This paper provides a critical analysis and evaluation of the relationship between 4-year-old children and teachers in 10 reception (kindergarten) classes at schools in Birmingham, England. It is based on in-class observations and collaborative, action research that focused on the interactions between the children and their teachers, including 300 2-minute observations of children and 250 2-minute observations of teachers. The study found that the greater part of the interactions between teachers and children were brief and informal, and that the children were intuitively active and curious learners. It also found that the highest levels of child involvement were recorded during paired and independent activities, with the lowest levels during directed, whole-class activities. The paper argues that young children's development will be hindered unless teachers adopt an open learning stance, and that teachers must be open to constructive criticism and genuinely prepared to change. An appendix comprising half the paper contains four sets of graphs depicting the statistical results. (MDM)