The entry into the new millennium marked the growing awareness, on a global level, of the importance of providing high-quality experiences to young children. Longitudinal studies such as the "Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education (EPPE)" project in the United Kingdom and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) study on preschool education and the development of young children in the United States have highlighted the long-term benefits of quality preschool education.

Therefore, I am very pleased to write the foreword to the Greek translation of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scales-Extension (ECERS-E). The "family" of preschool environment rating scales was developed by the University of North Carolina through the collaboration of Thelma Harms, Richard Clifford, and Debby Cryer. The authors of the ECERS-E scale are indebted to them for the kindness, support, and encouragement we received from them during the creation of the ECERS-E scale.

The ECERS-E scale is a companion to the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS-R) and was designed to capture elements of the quality of specific dimensions present in the English Curriculum for the education of children aged 3-5 years. Since their publication, the ECERS-E and ECERS-R scales have been used together in various research studies worldwide to help researchers and educators better understand various aspects of quality that affect children's cognitive and social-behavioral development.

In conclusion, I commend this translation and hope that it will serve as a guide for those working with young children to create such environments that will instill in children curiosity, a thirst for discovery, and a love for learning.