The purpose of this research was threefold: 1) to develop empirically sound measures of classroom interaction including self-report and behavioral assessment instruments, 2) to test a proposed interactional model of classroom interaction patterns by conducting behavioral observations of college classrooms, and 3) to assess for gender inequity at the post-secondary level. In Study 1, two instruments were developed to tap students' self-report of classroom climate and instructors' sensitivity to gender and cultural issues. Several test administrations of the student self-report measure, the Classroom Atmosphere Questionnaire (CAQ), demonstrated the instrument to be valid and reliable for assessing student appraisal of their classroom environment. The CAQ also evidenced good internal consistency, high test-retest reliability, and the ability to discriminate between classrooms. Furthermore, clear factor structures emerged when factor analyses were performed over multiple administrations. The Instructor Sensitivity Questionnaire (ISQ) was developed to measure the degree to which instructors are sensitive to cultural and gender issues in the classroom. The ISQ was found to be internally consistent, to discriminate between instructors, and to predict perceived classroom environment. Using the instruments developed in Study 1, a behavioral assessment of classroom interactions was carried out which included 24 classrooms from 8 different university departments. In order to examine classroom interaction patterns thoroughly and to provide support for the proposed model, Study 2 included the assessment of several independent and dependent variables such as instructor and student sex, instructor sensitivity to gender/race issues, class size, student volunteering, student hand-raising, instructor calling on students and student perceptions of their classroom environment. A behavioral assessment instrument was developed to assess various dimensions of college classroom interactions and evidenced strong inter-rater reliability. The results from study 2 provide support for the proposed model as several instructor, student and classroom environment variables influenced classroom interaction patterns. Finally, the results indicated that there was no evidence of gender inequity in the classrooms observed. Male and female students evidenced no differences in their classroom interaction behaviors and were not interacted with differentially based on their sex. / Ph. D.

Psykisk ohälsa är ett stort folkhälsoproblem i Sverige. Ångestsyndrom drabbar cirka 25% av befolkningen och årligen begår cirka 1100 personer suicid. Ambulanssjuksköterska har en bred kompetens gällande somatiska åkommor men i grund- och specialistutbildningen läggs liten vikt på psykisk ohälsa. Detta kan medföra att patienter med psykisk ohälsa ej bedöms och vårdas optimalt. Sahlgrenska Universitetssjukhus genomförde 1 oktober – 31 december 2015 ett projekt, Prehospital Psykiatrisk Resurs (PPR). Projektet innebar att en bedömningsbil, normalt enkelbemannad av en ambulanssjuksköterska, bemannades med en psykiatrisjuksköterska och en ambulanssjuksköterska. Psykiatrisjuksköterskan har triagerat patienterna med hjälp av psykRETTS och alla patienter inom projektet har sorterats utifrån symtom enigt Emergency Symtoms and Signs (ESS) och vitalparametrar. Denna enhet tilldelades ärenden där larmcentralen misstänkte att det förekom  psykisk ohälsa. Syftet var att beskriva de psykiatriuppdrag enheten larmades ut på utifrån patientkarakteristiska, symtom och diagnos samt beskriva omhändertagandet som gavs av PPRsjuksköterskan. Under studiens period bedömdes 91 patienter, 46% lämnades hemma, med eller utan hänvisning till annan vårdinstans, och 54% transporterades till slutenvården.  Det är en relativ ung population i denna patientgrupp och majoriteten av patienterna var kvinnor. Flertalet har haft kontakt med psykiatrin tidigare och hälften har en psykiatrisk diagnos.  Ångest, suicidbedömning och missbruk var de vanligaste ESSkoderna. En minoritet av patienterna fick en fullständig bedömning av sitt somatiska tillstånd. Resultatet tyder på att ångest är en vanlig anledning till att söka akut hjälp. Förslag på utbildningsinsatser inom prehospital akutsjukvård gällande psykisk ohälsa kan bestå av utökade behandlingsriktlinjer (läkemedel), introduktion av bedömningsinstrument, t.ex. suicidstegen, samt införande av vårdkedjor för att slussa patienterna till rätt hjälp. / Mental illness is a major public health problem in Sweden. Anxiety disorder affects approximately 25% of the population and every year about 1100 people commit suicide. An Ambulance nurse has a broad expertise concerning somatic complaints, but the basic and specialized training dedicats just a small part on mental health. This can lead to that patients with mental disorders are stigmatized. Sahlgrenska Universitetssjukhus preformed during October 1th until December 31th 2015 a project call Prehospital Psykiatrisk Resurs (PPR). The project meant that a assessmentcar which normally is manned with a single ambulance nurse, now were manned by a specialist trained psychiatric nurse and an ambulance nurse. The psychiatric nurse has triacted the patients using psykRETTS and all the patients have been sorted out by their symptoms , acccording to the Emergency Symtoms and Signs (ESS) and vital parameters. This unit was assigned with cases where the emergency call centre suspected existence of mental illness. The purpose was to describe which missions that the unit was sent on where patient had characteristic symptoms of mental dissorder, describe the diagnosis and the disposal which the PPR-nurse used. During the project were 91 patient assessed, 46% of these were left at home with or without no further information, 54% were transported to closed care. The population of the project were relatively young and the majority was women. Most of the patients had had former contact with the psychiatry care before and half had a psychiatric diagnosis. Anxiety, suicide assessment and alcohol and drug abuse were the most common ESScodes. The result indicates that anxiety is a common reason to seak emergency care. Training programs regarding mental illness can be done thorough expanded treatment guidelines, the introduction of assessment instruments and increase delegation of drugs.

