Children attending two types of preschool education (educationally- or care-oriented) in Bahrain were compared to a home control group and to each other with regard to intellectual, social, and behavioral development. Preschools were classified based on teachers' attitudes and management practices. A conditional, quasi-experimental design with pretest and posttest measures over one academic year was used. The following measures were administered in Arabic: (1) Stanford-Binet; (2) Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence; (3) Draw-A-Person; (4) Preschool Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance (PSPCSA); and (5) Preschool Behavior Checklist. Subjects were 96 children attending 4 educationally oriented and 4 care oriented preschools for at least 3 months, and a control group of 44 children reared at home. A conditional regression model, followed by a within-group analysis, indicated that on all measures, children attending educationally-oriented preschools scored significantly higher than children attending care-oriented preschools and those reared at home. Boys scored higher than girls on the Stanford-Binet and the Draw-A-Person, and had higher percentages of emotional problems both at pre- and posttesting. On the PSPCSA, older children in the educational group had higher scores than younger children in the same group. (Contains 86 references.) (KDFB)