Part-time and full-time nursery education: comparisons of play and performance

Abstract

The intellectual and social performance of children who had attended nursery school on a part-time basis was compared with that of those attending full-time. While a beneficial effect of nursery education upon intellectual and social competence was observed, no differences between part-timers and full-timers were found on any of the measures used. Sex differences were apparent on two scales. A complementary study of the play activities however, revealed differences: part-timers spent proportionally more of their time in ‘nursery activities’ while full-timers engaged in more fantasy play. Time-of-day differences were also observed. The results are evaluated in the context of a model of play which ascribes distinctive functions to different forms of play.