Introduction: Competence has been a term subject to many interpretations over the years. This discrepancy in agreement is not due to the clash of minds but mostly the fruit of differences in expectations and legal requirements of local healthcare systems. As a result, the assessment of competence has been subject to dynamic changes with abundance of literature published to address its properties from different angles. This research project is designed to explore a number of unknowns: firstly, we aim to explore what it is meant by competence and compare it to how it is defined by the regulators. Once this is established, such expectations are to be compared to the expectations of the Educational Supervisors (ESs): the trainers who are in charge of training the newly qualified dentists. The next goal of this project is to shed light on how students perceive competence and explore the assessment methods that reflect such competencies best. Once known, these assessment methods will be explored in the national level to understand how they are implemented. The project also aims to explore if such assessment methods could be improved and finally, to examine if new assessment methods can be introduced to the field of medical and dental education with significant benefits and advantages. Methodology: A mixed-method approach was chosen, consisted of qualitative, quantitative and descriptive statistics. Results: Profile of a competent newly qualified dentist as described by the regulatory bodies, ESs and students was discussed. The most reflective assessment methods to illustrate students' competencies were identified and their use at national level explored. We looked at the bench marking of the OSCEs and where the line of competence is drawn, and finally, we developed a new mathematical model that can predict competence after observing a number of clinical encounters. Conclusion: Several conclusions and recommendations were drawn and discussed at their relevant chapter.

xv, 170 p. A print copy of this title is available from the UO Libraries, under the call number: KNIGHT LB1131 .B14 2007 / Many research studies in early childhood assessment have addressed the importance of quality assessment services. Such services involve gathering information on children through direct observation of functional skills in natural settings, which requires considerable time and effort. Due to the unavailability of sufficient resources for the quality assessment services, a new approach needs to be undertaken. Current research has suggested that parent-completed screening utilizing parental knowledge about their child is valid and reliable in appraising current and observable behaviors (Bodnarchuk & Eaton, 2004; O'Neill, 2007). There has been, however, little investigation on in-depth standardized assessments completed by parents for young children aged 18 to 36 months. This study examined validity and reliability of in-depth parental report on child development with the Ages and Stages Questionnaire Inventory for Toddlers (ASQ-IT) for children aged 18-36 moths old. Fifty child-caregiver dyads were divided into two groups, non-risk and risk based on environmental factors including maternal age at the child's birth, family income, and maternal education. In examining psychometric information of the parent-completed measure, acceptable outcomes were found. Accuracy was supported by two examinations for concurrent validity; (1) the Battelle Developmental Inventory, 2nd Edition (BDI-2) administered by professionals and the ASQ-IT completed by parents (r = .63 -.83,p < .01), and (2) the same two measures completed by professionals (r = .72 -.92,p < .01). Findings of both reliability studies, test-retest reliability with the ASQ-IT completed by parents, and inter-observer reliability between parents and professionals, suggested substantial consistency, p = .79 -.93 and p = .65 -.88 respectively. In differential item functioning (DIF) (i.e., 3% of DIF items) and known-group validity analyses (p < .0005 at 36 months), the ability of the ASQ-IT to detect changes in the children's development was confirmed. Results from the social validity examining parent perception of the ASQIT completion identified efficiency of the ASQ-IT (e.g., reasonable time to complete) as well as many benefits. / Adviser: Jane K. Squires

Learning style refers to the cognitive, physiological, emotional, environmental, sociological, and perceptual manner in which people learn. In order to provide students with an optimal learning environment, it is necessary to match instruction with students' learning style. To do this, student learning style must be assessed by a learning style instrument. Of the learning style instruments that are currently available, most do not have much evidence of reliability and validity. Additionally, evidence that does exist is weak. Therefore, more psychometric data are needed regarding these instruments. This study provided psychometric evidence for six popular learning styles instruments, including the Learning Style Inventory, the Productivity Environmental Preferences Survey, the Learning Styles Profile, the Grasha-Riechmann's Student Learning Style Scale, the Edmonds Learning Style Identification Exercise, and the Group Embedded Figures Test. Test-retest reliability was found to be good for the Group Embedded Figures Test and moderate for all other instruments. Internal structure validity of the instruments was good, indicating that the instruments do measure unique learning style constructs. However, convergent and discriminant validity evidence indicates that the instruments either do not measure the same constructs, or measure the learning style constructs in different ways.

