六十年代後期，德國教育界普遍對學前教育抱持著一極端樂觀主義。基於教育經濟學及國民權益的雙重考量，學前教育蔚成教育改革的寵兒，提早投資資優教育冀望能藉報酬率提昇國家未來的競爭力，保育社會文化條件不利幼兒則期許為他們的學校教育創造起始點機會平等的條件。 德國教育審議會（Deutscher Bildungsrat, 1970）揭櫫幼兒早期學習對個體與社會的必要性後，各邦旋即競相訂定幼稚園法案，發展學前教育。增建幼稚園，培養幼教師資與行政人才，斥資幼稚園－小學銜接方案，研究發展幼稚園教學活動課程，是各邦七○年代致力改革的藍圖，這一波教改同時歷史性定位三足歲以上幼兒的教育權為教育體系的中的基礎教育。 進入九○年代後，社會、家庭結構快速轉變，保育對象涵蓋四個月大嬰兒至十四足歲以下學童，保育機構由幼稚園易而為三不同年齡層兒童的日托機構，訴求主題自然大為逕庭，舉凡混齡編組、合流教育、彈性收托、更寬敞的教育空間皆屬改革日托機構的重點議題。

　　　　　In the late 1960s, the German Education Council began to realize the importance of pre-school education and upbringing of children. A number of kindergarten laws were enacted in all federal states of Germany during the 1970s, which obliged children above three years old to receive pre-school education. Yet drastic structural changes of family and society in the 1990s resulted in the development of kindergarten to all-day-care education. There are three kinds of day-care institutions for children between the fourth month after birth to the 14th year. The development of the German day-care facilities from kindergarten to day-care institutions in the past three decades will be introduced and discussed here.