Acredita-se que, por meio da utilização de instrumentos simplificados e objetivos, será possível responder quais estilos, modelos ou teorias de liderança estão mais presentes na realidade brasileira, bem como sensibilizar os profissionais de saúde e enfermeiros para a adoção de um estilo transformador, participativo e motivador. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar as evidências disponíveis na literatura sobre a utilização de instrumentos para a avaliação da liderança, nos serviços de saúde e enfermagem, tomando por base as publicações em periódicos nacionais e internacionais, nos últimos dez anos. Trata-se de uma Revisão Integrativa da Literatura que buscou respostas para a seguinte pergunta: \"Quais instrumentos são empregados para avaliar a liderança em serviços de saúde e enfermagem?\". A busca foi realizada em quatro bases de dados: Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde, Public MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, e Excerpta Medica Database-Embase. Para este estudo, foi selecionado um total de 38 artigos publicados em português, inglês e espanhol, entre os anos de 2006 a 2016. Para a extração dos dados, se fez uso de um instrumento validado. A análise de dados foi descritiva e apresentada em quatro categorias: 1) Desenvolvimento da liderança, com 06 estudos primários, 2) Desenvolvimento da liderança a partir da elaboração ou adaptação de ferramentas de avaliação, com 12 estudos primários; 3)Relações entre liderança e impacto na equipe, com 08 estudos primários; 4) Relações entre liderança e saúde, satisfação no trabalho e bem-estar dos profissionais, com 12 estudos primários. Os resultados apresentaram uma variedade de instrumentos de avaliação em liderança. Dentre as várias ferramentas utilizadas para medir liderança, foram encontrados nesta revisão integrativa 19 instrumentos para avaliação da liderança: o Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ), o Charismatic Leadership Socialized Scale, o Clinical Leadership Survey (CLS), a ferramenta Coaching, a Escala de Atitudes frente a Estilos de Liderança, a Ferramenta 360º, a Global Transformational Leadership Scale, o Grid Gerencial, o Leadership Effectiveness and Adaptability Description (LEAD), o LMX-Leader-member Exchange, o Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI), o Leadership Reward and Punishment Behavior Questionnaire (LRPQ), o Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), Multisource feedback tool (MSF), o instrumento de Liderança Quantum, o Servant Leadership Questionnaire (SLQ), Servant Leadership Survey (SLS), Survey of Transformational Leadership (STL), o Transformational Leadership Inventory (TLI). As teorias/modelos/estilos de lideranças que apareceram neste estudo foram: a Liderança Transformacional e Transacional, a Liderança Situacional, a Liderança Servidora, a Liderança Autêntica, a Liderança Quantum ou Liderança quântica, a Liderança Carismática e a Liderança Clínica. Ao serem analisadas as categorias, observou-se que os instrumentos são aplicados com propostas de programas para o desenvolvimento em liderança, e que estes demonstraram influenciar significativamente o comportamento dos líderes. Sobre o impacto da liderança entre a equipe e o ambiente de trabalho, a saúde, a satisfação no trabalho e o bem-estar dos profissionais, se destacaram a liderança transformacional, a liderança servidora e a liderança autêntica. A pesquisa na literatura viabilizou a identificação das principais teorias, estilos e modelos de liderança contemporâneos e a análise de sua utilização na construção de instrumentos de avaliação da liderança / It is believed that through the use of simplified and objective instruments, it wil l be possible to answer which styles, models or theories of leadership are more present in the Brazilian reality, as well as to sensitize health professionals and nurses for adoption of a transformer, participative and motivating style. The aim of this study was to analyze the available evidence in the literature on the use of instruments for the evaluation of leadership in health services and nursing, on the basis of publications in national and international journals in the last ten years. It is an Integrative Literature Review that sought answers to the following question: \"What instruments are used to evaluate leadership in health and nursing services?\". The search was conducted in four databases: Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences, Public MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health and Excerpta Medica Database. For this study, has selected a total of 38 articles published in Portuguese, English and Spanish, from 2006 to 2016. For the data extraction was used a validated instrument. The data analysis was descriptive and presented in four categories: 1) Leadership development with 06 primary studies; 2) Leadership development from the elaboration or adaptation of evaluation tools with 12 primary studies; 3) Relationships between leadership and impact on the team with 08 primary studies; 4) Relationships between leadership and health, job satisfaction and well-being of professionals with 12 primary studies. The results