Mental Growth Of Children - In Relation To Rate Of Growth In Bodily Development

U r r T IN RELATION TO RATE OF GROWTH IN BODILY DEVELOPMENT A Report of . The Bureau of Educational Experiments New York City BY BUFORD J. JOHNSON PSYCHOLOGIST, BUREAU OF EDUCATIONAL EXPEBIMENTS, 1918-1928 PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY NEW YORK E. P. BUTTON COMPANY 681 FIFTH AVENUE Copyright 5 V By E. P. DOTT0N COMPANY Printed tn 7U Z7ntt States of America t By E. P. DOTTON COMPANY APR 23 1925 AUTHORS NOTE THE psychological work of the Bureau of Educational Experiments was under the direction of Dr. David Mitchell from 1918 to 1920, during which time the Bureau published reports on Nutrition and a Bulletin of Intelligence Tests, and work on the testing of children in public and private schools was begun. From 1920 to 1923, the psychological work of the Bureau was under the direction of the author, who had been assistant psychologist the preceding year. The investigation reported in this volume was commenced by the author in 1919 and continued under her full direction dur ing the period from 1920 to 1923, and she is responsible for the general plan of the work and for the results as here given. In the conduct of the investigation the following persons on the staff of the Bureau have assisted directly in the work or have made contributions from the results of their own investiga tions Miss Louise Schrief er and Miss Dorothy Seago assisted in making the psychological examinations and in the detailed work of statistical analysis Miss Veda Elvin made the social investigations Dr. Edith Lincoln made the physical examina tions Miss Harriet Forbes and Miss Suzanne Q-arrett made the consecutive measurements of height and weight Miss Harriet Johnson measured height and weightand recorded activities of the children in the Nursery School. The investigation would not have been possible without the interest and co-operation of the directors and teachers of the schools in which we were permitted to work. For this co-opera tion we are especially indebted to Miss Caroline Pratt, of the City and Country School to Dr. J. L. Carver, Director of the Friends 9 Seminary to Miss Anna Q-illingham, of the Ethical Culture School to Principal Louis Marks, of Public School 64 to Principal J. E. Wade, of Public School 95. For suggestions for the revision of the manuscript I am indebted to Professor Knight Dunlap, of the Johns Hopkins University, and to Mr. Frederick W Ellis, of the Bureau of Educational Experiments, BOTOBD BALTIMORE, MD. May. FOREWORD THE Bureau of Educational Experiments was organized some seven years ago for the scientific study of the growth of children. We conceive of growth as something that takes place as a whole, though the various complicated processes that go to make up growth may be singled out for special study indeed, they have been so singled out by physicians, psychologists, and other specialists engaged in making accurate observations of children. Although various aspects of growth have been thus diligently studied, the results have not, on the whole, been brought into organic relation with each other and the findings remain scattered through a wide range of monographs and articles. As yet science nowhere gives an adequate picture of children as integrated growing organisms. Consequently, while much help is available for psychologists and clinical workers on particular aspects of the development of children, comparatively little information isto be obtained by teachers and parents, whose main dealings are with children as wholes. A school cannot deal with any portion of a child with out questioning what its treatment is doing to the rest of the child...