ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses a series of projects in preschool units in Scotland undertaken during early 1970s. A local authority in Scotland, Dunbartonshire, invited the author to undertake research on their developing nursery education; this they funded jointly with the then Scottish Education Department. Many preschool units in Britain, and some classes in infant departments, provide variety of different activities simultaneously for at least part of day and allow the children considerable freedom in choosing what they do. The open-plan school in which the research took place, like others in the county, had only recently opened and was in a very deprived urban area. In theory, tests provide an efficient way of assessing children's current levels of functioning. Over recent years, many observational schedules have been developed for use in preschools and primary schools. When direct observation or testing is impossible, there is a temptation to provide rating schedules, to be completed by the adults, as a means of summarizing impressions.