presented a variety of instruments of leadership assessment . Among the various tools used to measure leadership were found in this Integrative Review nineteen leadership assessment tools: the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ), the Charismatic Leadership Socialized Scale, the Clinical Leadership Survey (CLS), the Coaching tool, the Leadership Styles Attitude Scale, the 360 Tool, Global Transformational Leadership Scale, the Management Grid, Leadership Effectiveness and Adaptability Description (LEAD), LMX-Leader-member Exchange, Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI), Leadership Reward and Punishment Behavior Questionnaire (LRPQ), Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) , The Multisource feedback tool (MSF), the Quantum Leadership Instrument, the Servant Leadership Questionnaire (SLQ), the Transformational Leadership Survey (TLS), the Survey of Transformational Leadership (STL). The theories / models / styles of leadership that appeared in this study were: Transformational and Transational Leadership, Situational Leadership, Servant Leadership, Authentic Leadership, Quantum Leadership, Charismatic Leadership and Clinical Leadership. Some studies did not present theoretical models as reference. When analyzing the categories, it was observed that the instruments are applied together with proposals of programs for the development in leadership, and that these have demonstrated to influence significantly the behavior of the leaders. On the impact of leadership among staff and the work environment, health, job satisfaction and the well-being of professionals, the transformational leadership, the leadership leadership and authentic leadership stood out. The literature search allowed the identification of the main theories, styles and models of contemporary leadership and the analysis of their use in the construction of leadership assessment tools

<p>It has been suggested that persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) manifest the full range of mental health problems. The main purpose of this thesis is to adapt and evaluate two clinical assessment instruments and to investigate the occurrence of mental health problems as well as psychiatric care utilisation in persons with ID. </p><p>The psychometric properties of a Swedish version of the two instruments [Reiss Screen for Maladaptive Behaviour (RSMB) and the Psychopathology Inventory for Mentally Retarded Adults (PIMRA)] were investigated in a random, institutional and clinical sample of administratively defined (ADDEF) adults with ID (n = 199). The analyses suggest that the RSMB could be used as intended by staff as a primary screening device for the identification of mental health problems in persons with ID, and that the PIMRA had a potential to identify individuals with a specific mental disorder. The psychometric evaluation reveals that the Swedish versions of the RSMB and PIMRA measure a construct related to the diagnostic categories in the DSM-III-R and DSM-IV. This construct could be conceptualised as mental health problems.</p><p>The RSMB and PIMRA results show that the overall occurrence of mental health problems in ADDEF samples of persons with ID (175 men and 148 women) ranged from 34 to 64%.</p><p>The preliminary level of ID was mild (23%), moderate (39%) and severe (38%). The most common mental health problems were aggressive and self-injurious behaviours, depression, anxiety and adjustment disorders. In registered patients receiving out- or in-patient psychiatric care the occurrence of adults with an ICD-10 diagnosis of ID was approximately 1% (70 to 90% had a mild level of ID). </p><p>In contrast to the high frequency of mental health problems reported, psychiatric care was used infrequently. This tendency is particularly evident in persons with moderate and severe ID.</p>

It has been suggested that persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) manifest the full range of mental health problems. The main purpose of this thesis is to adapt and evaluate two clinical assessment instruments and to investigate the occurrence of mental health problems as well as psychiatric care utilisation in persons with ID. The psychometric properties of a Swedish version of the two instruments [Reiss Screen for Maladaptive Behaviour (RSMB) and the Psychopathology Inventory for Mentally Retarded Adults (PIMRA)] were investigated in a random, institutional and clinical sample of administratively defined (ADDEF) adults with ID (n = 199). The analyses suggest that the RSMB could be used as intended by staff as a primary screening device for the identification of mental health problems in persons with ID, and that the PIMRA had a potential to identify individuals with a specific mental disorder. The psychometric evaluation reveals that the Swedish versions of the RSMB and PIMRA measure a construct related to the diagnostic categories in the DSM-III-R and DSM-IV. This construct could be conceptualised as mental health problems. The RSMB and PIMRA results show that the overall occurrence of mental health problems in ADDEF samples of persons with ID (175 men and 148 women) ranged from 34 to 64%. The preliminary level of ID was mild (23%), moderate (39%) and severe (38%). The most common mental health problems were aggressive and self-injurious behaviours, depression, anxiety and adjustment disorders. In registered patients receiving out- or in-patient psychiatric care the occurrence of adults with an ICD-10 diagnosis of ID was approximately 1% (70 to 90% had a mild level of ID). In contrast to the high frequency of mental health problems reported, psychiatric care was used infrequently. This tendency is particularly evident in persons with moderate and severe ID.

