ABSTRACT
Young children’s experience and understanding of story even before they have begun school has been found by research to be the most significant predictor of later educational achievement. The stories brought from home may include personal family ones, and there is clearly a case for encouraging these. Nevertheless, the traditional folktale has characteristics which give it special value. In collaborative play, some children come with more experience of how to structure a story. What the children learn from each other, therefore, relates also to what each brings from home. The Traveller community is strong in its storytelling tradition. So too are most of the cultural groups whose members have moved to Britain. When young childlren are given the time to experience a wide range of traditional stories in school through storytelling and dramatic play, the social and psychological benefits ought to be great.
