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THE EDUCATIONAL PRIORITY SCHOOL
Author(s) -
WILSON J. A.,
TREW KAREN J.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
british journal of educational psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.557
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 2044-8279
pISSN - 0007-0998
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8279.1975.tb02290.x
Subject(s) - backwardness , neighbourhood (mathematics) , psychology , developmental psychology , demography , sociology , economic growth , mathematical analysis , mathematics , economics
S ummary . The study was designed to establish, on a regional basis, the validity of a set of measures of social handicap as predictive of educational backwardness and to identify the characteristics of those schools which are most effectively compensatory in adverse social conditions. Backwardness was defined in relation to scores on standardised intellectual tests for 7‐year‐old and 10‐year‐old children attending 115 Northern Ireland primary schools. The proportion of backwardness was then predicted from thirteen demographic variables, commonly used in describing educational priority areas, by the application of step‐wise multiple regression analysis. Parental unemployment and the occupational status of the school neighbourhood emerged as the strongest pointers to educational backwardness. The social variables predicted backwardness least accurately in smaller, less well equipped and rural schools. The schools which were most effectively compensatory tended to be urban, to have less physically adequate classrooms, female principals, and a higher proportion of graduate‐trained teachers.