Abstract
Although Italy has two separate periods of early childhood education system for age 0-2 and 3-6 years, respectively, the national policy is moving toward unified system for age 0-6 years. This unified system is based on experiences of municipalities that have played leading roles in their education system and practice. In this paper, the following aspects of Italian early childhood education related to the unification were discussed:process of unification, current system, national and municipal guidelines that reflect the characteristics of early childhood, and collaborative working conditions of professionals supported by pedagogical coordinators. A case analysis of consistency between educational practices for children age 0-2 years and those for children age 0-6 years were also presented.