Introduction: Dementia is a debilitating health condition affecting all aspects of an individual’s well-being. Quality of life (QOL) and health related quality of life (HRQOL) assessments play a large role in understanding the limitations within the patients’ lifestyle and helping care providers manage their needs better. Therefore, our aims for this thesis were twofold: 1. Explore the symptoms, behaviors, or activities deemed as priorities by caregivers for monitoring dementia progression, impact of treatment, or exploring alternative care, and 2. Examine the measurement properties of QOL and HRQOL measures used for people with dementia living in the community. Methods: For the first aim, a qualitative descriptive study was performed with caregivers of individuals living with dementia. Caregivers from various regions in Canada were enlisted, and virtual listening sessions took place between November 2022 and January 2023. Open-ended questions were employed to prompt participants to express their viewpoints. For the second aim, a systematic review guided by COsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) was performed to identify literature surrounding measurement properties of QOL and HRQOL measures used in community-dwelling adults with a diagnosis of dementia. A search was performed through four databases (Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsychInfo) to identify literature published up until June 2022, followed by abstract and title screening and full-text review, which was performed in duplicate. Measurement properties extracted included structural validity, internal consistency, reliability (test-retest and inter-rater reliability), construct validity, and responsiveness. Risk of bias assessments and quality assessments were also performed for all identified QOL and HRQOL measures. Results: Through the listening sessions, we identified that mobility limitations, social interactions, emotions, feeding behaviors, cognitive difficulties and extrinsic factors were priority topics that caregivers wanted to highlight when assessing QOL for people with dementia. There were 13 dementia-specific and generic QOL and HRQOL measures included in the systematic review. Results showed varying quality of evidence for each of the measures with many having a moderate to very low score for some of the measurement properties. Conclusion: The first study showed dementia caregivers’ perspectives on how routine activities, mobility, social interactions, and behaviors, are important pillars of QOL and should be assessed in clinical and research settings for individuals living with dementia. The second study highlighted the importance of rigorously testing QOL instruments in order to provide accurate measurements when evaluating health concerns and impact of therapy. QOL measures can help researchers and healthcare providers obtain a comprehensive assessment of the individual they are treating. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Dementia is a disease that affects an individual’s thinking and memory and can affect one’s quality of life (QOL). Family caregivers have firsthand knowledge of their loved ones’ dementia progression and their needs. QOL questionnaires can be used to better understand the health and well-being of an individual who is living with dementia. For individuals with dementia these measures tell us how dementia is changing an individuals QOL over time and how effective the treatment is on their QOL. In this thesis, we explored caregivers’ perspectives on the behaviours and activities of the person living with dementia that should be assessed when monitoring symptom progression and impact of treatment on QOL. We found that domains related to difficulty with everyday activities, changes in mood and behaviour, cognitive difficulties and extrinsic factors are all important to assess when evaluating the impact of treatment on the individual living with dementia. We also reviewed studies that evaluated the measurement properties of QOL questionnaires in individuals living with dementia in the community. QOL questionnaires can be used to measure these outcomes, but there is mixed quality of evidence on the reliability and validity of QOL questionnaires in people living with dementia.

Yes / OBJECTIVE: Develop and validate a child and adolescent version of the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (CTFEQr17), and to assess its psychometric properties and factor structure. We also examined associations between the CTFEQr17 and body mass index (BMI) and food preferences. DESIGN: A two-phase approach was utilised, employing both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. SETTING: Primary and secondary schools, UK. SUBJECTS: In phase 1, 76 children (39 boys; mean age: 12.3±1.4 years) were interviewed to ascertain their understanding of the original TFEQr21 and to develop accessible and understandable items to create the CTFEQr17. In phase 2, 433 children (230 boys; mean age: 12.0±1.7 years) completed the CTFEQr17 and a food preference questionnaire, a subsample (n = 253; 131 boys) had their height and weight measured and 45 children (23 boys) were interviewed to determine their understanding of the CTFEQr17. RESULTS: The CTFEQr17 showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α=0.85) and the three factor structure was retained: cognitive restraint (CR), uncontrolled eating (UE) and emotional eating (EE). Qualitative data demonstrated a high level of understanding of the questionnaire (95%). A high CR was found to be significantly associated with a higher body weight, BMI and BMI percentile. High UE and EE scores were related to a preference for high fat savoury and high fat sweet foods. The relationships between CTFEQr17, anthropometry and food preference were stronger in girls compared to boys. CONCLUSIONS: The CTFEQr17 is a psychometrically sound questionnaire for use in children and adolescents, and is associated with anthropometric and food preference measures.

