Investigation of the causes of backwardness at the qualifying stage, with particular reference to the percentage of children scholastically retarded owing to unsuitability of curriculum. Non-scholastic tests - mechanical aptitude tests, technical information tests and a practical test - for "backward” pupils

Abstract

Although the utmost care was taken}in discovering the various causes of retardation for the 400 subjects, the 25.5% of cases suffering from unsuitability of curriculum and the 5.75% of cases, the cause of whose retardation was undiscovered, may be a somewhat rough estimate. The nonscholastic tests are not deemed anything but crude instruments^ and their results accordingly will lack in reliability. Many other scholastic tests may have been required.When this investigation was carried out in Edinburgh schools by the Method of Sampling}the results were strikingly similar to those obtained above. Roughly one quarter were found to be mal-adjusted to their existing curriculum. By other methods^ the Fife Education Authority reach the same conclusion. The results obtained are sufficiently reliable, at least, to indicate that there is a big proportion of scholastically retarded cases which form a serious problem waiting for us to solve. We have, by these results, a big number of children with talents and abilities lying dormant in school^ and we are not offering them work suitable^ or intrinsically interesting. The result is that they are liable to degenerate^and this degeneration may take the form of laziness^or may show itself in mischief making and waywardness. To leave children of good enough capacity in classes where they do poor school work , through lack of interest, is to tend to inculcate in them habits of laziness and discontent}and, by sheer neglect, wrong attitudes towards work which will later be a problem for us to solve. The school by failing to discover and help those backward—children—who-are-not—backward—in—intelligence, is failing to start them on their life's career as workers and useful citizens, who have learnt though young, the joy, the culture, and the dignity of work.Just as it is a notorious, though true, fact, that the class teacher objects to the loss of her brightest pupils by extra promotion^and feels the promise of clever children from the class below ,but an insufficient compensation, so is it the case that we are sometimes blind to existing abilities in children?and to account for poor educational work^suppose a retardation in general intelligence, where it does not exist. It is a great comfort to delude ourselves that, because a child is poor at reading and counting^he was born inferior mentally, and will never make much headway^in spite of our efforts. But to see that child outside, alive, full of energy and keen vivid,, eager interest in what goes on around him^or to startle him in school by some chance remark, into giving some unexpected, unusual information unknown to other boys, gives one food for thought.the whole problem of scholastic backwardness^ as distinct from mental defect ,is becoming a centre of very great interest. Educational Journals offer interesting information on the subject and holiday courses for teachers frequently advertise training for teachers of backward pupils as well as for teachers of mentally defectives. In many schools I have been in, the Headmasters are carefully considering each case of definite educational retardation^and are recording the causes in the book shown opposite. They realise the very great complexity of the problem, the many types of backwardnass^and in this area, indeed, there is a request for new terms to express the various degrees of backwardness and the various types.With regard to ordinary educational backwardness, with an innate retardation not sufficiently acute to have the pupils sent to a special school, we are beginning to make progress in this area. More of our schools are being given an extra teacher to tutor the children and here and there an infant teacher is free in the afternoons to devote her time to coaching pupils. Again, in one small 4-teacher infant school in this area we have re-classified the children. How, instead of having 4 infant classes we have three infant classes, and a smaller tutorial class. Also since the younger children now get home for good at 1 p.m., the teacher free after her lunch hour, tutors the children in the other two infant classes, who require extra help. This is an experiment, although no opportunity was given to carry it out scientifically^with a control group. Even if a school has no extra room, or teacher or special provision for backward children the names of such are entered on the record book shown above. Mental Testing and Educational Testing is done, and suggestions about apparatus and material is given, if any school applies to the Executive Officer.Professor Burt, who is our chief inspiration, states as a warning to these who think individual teaching alone is sufficient - (1) "Yet even for the backward, individual teaching may be no less wasteful - it will indeed be more wasteful than class teaching, unless it follow the appropriate method; and the appropriate method can only be discovered by an intensive study of the special needs of each particular child". With regard to the problem of the Mentally Defective we are beginning to see that he should not be sent to a Special School because of his inability to do the work of a normal class but because of his inability to make satisfactory progress in a backward, tutorial or adjustment class, after a fair trial period. / / (1). Mental & Schol. Tests. P.268.To return to backwardness of the type with which this investigation is chiefly concerned, it has been found that, as a result of a careful individual examination of all alleged mentally defectives in the whole County, are children of normal intelligence,but suffering from unsuitability of curriculum!' A very important aspect of the problem, again, is that Burt tells us in the chapters on "Intellectual Conditions" in the"Young Delinquent" that young delinquents are found to be educationally backward far more often than they are estimated as M.D., .and one of the most notable points he makes is, that even temporary ill health, by resulting in backwardness in school may help to bring about a state of disheartenment, and discontent which facilitates crime. This warning of the serious, far-reaching effects of educational retardation is surely sufficient to causee us to pay attention to the proportion of our pupils who are suffering from unsuitability of curriculum.In the past school work has not taken sufficient account of practical, mechanical and technical subjects^and while this is immaterial for the normal child, in dealing with the problem child, mainly interested in these matters, this type of work cannot, with justice be ignored