Abstract

Summary This ongoing Dutch study into the school careers of young children in primary schools has focused in part on the influence of school and class organisation on linguistic and cognitive development. In the first year of the study, data on the school and class characteristics were gathered in 28 primary schools by means of questionnaires, interviews, journals and observation. A multi-level analysis shows that differences in pupil achievements between classes already exist at the beginning of primary school, but that these differences are, to a large extent, explained by the characteristics of the pupils? backgrounds. The Dutch vocabulary of pupils at the end of their first year is mainly determined by earlier linguistic achievement and the ethnicity and SES of the pupil, rather than the school or class organisation. The scores on a performance intelligence test (block patterns) at the end of the first year could not be exclusively explained by the pupils? background characteristics but also by some school characteristics