ABSTRACT
Encyclopaedic World Dictionary ‘Precocious’, therefore, relates to early or advanced development in plants or people. It has no negative connotations, and certainly it says nothing about social behaviour. In Australian educational circles, however, it has taken on a strongly pejorative meaning. A ‘precocious’ child is one who pushes himself forward in an arrogant or attention seeking manner; who makes an ostentatious display of his talents; who uses his verbal facility to embarrass or demean his teacher and classmates; in short, a conceited or unpleasant child whom people would rather avoid than associate with.
