Write your name here. Write your address here. No.... .Street.. Which of these do you like best for a good time? Mark it 1. Mark it 2. Playing with babies Shopping Singing games In what country were you born? In what country was your father born? Write here the names of your brothers and sisters. Write ages If you do go to High School, do you expect to go to a Commercial High School? If you do go to High School, do you expect to go to a Manual Training High School? If you do go to High School, do you expect to go to an Academic Do you expect to go to Continuation School? What do you expect to do for a living at first?. What do you expect to do for a living later? The data, then, comprise the mental age and intelligence quotient according to the four scales, a complete rating derived from the combined results of these scales, the educational rating, the first, second and third choices of occupations and of recreations, the plan for secondary education and for life occupation, the occupation of the father and mother, the order of birth, the number of siblings, the place of birth of the child and of the father and mother. To discover whether there is any stability in children's expressions of their preferences, individuals of small groups were interviewed, using the subject-matter of the questionnaire. In another group the questionnaire was presented a second time after an interval of six months. The results of these checks determined the foundation upon which the conclusions are based. Questions such as, "Which of the three choices is most stable?" What percentage of secondary school plans persist after six months?" "Are choices of recreations and choices of occupations equally stable?" were answered. The results of the intelligence tests have been worked out and shown in curves of distribution for each of the scales in order to compare language with non-language scales; the correlations between these scales have been found. The influence of foreign birth and parentage on the results of the Language Completion Scale is shown by plotting curves of distribution for a group of American born children of American born parents according to the Kelley-Trabue Language Completion Alpha, and the National Intelligence Tests. The groups planning for High School, for part time secondary education, and for work only, were distributed according to their intelligence quotients. The curves of these show to what extent a child's plans for High School are conditioned by his degree of intelligence. Children's expressions of interest as taken from questionnaire data were compared with their composite intelligence ratings. The occupations were divided into the following general groups: skilled trades, mechanics, clerical workers, and professions. This grouping was made necessary by the small numbers in the single occupation. The four groups were then distributed according to intelligence quotients and compared with similar groups taken from the army ratings. This comparison gives roughly the relation of children's aspirations to life opportunities. Occupational preferences were also tabulated against life prospects, of which the evidence was the answers to the questions concerning the occupation by which the child expects to make a living. This comparison is discussed under the caption "Correspondence of Aims and Ideals," and yields an interesting result. The records of a group of children who expressed "mechanical" interests were used to study the significance of success in the Pintner Non-Language Scale. The results of the entire investigation yield these findings: The large range of intelligence in any occupation or group of similar occupations proves that interests are more potent than general intelligence in determining the direction of efforts towards particular fields of work. It indicates the need for studying the special drives and capacities during the growing years. Incidental to this is the finding that children's choices during these years are sufficiently stable to be used as guides in directing developmental activities. The large percentage of children who plan to go to high school lacking sufficient mentality for the required academic work, and also the significant percentage of high grade children who plan for part time secondary education or for work only, indicates the need for scholarships and for more comprehensive vocational training to provide for all degrees of intelligence. The low degree of correspondence between aims and ideals emphasizes this point. Comparison of the different types of scales indicates that the non-language scale selects children who have a special interest in mechanics. The ratings according to the Kelly-Trabue Language Completion Scale as compared with the ratings of other scales indicate that it is necessary to discount the results of a scale which is highly conditioned by the use of language when given to children of foreign birth or parentage. A feasible system is given by which any school can keep a record of the child's ambitions and dispositions together with a record of the home background. Suggestions for further researches are as follows: 1. An investigation of the stability of children's interests in grades below 5b. 2. A study of individual tests composing the non-language scale, to discover which team of tests furnishes the most reliable indication of mechanical interests. 3. A correlation of success in different scales with actual ability in industrial work. 4. An intensive study of a small group, covering a number of years, to determine the relation of interest to actual ability. (To be Continued.) (From the Sanskrit) Listen to the exhortation of the Dawn! Look to this day For it is the very life of life, In its brief course lie all the verities and realities Of your existence. The glory of action The bliss of growth, The splendor of beauty. For yesterday is but a dream And to-morrow only a vision, But this day, well lived, makes |