ABSTRACT
In the later history of the school, in 1927–1928, it was found possible to take strictly verbatim and objective records of type, practically complete. Vague evaluatory or summarising phrases, such as “the children were very interested—polite—quarrelsome” are better avoided. Watching the spontaneous cognitive behaviour of a group of children under conditions designed to free inquiry and free discussion may, therefore, reveal facts which would scarcely yield to the direct assault of test or experiment—at least so far as their technique is at present developed. The intensive study of instinct and phantasy in individual children by the technique of psycho-analysis has shown that, even at this early age, guilt and anxiety and love invest any adult who has an active relation with the children with a prestige which he cannot escape. Even the attempt to deal with intellectual growth and social relations as separate phenomena may obscure significant aspects of the mental life as a whole.
