Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-18T21:11:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 Carolina Thiaru Kuriyama1.pdf: 1706540 bytes, checksum: 669cf1eef65a291125a647657e7377ed (MD5) Carolina Thiaru Kuriyama2.pdf: 1339277 bytes, checksum: 9c402b76dc92189c7b078d999a592483 (MD5) Carolina Thiaru Kuriyama3.pdf: 907703 bytes, checksum: c1000ca2a132abf388b65df1f2f150ce (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-01-22 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / During the last decades the number of transcultural researches has been increasing. This growth created the need of developing worldwide assessment tools. Consequently, specific models for translation and adaptation have been created to standardize these procedures, such as International Tests Guidelines. The translation followed by specific steps, allow assessment of the same phenomenon, as literacy ability, in other cultures. Researches that use Literacy Assessment Test (BALE) have been showing efficacy in assessing literacy of Brazilian listeners and deaf students, so, it can be used as a diagnostic method of assessment for Brazilian children in Japan with literacy problems. The aim of the present work is to translate and culturally adapt BALE to hiragana. With this purpose the steps of the International Test Guidelines were followed. During the pilot project sixty Brazilian students from the first four initial grades in a public school in Japan were assessed. The children were assessed using the computerized versions of Silent Reading Competence Test of Word (TECOLESI), Sentence Reading Comprehension Test (TCSE) and Sentence Listening Comprehension Test (TCSF) in hiragana, the Non-Verbal Intelligence Test (TONI) and the Peabody Imaging Vocabulary Test (PPVT). The children were assessed in the classroom groups inside their school, the assessment took two sessions of one hour each. The results showed significance in the correlations for the three BALE tests in hiragana and the intelligence test and the vocabulary one. The hiragana versions of the TECOLESI and TCSE have shown similar patterns to Brazilian listeners and deaf, as well as German listeners. These results show evidence on the validity of BALE in hiragana and they made possible the development new version of the test. / Nas últimas duas décadas houve um grande aumento no número de pesquisas transculturais. Tal crescimento tem criado a necessidade de desenvolvimento de instrumentos de medidas mais universais. Conseqüentemente, modelos específicos para tradução e adaptação cultural de testes têm sido criados a fim padronizar esses procedimentos, tal como as Diretrizes Internacionais de Testes. A tradução quando seguida de etapas criteriosas, permite avaliar o mesmo fenômeno em outra cultura, como a habilidade de leitura e escrita. Pesquisas utilizando a Bateria de Avaliação de Leitura e Escrita (BALE) têm mostrado eficácia na avaliação de leitura e escrita de ouvintes e surdos brasileiros, podendo ser um instrumento eficaz no diagnóstico de dificuldade de leitura em crianças brasileiras no Japão com problemas de alfabetização. O objetivo deste trabalho foi traduzir e adaptar culturalmente a BALE para o hiragana. Para isto, foram seguidas as etapas das Diretrizes Internacionais de Testes. O teste piloto contou com setenta crianças brasileiras das quatro séries iniciais do Ensino Fundamental, de uma escola pública no Japão. As crianças foram avaliadas, na versão computadorizada do Teste de Competência de Leitura de Palavras (TECOLESI), Teste de Compreensão de Sentenças Escritas (TCSE) e Teste de Compreensão de Sentenças Falada (TCSF) em hiragana, o Teste de Inteligência Não-Verbal (TONI) e o Teste de Vocabulário por Imagens Peabody (PPVT). Foram feitas aplicações coletivas na sala de informática do próprio colégio, em duas sessões de uma hora cada. Os resultados mostraram correlações positivas e significativas entre os três testes da BALE em hiragana e os testes de inteligência e de vocabulário. As versões em hiragana do TECOLESI e o TCSE mostraram padrões de respostas semelhantes aos de escolares ouvintes e surdos brasileiros, bem como de ouvintes alemães. Tais resultados apontam para evidências de validade externa da BALE em hiragana e possibilitaram a criação de uma nova versão do teste.

