Summary.WhatI would like to do is to consider the strategy of research in pre‐school education, and to make a plea to developmental and educational psychologists to take more account than most of us do of the environmental forces which impinge directly on the child, and which influence both his development and his educational progress. Since, however, I am billed to talk about recent advances in child development generally, I shall first say a few things about new trends which are relevant to pre‐school stud