Although there appears to be increasing popularity in neuropsychology across disciplines of study, only modest work has been conducted with preschool and schoolage children. Changes in the structure of cognitive processes during early childhood and the extent of frontal lobe maturation are important to consider when conducting assessments with young children. Many neuropsychological theories, however, are based primarily on adult research (e.g., Luria’s theory) and respective assessment measures are often the extension or slight modification of items from adult assessments. Because adults and children differ on a number of neuropsychological measures, especially at younger ages, the same underlying constructs and interpretive strategies may not be appropriate for use with young children. The CAS and NEPSY are two assessment measures based on Luria’s theory; however, each posits a different conclusion regarding the number of factors that explain neuropsychological functioning in young children. Luria asserted that neuropsychological functioning is comprised of three functional units, while Naglieri and Das (e.g., CAS) suggested a four factor model, and the authors of the NEPSY declared a five factor model of functioning. Due to the emerging development of a child’s frontal lobes, and the inconsistency regarding the number of factors related to neuropsychological functioning in young children, this study examined the CAS and NEPSY using factor analyses and model fit indices to determine the underlying structural model(s). The study also examined the usefulness of combining specific subscales from the CAS, NEPSY, and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III (PPVT-III; Dunn & Dunn, 1997) to create a cross-battery approach to assessing neuropsychological functioning in young children. In addition to the CAS, NEPSY, and PPVT-III, data was obtained from the Behavioral Assessment System for Children (BASC; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1992), and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF; Gioia, Isquith, Guy, & Kenworthy, 2000) to gather background information and to assess parent and teacher ratings of behavioral and neuropsychological functioning.

The Taiwanese early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) system is modeled after the federal legislation and practices of the U.S., incorporating specific cultural beliefs in Taiwan. Nonetheless, in EI/ECSE assessments, several challenges are presented, including: (a) limited resources and funding, (b) lack of reliable and valid instruments, (c) lack of progress monitoring for at-risk children, (d) no (or limited) active role for caregivers as informants in the assessment administration process, and (e) lack of communication between parents and professionals. The Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Inventory (ASQ: Inventory) is a dual-purpose tool that can be completed by early childhood practitioners and parents for developmental screening and progress monitoring. This instrument is considered a potential solution for the challenges in Taiwanese EI/ECSE assessments. Thus, the ASQ: Inventory was translated into Traditional Chinese following rigorous procedures. Its technical adequacy, cultural appropriateness, and utility were investigated in this study. Results indicated that the Traditional Chinese ASQ: Inventory was an instrument with solid internal consistency and construct validity and that it was well accepted by parent and professional participants. The instrument was also able to document progress in children's skills measured in chronological age intervals. Additionally, items in each domain were dispersed across a wide range of difficulty levels. When comparing between the two language versions using item response theory modeling, most items demonstrated invariant response patterns between the English and Traditional Chinese ASQ: Inventory. At the sample level, Taiwanese children scored significantly higher than U.S. children in problem-solving and personal-social, whereas U.S. children scored significantly higher in fine motor at the ages of 36, 42, and 48 months. The findings of this initial investigation suggested that the Traditional Chinese ASQ: Inventory should continue to be studied with the Taiwanese population. This instrument may help accelerate the referral and identification process in EI/ECSE and promote the concept of caregiver-completed assessments. By completing the questionnaire, caregivers may have increased awareness of child development and will be able to closely oversee a child's progress and focus on strengths in his/her learning profile. Future studies should focus on studying the technical adequacy of this instrument and exploring the development of a computerized ASQ: Inventory system.

This study explores whakapapa as a tool, which can be used as a kaupapa Māori assessment framework in early childhood education, positioning kaupapa Māori theory as a paradigm base underpinning a philosophical and theoretical discourse towards assessment for children's learning. This thesis represents the culmination of a personal and professional journey, derived from the writer's longstanding interest in and commitment to kaupapa Māori early childhood education, and more specifically, philosophies and practices for assessment in this context. The study has canvassed a vast terrain of kaupapa Māori philosophy in its search for a theoretical grounding for a kaupapa Māori assessment framework for early childhood education. Foundation to the study has been the premise that the notion of whakapapa serves as an overarching philosophical matrix, encompassing the interconnected realms of genealogy, spirituality, and knowledge that precede, surround, and embrace the Māori child. Throughout the thesis, diagrams are employed to demonstrate and model the whakapapa underpinning the conceptualisations being explored. After contextualising the study within a historical overview of the impact of colonisation of kaupapa Māori education and research, it is suggested that a re-examination of key concepts from tikanga Māori will illuminate transformative possibilities applicable to the study's focus on the development of a theoretical base for an assessment tool within kaupapa Māori early childhood settings. Drawing from the literature, the thesis re-positions the view of the Māori child to one of being nurtured within a philosophical construct underpinned and immersed in tikanga such as whakapapa, ira tangata, whanaungatanga, mana and tapu, and ako, providing a strongly Māori theoretical base for the envisioning of the assessment process. The outcome of this study is to propose an assessment framework, which embodies and reflects these core kaupapa Māori philosophies as praxis.

