The behaviour and educational attainments of deprived children

Abstract

Summary The behaviour and educational progress of 119 children born in 1940 and 1941 in the care of a local authority are described. There is some evidence that the extent of educational retardation and the incidence of behaviour problems bear a relationship to the social history, the sex and the length of time the child has been in care. The reason for taking into care seems, in particular, to be correlated with subsequent behaviour patterns. Educational progress varies according to the sex and the duration of care—boys are more retarded than girls; and children who have been in care for long periods are the least retarded. It must be stressed, however, that the relatively small numbers of children in the survey and the complexity of the factors involved make it unwise to draw more than tentative conclusions. The stated proportion of children in the different categories, though the classifications are admittedly to some extent arbitrary, needs no such qualification and is probably fairly representative of the general position of deprivation in socially and industrially similar areas.