This dissertation explores the concept and development of metacognitive social justice through three manuscripts. The first manuscript defines metacognitive social justice through an extensive literature review from prominent social justice scholars and theorists to find common themes that either explicitly or subtly permeate social justice content. Drawing from theory and empirical data, the first manuscript provides a foundation of this cognitive process that is relatable to all social justice scholarship, defining cognitive common ground. The themes found across the literature can be distilled to four metacognitive attributes found in "social justice thinking": (1) self-awareness through consciousness-raising, (2) value in the narratives of others, (3) awareness of unseen forces, and (4) questioning historical origins or intents. The second manuscript is a qualitative analysis of the perception of self- proclaimed social justice thinkers, exploring how they define 'social justice thinking' and the role it plays in their daily choices and decision-making. Through thoroughly coded and analyzed transcripts of one-on-one, semi-structured interviews, this manuscript explores three other emergent themes of action, discomfort and community, as a well as the need for developing social justice thinkers, and highlights significant connections to the attributes in the first manuscript. The third manuscript is a detailed description of the development of the metacognitive social justice survey for college undergraduates, a psychometric instrument designed to measure the metacognitive social justice attributes in individuals described in the theoretical manuscript. The instrument was found to be increasing in quantitative validity through two exploratory factor analyzes (EFA) with still room for improvement. Drawing on the questions developed so far, a final version of this psychometric instrument will provide a snapshot of what metacognitive social justice attributes are found in undergraduate classes and potentially to what extent. This is the first edition of the instrument, with the idea that the instrument should be ever evolving, becoming more accurate and valid, and carefully reworded for different audiences beyond college undergraduates. / Ph. D. / The thought process of social justice scholarship is something that is often implied, but has yet been explicitly defined. This dissertation explores the concept and development of this thought process through three manuscripts. The first manuscript defines social justice thinking as metacognitive social justice through an extensive literature review to find common themes that permeate social justice content. The themes found across the literature can be distilled to four attributes found in “social justice thinking”: (a) self-awareness through consciousness-raising, (b) value in the narratives of others, (c) awareness of unseen forces, and (d) questioning historical origins or intents. The second manuscript explores the perceptions of self- proclaimed social justice thinkers, extracting what they define as “social justice thinking” and the role it plays in their daily choices and decision-making. This manuscript explores three other emergent themes of action, discomfort and community, as a well as the need for developing social justice thinkers. In addition, it highlights significant connections to the attributes in the first manuscript. The third manuscript is the development of an instrument designed to measure the attributes of metacognitive social justice described in the first manuscript. The goal of the instrument is to provide a snapshot of what metacognitive social justice attributes may be found in undergraduate classes. This is the first edition of the instrument, with the idea that the instrument will be ever evolving, becoming more accurate and valid, and carefully reworded for different audiences beyond college undergraduates.

