M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / The picturesque landscape of South Africa is woven by the rich threads of diverse languages, cultures and beliefs. Despite the inherent differences of the different groups in this country, a common golden thread lies in the imparting of knowledge, values and beliefs from one generation to the next. This is often done formally, in the school environment, where children learn, develop and grow. The potential of children should be harnessed in an environment that is conducive to maximising the strengths and minimising their weaknesses. One domain is in the psychological testing arena where children’s cognitive abilities are assessed. The Junior South African Individual Scale (JSAIS) as an assessment measure is currently being used by psychologists despite the last norming having taken place in 1984 and the norms not being representative of the South African population. In an endeavour to transition from the past monolingual and monocultural practices, the JSAIS has been translated into isiZulu to eliminate any possible language barriers to participants. However, it is evident that translating tests is a risky procedure and every effort should be made to adhere to criteria proposed by the International Test Commission (ITC) to minimise cultural bias. One such way, is to thoroughly investigate the psychometric qualities of translated tests. The participants of the research are children in the Grade 1 isiZulu class at school in Soweto where research is being conducted. This longitudinal research project is a collaborative effort between the University of Basel, Switzerland and the Centre for Education Practice Research (CEPR) at the University of Johannesburg. The aim of this study was to apply a Rasch Analysis to the Numerical Intelligence Quotient Eight (NUM Scale) of an isiZulu translation of the Junior South African Individual Scales (JSAIS) to determine the quality of the items in relation to the ability of participants in the sample group. As an exploratory, quantitative study, the findings suggest that the JSAIS has some strong psychometric properties and that adaptation, translation and renorming of the test should be conducted in future studies. The findings of this study show that the data generated varied in its fit of the Rasch Model. While findings confirm that the numerical subtests of the Number and Quantity are valid measures of the construct for which it was designed, it is recommended that further studies be conducted into the equivalence of the isiZulu translated JSAIS, the further testing of larger samples of participants and the reduction of cultural loading on items. The information gleaned from this study regarding the misfitting of items, item difficulty and overlapping should also be considered to enhance the quality of this test and thereby maintaining the tenets of our new, modern democracy in South Africa.

Some text in Zulu / Psychology of Education / M. Ed.