ABSTRACT
Children aged between three and seven are passing through a rich and fascinating period of
development in which they experience a great variety of learning relationships. For most
children this period includes the major transition from the typically small network of
relationships with family, family friends and neighbours to the wider world of pre-school
groups and school, in which they meet adults and other children who are not known to their
parents. In other words, the child’s sphere of potential learning relationships undergoes a
radical change during this period. Psychologists have been particularly interested in the
cognitive development of children in this age group, but recently this interest has broadened
to take in:
• the role of the social world in shaping and supporting children’s learning;
• children’s understanding of how the people around them think and feel;
• the importance of real-life contexts;
• the concept of development throughout the life span.