Two concerns dominate speculation about the lack of progress in motivational disposition research. First, truly unique dispositional constructs have not been identified since wide acceptance of the approach / avoidance distinction. Second, research has largely neglected to account for context in models of motivated behavior. Effective avoidance has systematically been unassessed in motivation research. Social cognitive theory was used to define an effective avoidance motivational trait, vigilance, as an antecedent to effective regulatory behaviors that are avoidant in nature and/or strategy. Two studies were conducted: First, development and psychometric evaluation of a scale measuring vigilance within the existing motivational trait framework (Heggestad and Kanfer, 2000). Exploratory and confirmatory analyses provided initial validity evidence for the vigilance construct; composed of diligence and error-detection facets. Convergent – discriminant analysis revealed that vigilance is significantly related to approach and avoidance motivational constructs identifying two possible sources of contamination in self-report measures of motivational traits. Measurement items may be contaminated with implied outcomes and measurement items may be contaminated with generalized self-efficacy. In the second study, a within-subjects experiment tested the predictive validity of the vigilance measurement scale for task-specific self-efficacy and performance on a task that rewards avoidance-oriented strategies. Vigilance predicted prevention task-specific self-efficacy ( = .29) in one of two experimental conditions. The validation study also offered construct validity evidence for the vigilance construct. Implications and future directions are discussed. / Ph. D. / Motivation is defined as the force that energizes, directs, and maintains behavior. Researchers in the field of motivation continuously strive to understand individual differences in motivation levels (e.g., personality traits) and how those individual differences are related to task performance. Current consensus is that individuals differ on their levels of approach-oriented motivation (the motive to approach success) and/or avoidance-oriented motivation (the motive to avoid failure). Researchers tend to treat approach-oriented motivation as “good” and avoidanceoriented motivation as “bad”. The current study argues that, in a variety of contexts, avoidanceoriented motivation is actually good and that it leads to enhanced task performance. Thus, effective aspects of avoidance motivation were identified and used to define a new individual difference trait construct termed “vigilance”. Vigilance is defined as a predisposition for maintaining alertness, meticulousness, fastidiousness, and being heedful of overt warnings or obscure warning signs. Highly vigilant individuals are more likely to engage in careful planning, be good at error detection, and engage in safety-related behaviors. Results of this two-part study indicate that vigilance is a unique motivational trait construct and that it may be related to enhanced performance for some tasks. To the extent that vigilance is a valid motivational trait, it can be used to predict individual’s performance in on various tasks and help ensure that people are entered into jobs that they are likely to excel in. However, support for vigilance was mixed in these studies and further research is required.

The adaptation of existing psychometric data data-collection instruments are is often utilized utilised in cross-cultural research as an alternative to the development of a new data data-collection instrument for a particular population, as the latter may not always be a viable option. However, given the relative novelty of this practice, several authors call for further research in this practicefield. The research assistants’ subjective experience in the administration of culturally tailored psychometric data data-collection instruments in a South African context was identified as a silence gap in the body of literature under review. The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the experience of research assistants during the administration of culturally tailored psychometric data data-collection instruments in order to broadly inform the practice of psychometric data data-collection instrument adaptation and cross-cultural assessment broadly. This study adhered to the meta-theoretical paradigm of Constructivism, while the methodological paradigm of qualitative research was adopted. Furthermore, a qualitative content analysis research design was employed, with document analysis of two focus focus-group discussions as a data data-collection strategy. The data was analysed by means of a theme analysis of the datea. The study found that the research assistants of the Kgolo Mmogo project experienced difficulty with regard to the language and comprehension of certain items of the culturally tailored psychometric data data-collection instruments. Their experiences also indicated the presence of culturally inappropriate questions, the presence of contradicting responses during the administration of the instruments, as well as the phenomenon of participants providing what they perceived to be the ‘correct’ response. Furthermore, the findings from this study suggested that the research assistants experienced the culturally tailored psychometric data data-collection instrument to have an informative and educational value. It seemed to informthat mothers felt informed about their children’s development, while it also served as a tool for HIV/AIDS education. Finally, the findings of this study suggested that the research assistants sometimes experienced that the assessment to placed an emotional strain on them. Their experience of emotional strain was related to difficulty with regard to role definition, as well as dealing with the often unrealistic expectations of the participants. The research assistants furthermore seemed to experience difficulty in relating to the interview-participant relationship. However, it seemed as if the research assistants’ experience of the participants’ spirituality rendered provided some relieve relief from the emotional strain they experienced during the assessments. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

