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The evaluation of children's development in the nursery

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Abstract

1. The nursery tradition and its influence on current practice within pre-school provision is described. Recent criticisms of nursery practice are discussed and alternative forms considered. The introduction into the pre-school of a system of assessment and recording is proposed and the possible benefits that such an introduction might bring described.
2. The attitudes of nursery staff towards nursery practice and their role within it are investigated in a questionnaire study. An emphasis on the provision of a child-centred environment is found.
3. Nursery staff’s perceptions of their pupils are examined by means of a repertory grid study.
Conclusions for a system of assessment in the nursery are drawn.
4. The assessment of child’s play within the nursery is considered. It is concluded that a system of assessment appropriate for use by nursery staff must be based on direct observation and testing in a semi-structured situation.
5. Constraints upon the design of systems of assessment for the nursery are discussed. The initial development of the Keele Pre-School Assessment Guide (KPAG) is described and the findings of a pilot project involving the assessment by nursery teachers of 50 children are presented.
6. A description of the revised KPAG is given. A study involving the assessment of 145 children hy teachers in nurseries is described and the results presented in terms of simple frequency distributions.
7. The reliability and validity of the KPAG is investigated.
8. An alternative means of assessment of the nursery child involving the analysis and evaluation of his human figure drawings is discussed and the results of empirical studies presented. It is concluded that such a system of assessment is complementary to the KPAG.
9. A multifactorial analysis of the data obtained from previous studies using the KPAG is presented. The relationship between the findings of this analysis and other factors influencing staff perceptions of nursery children is investigated empirically.
10. The results of a longitudinal study of progress in the nursery are presented. It is suggested that the nursery environment may not be optimal for all groups of children.
11. The implications of the studies for nursery practice are discussed.

Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024

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