and completed questionnaires. The interview transcripts and questionnaires became research data. In the data, four kinds of voices were distinguished and organized to form the multilevel dialogical text for analysis. These voices include (1) the voice in the video in the real life space; (2) the explanations of teachers, administrators who were in the video; (3) comments of teachers, administrators, parents and researchers from within the culture and (4) reactions of preschool professionals and parents to the preschool videos from another culture. This approach is called multivocal ethnography. In addition, the questionnaires data were computed using SPSS to examine group differences in percentage.Results show that great change has taken place in early childhood education since 1980s, especially after The Kindergarten Education Guidelines waspromulgated in 2001. But participants highlighted a number of obstacles for change, including a void of guidance in theory and practice, the persistent pressure for examination-oriented education as well as the transition from preschool to elementary school, the lack of support from education administrators, and related crisis. Due to these obstacles, psychological conflicts among the participants could be seen between early childhood education reform and the collectivist values to present resistant to the on-going reform.Secondly, the increasing number of only children seems to draw people's attention more than before to spoiled children. However, the explicit reasons for correcting spoiled children was not to prevent the nation's future from being spoiled, but to avoid weakening children's ability to get along with one another. Although for a long time preschool educators wished to correct spoiled children and spoiling parents, preschool teachers as well as parents today didn't believe that children belonged to the nation so much as they did twenty years age. Economic development resulted in the changes of the relationship between parents and preschools based more on value exchange than twenty years age. These changes in the relationship between parents and teachers were almost inconceivable twenty years ago.Finally, Chinese preschools have other problems and characteristics. â–¡Morning checkups and patriotic education, which connects with moral education, are still characteristics of Chinese preschools. â–¡Children were not allowed to chat while eating and teachers and children were not encouraged to eat together although parents and preschool professionals believed that adults took part in children's meal was good for children's physical and psychological development. â–¡Preschool teachers had to interfere with children's conflict not only because of parents' demands, but also because of the traditional Confucian value in taking the middle of the road. Thus, teachers and parents managed not blame each other for depriving children of children's rights to learn and grow up. â–¡All kinds of special interest classes that arose in kindergartens nationwide recruited children between 3 and 6...
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