Staff Behaviour in Pre‐school Centres

Summary Staff were observed in pre‐school centres with three different kinds of educational orientation, traditional free‐play nursery schools, nursery schools which used a language teaching session and nurseries run on free‐play lines but not staffed by teachers. Half of the centres selected contained predominantly working‐class children, half predominantly middle‐class. Significantly more “cognitive” staff behaviour was observed in middle‐class than working‐class centres, and the amount of “cognitive” staff behaviour was also significantly influenced by the educational orientation of the centre. The working‐class children in schools with a language programme had significantly higher language test scares than other working‐class children.