The purpose of this essay has been to answer the question of whether or not administrators of economic support perceive that their professional status is ranked lower than that of their coworkers in other fields of the social services. We set out to study whether or not their comparative status differed depending on their use of standardized assessment instruments and if their experience with regards to professional status differed depending on the size of the municipality they worked in. We also wanted to determine in what way (if any) the comparative status manifests itself and what factors influences it. We’ve utilized method triangulation in order to answer the questions posed in our purpose. The quantitative study was conducted using a questionnaire and the qualitative with three interviews. Both studies were conducted in the county of Värmland, Sweden. The three municipalities, in which the interviews was conducted, varied in size which was a part of our selection process due to the fact that we believed that the size would affect the views regarding professional status. The result of our study shows that how administrators view their comparative ranking differs depending on the size of their respective municipalities. Administrators in the larger municipalities perceive their status to be low in comparison to other fields while administrators in smaller municipalities doesn’t perceive any noticeable difference. The administrators don’t feel that their status is dependent on the lack of standardized assessment instruments within their field but rather the way economic support is taught at the Swedish universities. Within this study we conclude that administrators working in the field of economic support in municipalities with more than 10 000 inhabitants perceive that their field is ranked lower when compared to other fields within the social services.

In-Home Occupational Performance Evaluation [I-HOPE] är ett aktivitetskort baserat bedömningsinstrument som utvecklats i USA för att mäta både aktivitetsutförande och aktivitetshinder för äldre över 65 år i ordinärt boende. En pilotgrupp legitimerade arbetsterapeuter i Sverige har testat den svenska versionen av bedömningsinstrument I-HOPE [I-HOPE/S] i kliniskt arbete under hösten 2017. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva arbetsterapeuternas erfarenheter av att använda bedömningsinstrument I-HOPE/S i det kliniska arbetet. Metod: Datainsamling har skett genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Metoden som användes var en manifest kvalitativ innehållsanalys med deduktiv ansats.  Resultat: Studiens resultat visade som helhet att I-HOPE/S är ett bra bedömningsinstrument som främjade arbetsterapeuten att få ett bra underlag för vidare åtgärder och ansågs vara personcentrerad.  Aktivitetskorten ansågs vara centrala i bedömningsinstrument I-HOPE/S och lyfte fram bortglömda aktiviteter. En begränsande aspekt för användandet av I-HOPE/S var att flertal arbetsterapeuter visste inte hur de skulle kunna använda poängen de fick fram och hur siffrorna skulle tolkas. Bedömningen med I-HOPE/S var tidskrävande. Slutsats: Bedömningsinstrumentet I-HOPE/S har potential att användas av arbetsterapeuter i det kliniska arbetet. / In-Home Occupational Performance Evaluation [I-HOPE] is an activity card-based assessment instrument developed in USA to assess in-home activity performance and activity barriers for people above 65 years. A pilot group of registered occupational therapists in Sweden has tested the Swedish version of the assessment instrument I-HOPE [I-HOPE/S] in clinical work during the autumn, 2017. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to describe the occupational therapists’ experiences of using the assessment instrument I-HOPE/S in clinical work. Method:  The data sampling was performed through semi-structured interviews. The method applied in the present study consists of a manifest qualitative content analysis with a deductive approach. Results: The results of the study showed that overall I-HOPE/S is a person-centered assessment instrument that promoted satisfactory support to the occupational therapists for further actions. The activity cards were found central in the assessment instrument I-HOPE/S and were helpful in exposing forgotten activities. A limiting aspect of using I-HOPE/S was that a majority of the occupational therapists did not understand how to use the accumulated scores or how assess them. The assessment with I-HOPE/S was time-consuming. Conclusions: The assessment instrument I-HOPE/S has the potential to support occupational therapists in their daily clinical work.

