Abstract
THE reason why we mention these two books together is that they both bear upon the problems of education, and the reason why we mention them at all is that they are both examples of scientific method in the field of educational inquiry. The older philosophic method of approach to psychological questions is well known to have been to a great extent replaced by a scientific method of approach. The same may be said of the serious study of education. This used to be the business of the philosopher and of the psychologist who drew his inspiration from philosophy. Now the serious study of education is also undertaken by modern psychologists like Dr. Susan Isaacs and Dr. Kennedy-Fraser, both of them well equipped for the respective tasks undertaken in these two books. (1) Dr. Isaacs writes simply, but with the simplicity of one who knows the complexities also, about normal children of the junior school age. The subject is a timely one, and for most parents and teachers there is a message on nearly every page of her book. (2) Dr. Kennedy-Fraser has made a study of the backward child, who may be backward in a temporary or in a permanent sense, and is not to be confused with the mentally defective child. The backward child, as here defined, has not received the attention that he deserves, whether from administrators or from psychologists. This book helps to fill a gap in our educational literature.
(1) The Children we Teach: Seven to Eleven Years.
Dr.
Susan
Isaacs
By. Pp. 176. (London: University of London Press, Ltd., 1932.) 3s. 6d. net.
(2) Education of the Backward Child.
David
Kennedy-Fraser
By. Pp. 254 + 4 plates. (London: University of London Press, Ltd., 1932.) 6s. net.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
(1) The Children we Teach: Seven to Eleven Years (2) Education of the Backward Child. Nature 129, 673 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1038/129673b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/129673b0