In psychology and other related fields, the study of meaning in life has shown a re-emergence of scientific interest (e.g. Hicks & King, 2009; Ho, Cheung & Cheung, 2010; Steger, Oishi & Kashdan, 2009; Wong, 2011). The recent increase in interest may be attributed to the links made to positive psychological and health outcomes, such as: psychological strengths, subjective well-being and hope amongst others (Diener, 2000; Diener & Ryan, 2009; Fredrickson, 2000; Snyder, 2002; Ungar, 2008, 2011). Research has also shown that a lack of meaning in life has been linked to negative psychological outcomes (Steger et al., 2006; Zika & Chaimberlain, 1992). Whilst authors agree that meaning in life is important the conceptualisation of meaningfulness has been conflicted (Auhagen, 2000). More recently Steger and his colleagues (2006) have conceptualised that meaning in life consists of two inter-dependent constructs; namely the presence of meaning in life and the search for meaning in life. The presence of meaning in life is defined as “the extent to which people comprehend, make sense of and see significance in their lives, accompanied by the degree to which they perceive themselves to have a purpose, mission or overarching aim in life”; and the search for meaning in life refers to the “degree to which people are trying to establish and/or augment their comprehension of meaning in life, significance and purpose” (Steger et al., 2006). Based on this conceptualisation Steger et al. (2006) have developed the MLQ (Meaning in Life Questionnaire) with two separate but interrelated constructs; the Presence of Meaning in life (5-items) and the Search for Meaning in life (5-items). The items of the measure are measured on a 7-point Likert-scale where participants are required to state their agreement with statements ranging from 1 (Absolutely untrue) to 7 (Absolutely true). The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (Steger et al., 2006) as a measure of the Search for and Presence of Meaning in life so as to validate the scale in an African context. In an endeavour to validate this scale a multicultural group of students from the North-West University in South Africa (n=326) recruited by their lecturers, completed a set of questionnaires. Most of the participants were female (n=243, 74.5%), while male participants made up 24.5% of the sample. The results of this study are in support of the scale’s reliability and validity in an African context. Confirmatory factor analysis confirms the goodness of fit of the scale. The two factor structure was favoured. In conclusion, future research should also investigate the measurement equivalence of the MLQ on the basis of language (see Hambleton & Zenisky, 2011; Van de Vijver & Leung, 2011). Measurement equivalence and item response theory studies may provide evidence on whether there are cross-cultural and language differences in how participants interpret and respond to the MLQ items. One might also assess relationships between meaning in life and positive functioning indicators in this sample. / MSc (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In psychology and other related fields, the study of meaning in life has shown a re-emergence of scientific interest (e.g. Hicks & King, 2009; Ho, Cheung & Cheung, 2010; Steger, Oishi & Kashdan, 2009; Wong, 2011). The recent increase in interest may be attributed to the links made to positive psychological and health outcomes, such as: psychological strengths, subjective well-being and hope amongst others (Diener, 2000; Diener & Ryan, 2009; Fredrickson, 2000; Snyder, 2002; Ungar, 2008, 2011). Research has also shown that a lack of meaning in life has been linked to negative psychological outcomes (Steger et al., 2006; Zika & Chaimberlain, 1992). Whilst authors agree that meaning in life is important the conceptualisation of meaningfulness has been conflicted (Auhagen, 2000). More recently Steger and his colleagues (2006) have conceptualised that meaning in life consists of two inter-dependent constructs; namely the presence of meaning in life and the search for meaning in life. The presence of meaning in life is defined as “the extent to which people comprehend, make sense of and see significance in their lives, accompanied by the degree to which they perceive themselves to have a purpose, mission or overarching aim in life”; and the search for meaning in life refers to the “degree to which people are trying to establish and/or augment their comprehension of meaning in life, significance and purpose” (Steger et al., 2006). Based on this conceptualisation Steger et al. (2006) have developed the MLQ (Meaning in Life Questionnaire) with two separate but interrelated constructs; the Presence of Meaning in life (5-items) and the Search for Meaning in life (5-items). The items of the measure are measured on a 7-point Likert-scale where participants are required to state their agreement with statements ranging from 1 (Absolutely untrue) to 7 (Absolutely true). The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (Steger et al., 2006) as a measure of the Search for and Presence of Meaning in life so as to validate the scale in an African context. In an endeavour to validate this scale a multicultural group of students from the North-West University in South Africa (n=326) recruited by their lecturers, completed a set of questionnaires. Most of the participants were female (n=243, 74.5%), while male participants made up 24.5% of the sample. The results of this study are in support of the scale’s reliability and validity in an African context. Confirmatory factor analysis confirms the goodness of fit of the scale. The two factor structure was favoured. In conclusion, future research should also investigate the measurement equivalence of the MLQ on the basis of language (see Hambleton & Zenisky, 2011; Van de Vijver & Leung, 2011). Measurement equivalence and item response theory studies may provide evidence on whether there are cross-cultural and language differences in how participants interpret and respond to the MLQ items. One might also assess relationships between meaning in life and positive functioning indicators in this sample. / MSc (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014