Acredita-se que, por meio da utilização de instrumentos simplificados e objetivos, será possível responder quais estilos, modelos ou teorias de liderança estão mais presentes na realidade brasileira, bem como sensibilizar os profissionais de saúde e enfermeiros para a adoção de um estilo transformador, participativo e motivador. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar as evidências disponíveis na literatura sobre a utilização de instrumentos para a avaliação da liderança, nos serviços de saúde e enfermagem, tomando por base as publicações em periódicos nacionais e internacionais, nos últimos dez anos. Trata-se de uma Revisão Integrativa da Literatura que buscou respostas para a seguinte pergunta: \"Quais instrumentos são empregados para avaliar a liderança em serviços de saúde e enfermagem?\". A busca foi realizada em quatro bases de dados: Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde, Public MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, e Excerpta Medica Database-Embase. Para este estudo, foi selecionado um total de 38 artigos publicados em português, inglês e espanhol, entre os anos de 2006 a 2016. Para a extração dos dados, se fez uso de um instrumento validado. A análise de dados foi descritiva e apresentada em quatro categorias: 1) Desenvolvimento da liderança, com 06 estudos primários, 2) Desenvolvimento da liderança a partir da elaboração ou adaptação de ferramentas de avaliação, com 12 estudos primários; 3)Relações entre liderança e impacto na equipe, com 08 estudos primários; 4) Relações entre liderança e saúde, satisfação no trabalho e bem-estar dos profissionais, com 12 estudos primários. Os resultados apresentaram uma variedade de instrumentos de avaliação em liderança. Dentre as várias ferramentas utilizadas para medir liderança, foram encontrados nesta revisão integrativa 19 instrumentos para avaliação da liderança: o Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ), o Charismatic Leadership Socialized Scale, o Clinical Leadership Survey (CLS), a ferramenta Coaching, a Escala de Atitudes frente a Estilos de Liderança, a Ferramenta 360º, a Global Transformational Leadership Scale, o Grid Gerencial, o Leadership Effectiveness and Adaptability Description (LEAD), o LMX-Leader-member Exchange, o Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI), o Leadership Reward and Punishment Behavior Questionnaire (LRPQ), o Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), Multisource feedback tool (MSF), o instrumento de Liderança Quantum, o Servant Leadership Questionnaire (SLQ), Servant Leadership Survey (SLS), Survey of Transformational Leadership (STL), o Transformational Leadership Inventory (TLI). As teorias/modelos/estilos de lideranças que apareceram neste estudo foram: a Liderança Transformacional e Transacional, a Liderança Situacional, a Liderança Servidora, a Liderança Autêntica, a Liderança Quantum ou Liderança quântica, a Liderança Carismática e a Liderança Clínica. Ao serem analisadas as categorias, observou-se que os instrumentos são aplicados com propostas de programas para o desenvolvimento em liderança, e que estes demonstraram influenciar significativamente o comportamento dos líderes. Sobre o impacto da liderança entre a equipe e o ambiente de trabalho, a saúde, a satisfação no trabalho e o bem-estar dos profissionais, se destacaram a liderança transformacional, a liderança servidora e a liderança autêntica. A pesquisa na literatura viabilizou a identificação das principais teorias, estilos e modelos de liderança contemporâneos e a análise de sua utilização na construção de instrumentos de avaliação da liderança / It is believed that through the use of simplified and objective instruments, it wil l be possible to answer which styles, models or theories of leadership are more present in the Brazilian reality, as well as to sensitize health professionals and nurses for adoption of a transformer, participative and motivating style. The aim of this study was to analyze the available evidence in the literature on the use of instruments for the evaluation of leadership in health services and nursing, on the basis of publications in national and international journals in the last ten years. It is an Integrative Literature Review that sought answers to the following question: \"What instruments are used to evaluate leadership in health and nursing services?