Teacher perspectives and judgments of students' race and gender are known to influence their assessment of primary and secondary students' academic achievements. However, little is known about the effect on children's academic achievement of preschool teacher perspectives and judgments of students' race and gender, which forms the basis for this study. The purpose of this study was to analyze teacher assessment of preschool children's mathematics and science skills on the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP) and Teacher Strategies GOLD (TSG), along with teacher comments written in preparation for each child's parent-teacher conference, to determine if there was a relationship between preschool teachers' assessment and comments and the race and gender of the child. Wason's theory of confirmation bias formed the theoretical foundation of this study. The research questions addressed the relationship between preschool teacher assessments recorded on the DRDP and TSG regarding children's mathematics and science skill and teacher comments coded from Racasens linguistic model and those children's race and gender. Archival data from 2 Head Start centers in a western and southwestern state were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test, and the point-biserial Pearson correlation. The Mann-Whitney U test found no statistically significant differences in DRDP and TSG scores by students' race and gender. The point-biserial Pearson correlation found no statistically significant correlation between race or gender and teacher comments. This study contributes to positive social change by confirming observational assessments to be free from teacher bias, supporting their continued use with preschool children to promote their learning and development.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-10-19T12:01:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Mônica Andrigo Moreira de Ulhoa Coelho.pdf: 2869552 bytes, checksum: e62b5c2bb3ae86f54aac6a298dd0f093 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-19T12:01:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mônica Andrigo Moreira de Ulhoa Coelho.pdf: 2869552 bytes, checksum: e62b5c2bb3ae86f54aac6a298dd0f093 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-09-29 / Fundação São Paulo - FUNDASP / The subject of this master´s dissertation is related to early childhood and resilience in infants (four weeks to 18 months old) and toddlers (18 to 36 months old). The study aimed at translating into Portuguese and transculturally adapting the early childhood assessment for infants and toddlers named ―Devereux Early Childhood Assessment for Infants and Toddlers‖ (DECA I/T), developed by Gregg Powell, Mary Mackrain and Paul LeBuffe, owned by The Devereux Foundation, edited and published by Kaplan Early Learning Corporation in 2007. DECA I/T assessment measures the social and emotional protective factors (attachment/relationship, initiative and self-regulation) to evaluate and indicate the strength of such factors in infants and toddlers. For the translation and transcultural adaptation of the assessment, the guidelines of Hambleton and Patsula (1998) and Souza and Rojjanasrirat (2010) were generally used. The procedure consisted of the following steps: (a) translation of the original instrument in English into Portuguese by two Brazilian, bilingual, independent translators, being one of them a sworn-translator, both of them familiarized with the Brazilian and American cultures, and without knowledge in Psychology; (b) comparison and consolidation of both translated versions by the researcher, who acted as a third translator, and review of the synthetized version; (c) back-translation of the consolidated version in Portuguese into English by another American, bilingual, independent translator, fluent in Portuguese, familiarized with the Brazilian and American cultures and not working in the Psychology area, followed by review and approval of the final version of the assessment in Portuguese by an Expert Committee; (d) application of the Portuguese final version in a pilot project. The translated DECA I was applied to and responded by 13 evaluators (six mothers, one grandmother, one father and five nursery caregivers of infants). A total of 12 infants were evaluated (one of them was evaluated by the father and the nursery caregiver). The translated DECA T was applied to and responded by 13 evaluators (six mothers, one grandmother, two room assistants, two educators e two teachers of toddlers). A total of 19 toddlers were evaluated (two room assistants evaluated two toddlers each, two educators evaluated three toddlers each, and two teachers evaluated three toddlers each). After application of the pilot project, the translation into Portuguese of DECA I/T was considered culturally adapted and apt for future validation / O tema da dissertação de mestrado é ligado à primeira infância e à resiliência em bebês (de quatro semanas a 18 meses de idade) e crianças (de 18 a 36 meses de idade). O objetivo do trabalho foi traduzir para o português e realizar a adaptação transcultural da escala de avaliação da primeira infância para bebês e crianças denominada Devereux Early Childhood Assessment for Infants and Toddlers (DECA I/T), criada e desenvolvida por Gregg Powell, Mary Mackrain e Paul LeBuffe, detida pela The Devereux Foundation, editada e publicada por Kaplan Early Learning Corporation em 2007. A escala DECA I/T mede os fatores de proteção sociais e emocionais (apego/relacionamento, iniciativa e autorregulação) para avaliar e indicar a força desses fatores em bebês e crianças. Para realização da tradução e adaptação transcultural foram utilizadas, em linhas gerais, as diretrizes e orientações de Hambleton e Patsula (1998) e Souza e Rojjanasrirat (2010). O procedimento consistiu das seguintes etapas: (a) tradução do instrumento original em inglês para o português por duas tradutoras brasileiras independentes e bilíngues, sendo uma delas juramentada, ambas familiarizadas com a cultura brasileira e americana e sem conhecimento em psicologia; (b) comparação e unificação das duas versões traduzidas pela pesquisadora, que atuou como terceira tradutora, e revisão da versão unificada; (c) retrotradução da versão unificada para o inglês por outro tradutor independente bilíngue, estadunidense, fluente em português, familiarizado com a cultura brasileira e a americana e não atuante na área de psicologia, seguida de revisão e aprovação da versão final da escala em português por Comitê de Especialistas; (d) aplicação da versão final em português em um projeto piloto. A DECA I traduzida foi aplicada e respondida por 13 avaliadores (seis mães, uma avó, um pai e cinco berçaristas de bebês). No total foram avaliados 12 bebês, sendo um deles avaliado pelo pai e pela berçarista. A DECA T foi aplicada e respondida por 13 avaliadores (seis mães, uma avó, duas assistentes de sala, duas educadoras e duas professoras de crianças). No total foram avaliadas 19 crianças, pois duas assistentes de sala avaliaram duas crianças cada, duas educadoras avaliaram, cada uma, três crianças, e duas professoras avaliaram, cada uma, três crianças. Após a aplicação do projeto piloto, a tradução para o português da DECA I/T foi considerada culturalmente adaptada e apta para futura validação

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