Borstal Boy’s Dream

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 132, 5 June 1937, Page 10

Borstal Boy’s Dream

AMBITION TO BE PREMIER Vocational tests carried out by a psychologist on 400 English Borstal boys have produced some remarkable result. They point the way to a solution of the problem of reshaping tho lads’ lives. The experiment was carried out by Mr Alec. Rodger, of tho National Institute of Industrial Psychology. It is reported by the Industrial Research Board of the Medical Research Council (states the London Daily Telegraph). From time to time a considerable amount of vocational inefficiency has been detected at Borstal institutions. Normally the housemasters assign new boys to various work parties, but in the experiment the 400 boys were examined by a psychologist at the beginning of their detention. Vocational recommendations wore made for all of them, but to test the idea these recommendations were forwarded to the Borstal institution only in alternate cases. The remainder formed a “control” group, and were sent to work parties in the normal way. Of the 158 boys in the “recommended” group —boys who were placed in work parties recommended by tho adviser—llo became grade A workers. Of the 160 in the “control” group— those placed in work parties recommended by their housemasters —only 73 became gradfe A workers. Thus 69.5 per cent, of the adviser’s recommendations and only 45.6 per cent, of the housemaster’s recommendations led to satisfactory results. “This difference, which, but for certain unfavourable conditions, would probably have been greater, is statistically significant,” states the report. “It casts no reflection upon the housemasters, but it shows clearly that with the aid of the new procedure they could achieve better results than those they achieve without it.” One boy, aged 16£, whose Tolatives had not allowed him to avail himself of a school scholarship, had been out of work two and a-half years before going to porstal. “He was a very unsociable individual and he had kept himself as strictly as possible to himself,” says the report. “The greater part of hia enforced leisure had been taken up with the working out of calculations and the writing of essays. “He had an astonishing knowledge of stock exchange news and ran an ! imaginary oxchange of his own. Some of his essays related to his ambition .to become Prinnia Minister, He held

strong Liberal Protectionist views. “He had prepared detailed schemes for dealing with such problems as those presented by agriculture, unemployment, India, and disarmament. “His test results made it clear that he was a boy of outstanding intellectual ability. He scored an intelligence test mark considerably above the average for university students. “He would probably have made an excellent rating surveyor. Carpentry was recommended as a Borstal second best. He did fairly well at it, but it was not surprising to find his instructor ranm-rkinir ‘Routine nails.’ ”