This paper will have immediate relevance to British readers, but the ideas behind and impact of the research cited should have application to primary (and perhaps secondary) schools in general. In questioning whether education actually promotes development this paper focuses on the primary school with its child-centred philosophy. An overview of the material covered includes a listing of the supposed characteristics of the British primary school and the progressive tradition from which it came; a discussion of the developmental nature of learning employed in primary schools to produce autonomous and independent pupils; questioning whether these schools exist in reality; and an examination of processes which lead to their current predicament. The paper draws upon recent research into the action and interaction of the primary school. These studies have consistently shown that the progressive movement has not been fully realized in Britain. In questioning why these classroom realities have failed to live up to the theoretical image, this paper explores classroom interactions which may preclude progressive development, and questions whether the terms of autonomy and independence are adequate descriptions for what really takes place there. Research undertaken by the author is cited to show the relationship between interaction and development.