学前教育对于个体、家庭、社会，以及国家发展等多方面均具有重大意义与价值。近年来，加快我国学前教育立法进程、尽早出台学前教育法已成为学界与实践领域共同的迫切呼声。目前全国人大教科文卫委员会已将学前教育立法纳入立法调研计划，国家教育部也已将学前教育立法纳入今后五年的立法工作重点，并明确列入2008年工作要点。我国《学前教育法》正处于法案的研究与起草阶段。在此背景下，本研究试图对国际学前教育立法背景、法律规定主要内容与特点，立法经验等进行较为系统、深入的研究，进而对我国学前教育立法提出可供参考的启示与建议。 本研究综合运用文献法、比较法和访谈法等多种研究方法，在对世界主要国家和地区学前教育立法背景及宗旨进行梳理、分析的基础上，对这些国家和地区学前教育法律的主要内容与特点进行较为深入的分析与概括，进而提炼、总结当前国际学前教育立法的主要经验，并提出对我国学前教育立法的启示。 首先，本研究从社会政治、经济发展与改革，教育改革与发展的现状与趋势，以及学前教育发展的现实需求与问题等方面，对美国、英国、德国、日本、巴西、印度和我国台湾等世界主要国家和地区近年来学前教育立法的主要背景进行了较为全面的梳理与分析。 其次，本研究对世界主要国家和地区学前教育法律的主要内容与特点进行了较为深入、系统的探讨与分析。认为明确学前教育的价值、性质与宗旨，保障与提升学前教育地位；明确并强化政府在学前教育事业发展中的重要职责；明确政府学前教育财政投入责任，保障并增加学前教育经费；明确幼儿教师身份、地位，保障其各项权利，提高幼教师资质量；以及扶助弱势幼儿群体，促进学前教育公平，是当前世界主要国家和地区学前教育法律规定的主要内容与集中特点。 第三，在对世界主要国家和地区学前教育法律主要内容与特点分析的基础上，并结合其立法背景与法律效果，本研究进一步概括、提炼出当前国际学前教育立法的主要经验，认为将公益性与公平性作为学前教育立法的根本原则与价值追求；强化政府在学前教育事业发展中的主导地位；通过多种途径保障学前教育财政投入；稳定并发展幼儿教师队伍，保证并提高学前教育质量；以及强化中央学前教育立法权，建构并完善学前教育法律体系等，是当前国际学前教育立法的重要经验，可以为我国学前教育立法提供有益借鉴与参考。 最后，在上述研究与分析的基础上，本研究结合当前我国学前教育事业发展现实需求特别是学前教育法制建设面临的主要问题，提出了国际学前教育立法经验对我国的主要启示，认为应尽快制定《学前教育法》，建立健全我国学前教育法律保障体系，并对学前教育事业发展中的若干重要方面做出明确规定。重点规定的方面应包括：明示学前教育价值，明确学前教育性质、地位与宗旨；明确政府及相关部门学前教育职责、尤其强化中央政府责任，确立政府主导的学前教育财政投入体制；明确幼儿教师身份与地位，保障幼儿教师工资、待遇等基本权益，完善其资质要求及资格制度；以及优先扶持弱势幼儿群体，促进学前教育公平。

Early childhood education (ECE) play an very important role in many areas, including development of individual, family, education undertaking, social equivalent, and even national economic and comprehensive national strength. In recent years, scholars, administrator, teachers, more and more people are appealing to constitute and enact Early Childhood Education Act of PRC as quickly as possible. At present, constitution of Early Childhood Education has been placed on the agenda of NPC and Ministry of Education of PRC. Under this background, this study intended to analyze the context of early childhood education legislation of main countries and districts, the core contents and characteristics of these acts, international experience on ECE legislation, and furthermore brought forward beneficial inspirations and suggestions to our country’s ECE legislation. Several methods such as literature analysis, comparison and interview were used in this study. The contents of this study involved the backgrounds exploration, analysis on the provision and its characteristics of ECE acts of several main countries and districts, the recapitulation and sublime of international experience of ECE legislations, and several considerations and suggestions on ECE legislation of our country. Firstly, this paper explored the backgrounds of ECE legislation of several main countries such as America, England, Germany, Japan, Brazil, India and Taiwan province, and figured out that politics, economy, education reform and practical demands of ECE were primary and important origins and reasons of ECE legislation. Secondly, systematically penetrating and analyzing core provisions and characteristics of ECE acts of these main countries and districts were the main part of this study, and put forward several key points of ECE acts of these main countries and districts, including clarifying values and characters of ECE; strengthening the governmental responsibilities on ECE both of central and local levels; definituding the financial obligations of government; guaranteeing identity, status, pay and treatments of ECE teachers; and put disadvantaged children as priority, and promoting education equity. Thirdly, this study abstracted and summarized key experience of international legislations on ECE, and put forward that there were several main points: putting public interests and equity as the fundamental principle of ECE legislation; strengthening governmental responsibility especially financial duties were the dominant provision of ECE legislations; guaranteeing ECE outlay in different manners such as appropriating separately, establishing special financial item; promoting ECE quality by stabilizing ECE teachers; and strengthening legislation power of central government, establishing and perfecting ECE law systems. And these experience brought forward precious inspirations to our country’s ECE legislation. At the end of this study, some suggestions and thoughts were put forward to the legislation on ECE of our country: constitute and enact Early Childhood Education Act of PRC as soon as possible, and clarifying several important points in this act including clarifying ECE’s value and characters; strengthening the governmental responsibilities especially financial obligations; guaranteeing identity, status and rights of ECE teachers; puttig disadvantaged groups as priority, and promoting education equity.