An early childhood setting in which children combine learning with play within a comprehensive program run by professionally trained adults.

In spite of the inclusion of the word school in preschool, preschools have traditionally been more concerned with social skills, emotional maturity, and cognitive development than with formal academic schooling. Although children are most commonly enrolled in preschool between the ages of three and five, those as young as two can attend. The term preschool is sometimes used interchangeably with nursery school and child care center. In 1990, 28.8% of three-year-olds and 49.1% of four-year-olds were enrolled in preschool programs, about twice what it had been a generation earlier. Reasons for this dramatic increase include a rise in the number of working mothers, a decline in the size of families (leading more parents to turn to preschools as a social outlet for their children), and a growing desire to give children...