3S2 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE. 



EDUCATIONAL REPORT. 



In dealing with anthropometrics in schools the chief factors which 

 the Sub-Committee has had to take into consideration are time, expense 

 and the object of the investigations. If time and expense did not enter 

 into the question, it is hardly necessary to remark that, from the scientific 

 point of view at least, the measurement of school-children would require 

 no special scheme of observations as apart from a general survey of 

 the population. In present cii'cumstances, however, when a crowded 

 curriculum reduces the time available for anything outside the absolutely 

 essential to a minimum, and the cost of the education of the large majority 

 of the children is borne by public funds, it is necessary to confine the 

 investigation, so far as possible, to a practical issue more or less 

 immediate. 



From an educational point of view the value of an anthropometric 

 survey must lie chiefly in the fact that it aflfords an accurate indication 

 of the development of the individual, and at the same time provides those 

 responsible for education with some means of judging how far the 

 individual, or individuals, of a particular area are modified, physically and 

 mentally, by the education provided. 



The Sub-Committee is therefore of the opinion that the aim of 

 anthropometric observations in schools should be : — 



1. To determine norms or averages, standard deviations and correla- 

 tions at diflerent ages, having due regard to sexual, racial, and environ- 

 mental differences. 



2. To correlate physical and mental growth with a view to testing 

 the efficiency of different systems of education and indicating the amount 

 of work that may advantageously be attempted at different ages, thereby 

 minimising the dangers of over-pressure. 



3. To mark out the physically or mentally unfit for special educational 

 treatment. Where the deviation is abnormal in a number of individuals, 

 a whole school, or a whole area, it would point to the necessity for special 

 investigations of social conditions and environment. 



4. To correlate physical, mental, and environmental characters with a 

 view to providing a scientific basis for the better adaptation of education 

 to local needs and character. 



As regards the anatomical measurements the Sub-Committee re- 

 commends the adoption of the schedules suggested for use in schools in 

 this Report. 



The adoption of a particular schedule must depend largely on local 

 circumstances and finance. And although it must be remembered that 

 more accurate conclusions are to be obtained from a few measurements of 

 a large number of individuals than from a large number of observations 

 on a few individuals, the value of a survey would be increased in propor- 

 tion as a schedule containing a larger number of observations were 

 generally adopted. The Sub-Committee is of the opinion that the 

 teachers, with a little practical instruction, would be capable of making 

 and recording the necessary measurements. In addition to actual measure- 

 ments, careful note should be taken of the general physical condition, and 

 a record of average (not record) performances in athletic sports and of 

 proficiency in games should be kept. 



In the case of the psychological observations the conditions are some- 

 what different. They would necessarily extend over a more or less 