Differential item functioning (DIF) is present when examinees who have the same level of a trait have a different probability of correctly answering a test item intended to measure that trait (Shepard & Averill, 1981). The following study is a DIF analysis of the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI), a preference profiling instrument developed by Herrmann International to help individuals identify their dominant preferences and then classify their level of dominance into four preference quadrants. Examinees who completed the American English version of the instrument were classified as the reference group and examinees of the International English version were classified as the focal group. Out of 105 items, 11 were manifesting a large amount of DIF and were flagged for further review. The POLYSIBTEST procedure was used to carry out the DIF analysis. POLYSIBTEST is an extension of the SIBTEST procedure, which is a conceptually simple method for analyzing DIF that uses a latent trait measure rather than an observed total score. The latent trait measure helps detect both uniform and nonuniform DIF and the POLYSIBTEST procedure is used for both dichotomous and polytomous items. Each of the four preference quadrants were analyzed separately to reduce incorrect findings as a result of ipsative scoring. The process used to complete the DIF analysis was documented so that additional language groups may be analyzed by Herrmann International.

<p>The diversity embodying South Africa has emphasized the importance and influence of language in education and thus the additive bilingual programme is being implemented in the Eastern Cape by the ABLE project in order to realize the South African Language in education policy (LEiP). In accordance with this, the Woodcock Munoz Language Survey (which specializes in measuring cognitive academic language proficiency) was chosen as one of the instruments to evaluate the language outcomes of the programme and was adapted into South African English and isiXhosa. The current study was a subset of the ABLE project, and was located within the bigger project dealing with the translation of the WMLS into isiXhosa and the successive research on the equivalence of the two language versions. This study evaluated the structural equivalence of the English and isiXhosa versions of the WMLS on matched sample groups (n= 150 in each language group). Thus secondary data analysis (SDA) was conducted by analyzing the data in SPSS as well as CEFA (Comprehensive Exploratory Factor Analysis). The original data set was purposively sampled according to set selection criteria and consists of English and isiXhosa first language learners. The study sought to confirm previous research by cross-validating the results of structural equivalence on two subscales, namely the Verbal Analogies (VA) and Letter-Word Identification (LWI) subscale. The research design reflects psychometric test theory and is therefore located in a bias and equivalence theoretical framework. The results of the exploratory factor analysis found that one can only accept structural equivalence in the first factor identified in the VA subscale, while structural equivalence was found in the factor for the LWI subscale. The use of scatter-plots to validate the results of the exploratory factor analysis indicated that one can tentatively accept these results. The study thus contributed to the literature on the translation of the WMLS, and the adaptation of language tests into the indigenous languages of South Africa,as well as additive bilingual programmes.</p>

<p>The diversity embodying South Africa has emphasized the importance and influence of language in education and thus the additive bilingual programme is being implemented in the Eastern Cape by the ABLE project in order to realize the South African Language in education policy (LEiP). In accordance with this, the Woodcock Munoz Language Survey (which specializes in measuring cognitive academic language proficiency) was chosen as one of the instruments to evaluate the language outcomes of the programme and was adapted into South African English and isiXhosa. The current study was a subset of the ABLE project, and was located within the bigger project dealing with the translation of the WMLS into isiXhosa and the successive research on the equivalence of the two language versions. This study evaluated the structural equivalence of the English and isiXhosa versions of the WMLS on matched sample groups (n= 150 in each language group). Thus secondary data analysis (SDA) was conducted by analyzing the data in SPSS as well as CEFA (Comprehensive Exploratory Factor Analysis). The original data set was purposively sampled according to set selection criteria and consists of English and isiXhosa first language learners. The study sought to confirm previous research by cross-validating the results of structural equivalence on two subscales, namely the Verbal Analogies (VA) and Letter-Word Identification (LWI) subscale. The research design reflects psychometric test theory and is therefore located in a bias and equivalence theoretical framework. The results of the exploratory factor analysis found that one can only accept structural equivalence in the first factor identified in the VA subscale, while structural equivalence was found in the factor for the LWI subscale. The use of scatter-plots to validate the results of the exploratory factor analysis indicated that one can tentatively accept these results. The study thus contributed to the literature on the translation of the WMLS, and the adaptation of language tests into the indigenous languages of South Africa,as well as additive bilingual programmes.</p>