\". The search was conducted in four databases: Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences, Public MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health and Excerpta Medica Database. For this study, has selected a total of 38 articles published in Portuguese, English and Spanish, from 2006 to 2016. For the data extraction was used a validated instrument. The data analysis was descriptive and presented in four categories: 1) Leadership development with 06 primary studies; 2) Leadership development from the elaboration or adaptation of evaluation tools with 12 primary studies; 3) Relationships between leadership and impact on the team with 08 primary studies; 4) Relationships between leadership and health, job satisfaction and well-being of professionals with 12 primary studies. The results presented a variety of instruments of leadership assessment . Among the various tools used to measure leadership were found in this Integrative Review nineteen leadership assessment tools: the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ), the Charismatic Leadership Socialized Scale, the Clinical Leadership Survey (CLS), the Coaching tool, the Leadership Styles Attitude Scale, the 360 Tool, Global Transformational Leadership Scale, the Management Grid, Leadership Effectiveness and Adaptability Description (LEAD), LMX-Leader-member Exchange, Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI), Leadership Reward and Punishment Behavior Questionnaire (LRPQ), Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) , The Multisource feedback tool (MSF), the Quantum Leadership Instrument, the Servant Leadership Questionnaire (SLQ), the Transformational Leadership Survey (TLS), the Survey of Transformational Leadership (STL). The theories / models / styles of leadership that appeared in this study were: Transformational and Transational Leadership, Situational Leadership, Servant Leadership, Authentic Leadership, Quantum Leadership, Charismatic Leadership and Clinical Leadership. Some studies did not present theoretical models as reference. When analyzing the categories, it was observed that the instruments are applied together with proposals of programs for the development in leadership, and that these have demonstrated to influence significantly the behavior of the leaders. On the impact of leadership among staff and the work environment, health, job satisfaction and the well-being of professionals, the transformational leadership, the leadership leadership and authentic leadership stood out. The literature search allowed the identification of the main theories, styles and models of contemporary leadership and the analysis of their use in the construction of leadership assessment tools

The purposes of this study were: 1) to determine the measurement dimensions assayed by the EPIC Self-Assessment Scales; 2) to provide information necessary to'determine whether revision of the EPIC Self-Assessment Scales would be desirable, and if so, what items need revision or deletion to obtain optimum dimensional structure; and 3) to provide information relevant to possible further research using the EPIC Self-Assessment Scales. On the basis of the results, four dominant and two subsidiary factors were concluded to be the measurement dimensions assayed by the EPIC Scales. Those were identified as Self-Assurance, Physical Appearance/Physical Shape, Emotional Lability, and Verbal Competence; subsidiary factors were Social/Interpersonal Attitude and Social Behavior/Sociability. It was also concluded that revision of the Scales be undertaken, deleting the 29 bipolar scale items which did not exhibit loadings of .500 or higher on any of the six factors. It was recommended that the revised Scales include additional bipolar scale items taken from the semantic differential literature, and that the instructions to subjects be revised. Further research to establish the reliability and validity of the revised instrument was also recommended.

Many learners enter formal schooling without having mastered the necessary school readiness skills. Academically, those who are not equipped with the necessary school readiness skills often experience certain difficulties, a situation that can even lead to failure at the end of their first year at school. Had these learners been assessed for school readiness earlier, and their teachers informed of the interpreted results, they could have been helped to improve their literacy level earlier. With their knowledge, teachers are able to provide appropriate additional support to meet identified school readiness needs. A concern amongst educators is that many school readiness assessment instruments are available but they do not test the same skills. A further issue is that scientifically proven criteria for evaluating school readiness assessment instruments are not known to be available. Using information about the skills being assessed according to helpful and insightful criteria, would enable educators to know how best to assist learners. Learners do progress and learn differently. Focusing on the skills needed to succeed at school is essential for learners’ development. Hence the reason for engaging in this research was to explore school readiness assessment. From semi-structured interviews conducted, Grade 1 teachers did not have detailed knowledge of school readiness assessment and the instruments used. It is therefore recommended that awareness of the criteria for successful school readiness assessment becomes an integral part of the preparation for formal schooling. Irrespective of their age, applying such instruments could help learners who are not yet ready for school to be better prepared pre-schoolers. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Early Childhood Education / MEd / Unrestricted