PEDAGOGY, CORRECTIVE. - It is the branch of pedagogy whose object is the education of children who differ in varying degrees from normal children and are usually designated by the general term "irregular."
The irregularities of greatest interest to the pedagogue are those of a psychic nature, which may be divided into: 1) retardations, arrests, alterations of psychic development, which may range from simple mental weakness to the highest degree of deficiency, educationally irrecoverable; 2) arrest or retardation of language development: aphasias, dysarthrias from central, cerebral causes (congenital lesions or lesions acquired through diseases of the brain) or from peripheral causes (defects or difficulties of the vocal apparatus, stuttering, blesitas, cleft lip, etc.); 3) disturbances of a characterological or behavioral order: incipient or fully manifest mental illnesses (schizophrenia, epilepsy, psychoses, cyclothymias, etc.); disturbances linked to constitutional or endogenous factors (amorality, asocial behavior, impulsivity, psychosexual abnormality, etc.); disturbances linked to environmental and exogenous factors (hyperemotionality, inhibitions, neuroses, tics, enuresis, etc.).
And here it must be noted that such manifestations may be linked to a constitutional nervous fragility, upon which environmental factors may trigger reactive manifestations either in the direction of aggressiveness or in the direction of inhibition; and furthermore that environmental factors may also act upon subjects who are normally developed from the physical and characterological standpoint, as a cause of irregularity, especially when their action is very prolonged or acts upon a very young child; these environmental factors may depend on the structure of the family unit (abandoned children, orphans, illegitimate children, children of nomads, etc.) or on unfavorable family educational values (children of amoral parents, of promiscuous women, of prisoners; children living in educationally altered environments, etc.; cf. Scuola italiana moderna, cited in bibl., p. xxiv). Also of interest to the pedagogue are physical irregularities of a neurological and sensory order (defective or absent sight), hearing (deaf-mutism).
The causes of irregularities may be: 1) hereditary factors; but this occurs rarely and it is dangerous to exaggerate their power; 2) infective factors: hereditary syphilis (out of 100 irregular children, 12.5% are certainly hereditary syphilitics, 13.5 probable, 14.7 suspected); tuberculosis; viral infections (poliomyelitis, epidemic encephalitis or that from eruptive diseases); 3) toxic factors: alcoholism; 4) traumatic factors (obstetric traumas with cerebral lesions or impairments; cranial traumas after birth; 5) deficiency factors: lack of iodine, avitaminosis; lack of sun; 6) environmental factors: family, school, social disturbances (cf. ibid., p. xxii).
For the treatment of irregular children, two disciplines must bring their studies and their efforts together: medicine, with the aid of the related sciences, and pedagogy with the aid of psychology.
Leaving aside the part concerning medicine, the education of irregular children requires in the teacher: 1) a kind of vocation, so that he may be firmly persuaded that it is at the same time a duty and a highly social and charitable office, and thus be more agile in overcoming difficulties and periods of possible depression; 2) an unconditional love for childhood and a dedication or conscious gift of all his energies to his mission; 3) assiduous study of the various stages of the child's organic and psychic development in order to discover the intimate motives of his behavior and conduct; 4) to observe his pupils well and continuously with diligence and method; 5) to acquire a certain genius for applying general norms fruitfully to individual cases; 6) to reflect, finally, that many irregularities have as their cause somatic alterations; that variations of mood, caprices, irregularities of conduct, restlessness and even violence have as concomitants endocrinological conditions upon which one can act; and that a praiseworthy state of nutrition is a valid element also psychically.
For particular treatments, v.: CIECHI; FRENASTENICI; MINORATI PSICICI; PSICONENTROSI; SORDI. For the education of the wayward child, v. RIDUCAZIONE.
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