The diversity embodying South Africa has emphasized the importance and influence of language in education and thus the additive bilingual programme is being implemented in the Eastern Cape by the ABLE project in order to realize the South African Language in education policy (LEiP).In accordance with this, the Woodcock Munoz Language Survey (which specializes in measuring cognitive academic language proficiency) was chosen as one of the instruments to evaluate the language outcomes of the programme and was adapted into South African English and isiXhosa.The current study was a subset of the ABLE project, and was located within the bigger project dealing with the translation of the WMLS into isiXhosa and the successive research on the equivalence of the two language versions. This study evaluated the structural equivalence of the English and isiXhosa versions of the WMLS on matched sample groups (n= 150 in each language group). Thus secondary data analysis (SDA) was conducted by analyzing the data in SPSS as well as CEFA (Comprehensive Exploratory Factor Analysis). The original data set was purposively sampled according to set selection criteria and consists of English and isiXhosa first language learners. The study sought to confirm previous research by cross-validating the results of structural equivalence on two subscales, namely the Verbal Analogies (VA) and Letter-Word Identification (LWI) subscale. The research design reflects psychometric test theory and is therefore located in a bias and equivalence theoretical framework. The results of the exploratory factor analysis found that one can only accept structural equivalence in the first factor identified in the VA subscale, while structural equivalence was found in the factor for the LWI subscale.The use of scatter-plots to validate the results of the exploratory factor analysis indicated that one can tentatively accept these results. The study thus contributed to the literature on the translation of the WMLS, and the adaptation of language tests into the indigenous languages of South Africa,as well as additive bilingual programmes. / Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych)

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / In many countries defined by multilingualism, language has been identified as a great influence during psychological and educational testing. In South Africa (SA), factors such as changes in policies and social inequalities also influence testing. Literature supports the translation and adaptation of tests used in such contexts in order to avoid bias caused by language. Different language versions of tests then need to be evaluated for equivalence, to ensure that scores across the different language versions have the same meaning. Differences in dialects may also impact on the results of such tests.Results of an isiXhosa version of the Woodcock Muñoz Language Survey (WMLS),which is a test used to measure isiXhosa learners’ language proficiency, show significant mean score differences on the test scores across rural and urban firstlanguage speakers of isiXhosa. These results have indicated a possible problem regarding rural and urban dialects during testing. This thesis evaluates the item bias of the subtests in this version of the WMLS across rural and urban isiXhosa learners. This was accomplished by evaluating the reliability and item characteristics for group differences, and by evaluating differential item functioning across these two groups on the subtests of the WMLS. The sample in this thesis comprised of 260 isiXhosa learners from the Eastern Cape Province in grade 6 and grade 7, both males and females. This sample was collected in two phases: (1) secondary data from 49 rural and 133 urban isiXhosa learners was included in the sample; (2) adding to the secondary data, a primary data collection from 78 rural isiXhosa learners was made to equalise the two sample groups. All ethical considerations were included in this thesis. The results were surprising and unexpected. Two of the subtests in the WMLS showed evidence of scalar equivalence as only a few items were identified as problematic. However, two of the subtests demonstrated more problematic items. These results mean that two subtests of the WMLS that demonstrated evidence of scalar equivalence can be used to measure the construct of language proficiency, while the other two sub-tests that showed problematic items need to be further investigated, as the responses given by learners on these items seem to be determined by their group membership and not by their ability.