SUMMARYThe investigation was carried out to design and test more purposeful and structured methods of promoting intellectual growth in culturally deprived preschool children. The relative merits of providing specific cognitive training both in a nursery setting and in the home through the influence of the mother were‐assessed. Four groups each of 15 children were involved in the experiment, which extended over a period of four months. Gains were confirmed for both general intelligence and linguistic competence. Both the two nursery groups and the experimental ‘home’ group all showed considerable improvement, the latter being comparable to the nursery control