Conversations in the nursery: How they contribute to aspirations and plans

Abstract

Each year sees the publication of new studies demonstrating that early education can have a dramatic effect on children's ‘life chances’, especially for children who come from disadvantaged backgrounds (Lazar & Darlington, 1982; Wasik et al., 1990; Sylva, 1989). Although some have argued that increased cognitive skills are the cause of long‐term impact (Berrueta‐Clement et al., 1984), it is suggested in this paper that the long term effects of early education are mediated by enhanced educational aspiration and motivation, not cognitive skills per se. This model is discussed with reference to the dialogues which are part of the Plan, Do, Review Cycle in the High/Scope curriculum (Hohmann et al., 1979) and the experimental work of Dweck & Leggett (1988) on the development of mastery orientation.