Retardation among Saskatoon public school children 1958-1959

Many studies of pupil retardation have been made since the problem first came to the attention of educators at the turn of the century. Much has been learned about the incidence and causes of retardation, and there have been various modifications in educational practice in attempts to ensure that retarded pupils benefit to the greatest degree from their formal schooling. Children suffering from defective sight, hearing, or from other physical handicaps have been specially provided for in many school systems. Many mentally retarded pupils have been placed in classes where, under the guidance of teachers trained for the task, they have been encouraged to proceed at a pace commensurate with their abilities. There are still, however, many children in the regular classrooms who definitely lag behind their fellows. In the city of Saskatoon, where the writer is the principal of an elementary school, very little factual information had been gathered which would assist the local administrators and supervisors in obtaining a comprehensive picture of the problem of pupil retardation as it exists there. The present study was, therefore, begun in January, 1959, in order to obtain a descriptive survey of retardation as it existed in the public schools in Saskatoon in the school year 1958-1959