Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-29T14:10:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese_3214_Dissertação_Odoisa Antunes de Queiroz _ 2010.pdf: 1835465 bytes, checksum: 51e3c08734b9266d576b9dbb900ac01a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-26 / Desde 1991, pesquisadores brasileiros estudam o potencial de aprendizagem infantil, especialmente de crianças com necessidades educativas especiais (NEE), com base na avaliação assistida, cujo formato estruturado (pré-teste intervenção - pós-teste) inclui uma fase intermediária de ajuda sistematizada do examinador, calculando-se a taxa de ganho entre a fase inicial e a final, ambas sem ajuda. Essa análise, entretanto, tem sido criticada metodologicamente. Esta dissertação, então, analisou propostas alternativas de análise de dados de provas assistidas, aplicada a dados já coletados de 248 crianças com (157) e sem NEE (91) (idade média: 8 anos e 6 meses). Para isso, foram integrados dados de 8 pesquisas realizadas entre 1999 e 2008, que utilizaram 4 provas cognitivas assistidas (270 aplicações) e 3 psicométricas (355 aplicações). Esses dados foram organizados em 3 estudos, sendo um teórico (Estudo 1), e analisados quanto a: (a) relações entre variáveis de status (idade, sexo, escolaridade, tipo de problema de desenvolvimento ou deficiência visual, problemas de comunicação ou dificuldades de aprendizagem) e o desempenho cognitivo nas provas assistidas (b) desempenho nas duas modalidades de provas (psicométricas e assistidas) (Estudo 2); (c) desempenho nas fases sem ajuda (pré-teste) e de manutenção (pós-teste) das provas assistidas, pela Teoria de Resposta ao Item (TRI); (d) comparação da taxa de ganho tradicional e os resultados obtidos pela TRI (Estudo 3). No Estudo 2, foram agrupadas as 6 pesquisas já realizadas, proporcionando um panorama geral sobre os trabalhos, com contribuições, no sentido de verificar algumas distinções entre as duas modalidades avaliativas. Nesse estudo, as informações coletadas mostraram que, de fato, as duas metodologias possuem suas peculiaridades: as tradicionais avaliam questões relativas ao conhecimento acumulado do examinando, enquanto que as assistidas medem o potencial de aprendizagem. Em relação às comparações de desempenho nas provas, verificou-se que um resultado inferior na prova psicométrica não sentencia o examinado a um ganho cognitivo baixo na prova assistida. E ainda, ser portador de algum problema de desenvolvimento não implica em insucesso total nas provas. Quanto ao Estudo 3, os procedimentos de construção da equalização dos dados da prova assistida mostraram que as fases de pré e pós-teste possuem itens com níveis de dificuldade semelhantes. No que se refere à comparação entre as métricas tradicionais e aquelas obtidas pela TRI, verificou-se que os valores de ganho e theta são semelhantes. Finalmente, cabe destacar que as duas modalidades de avaliação, assistida e psicométrica, tem suas particularidade, sendo importantes para o desenvolvimento de medidas adequadas, que melhorem as condições psicológicas, educacionais, afetivas e sociais da população.

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Departamento de Estatística, 2018. / Submitted by Raquel Almeida (raquel.df13@gmail.com) on 2018-05-10T18:06:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_HelenIndianaraSeabraGomes.pdf: 1572147 bytes, checksum: 556db4464b8287cf2e50a1897e7339fb (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Raquel Viana (raquelviana@bce.unb.br) on 2018-05-15T19:55:33Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_HelenIndianaraSeabraGomes.pdf: 1572147 bytes, checksum: 556db4464b8287cf2e50a1897e7339fb (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-15T19:55:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_HelenIndianaraSeabraGomes.pdf: 1572147 bytes, checksum: 556db4464b8287cf2e50a1897e7339fb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-05-15 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). / O presente trabalho apresenta um modelo bidimensional não-compensatório da teoria da resposta ao item para lidar com não-respostas intencionais em testes com itens dicotômicos. Uma dimensão fornece informações sobre o comportamento de omissão, chamado de propensão a responder, enquanto a outra dimensão está relacionada à habilidade do indivíduo. O modelo é ajustado aos dados de um exame do tipo high stake (alto risco) feito por 10.822 estudantes do ensino médio que participaram do programa de avaliação seriada da Universidade de Brasília em 2008. Nesse tipo de exame há grande incidência de não-respostas devido a particular forma de correção, em que uma resposta errada anula uma resposta correta. A estimação dos parâmetros dos itens (dificuldade e discriminação) foi feita via Máxima Verossimilhança Marginal. A proficiência e a propensão do candidato foram estimadas pelo método da Esperança Posteriori. Na análise de ajuste dos dados ao modelo foi utilizada a medida de distância de Bhattacharyya como uma alternativa à medida quiquadrado. Em geral, as frequências observadas de acerto foram inferiores às suas respectivas frequências esperadas. Mesmo assim, 40 itens se mostraram aderentes ao modelo ajustado. Observou-se que os candidatos menos proficientes são menos propensos a responder de forma errônea, pois tendem a deixar a resposta em branco. Isso sugere que a decisão de responder ou não seja mais importante do que a decisão de responder corretamente ou não. Dessa forma, este trabalho mostra que a resposta em branco deve ser tratada como uma informação não ignorável, e que não tem relação apenas com a proficiência do candidato, mas também com as características dos itens e o traço latente propensão a responder. / The present work introduces a two-dimensional non-compensatory model of Item Response Theory to deal with intentional non-responses in tests with dichotomous items. One dimension provides information about the behavior of omission, called the propensity to respond, while the other dimension is related to the ability of the individual. The model is adjusted to the data of an examination of the type high stake made by 10.822 students of high school who participated in the program of Evaluation of the University of Brasília in 2008. In this type of examination there is a large incidence of non-responses by its particular form of correction, in which a wrong answer negates a correct answer.The estimation of the items parameters (difficulty and discrimination) was made via maximum Marginal likelihood. The candidate’s proficiency and propensity were estimated by the expected a posteriori method. In the analysis of the adjustment of the data to the model was used the measure of distance of Bhattacharyya as an alternative to the chi-squared measure. In general, the observed frequencies of the hit were lower than their expected frequencies. Even so, 40 items have shown themselves adhering to the adjusted model. It has been observed that less proficient candidates are less likely to respond erroneously because they tend to leave the answer blank. That suggests that the decision to respond or not to respond is more important than the decision to respond correctly or not. In this way, this work shows that the blank answer should be treated as non-ignorable information, and that it is not only related to the candidate’s proficiency, but also to the characteristics of the items and the latent trace propensity to respond.

abstract: The Pearson and likelihood ratio statistics are well-known in goodness-of-fit testing and are commonly used for models applied to multinomial count data. When data are from a table formed by the cross-classification of a large number of variables, these goodness-of-fit statistics may have lower power and inaccurate Type I error rate due to sparseness. Pearson's statistic can be decomposed into orthogonal components associated with the marginal distributions of observed variables, and an omnibus fit statistic can be obtained as a sum of these components. When the statistic is a sum of components for lower-order marginals, it has good performance for Type I error rate and statistical power even when applied to a sparse table. In this dissertation, goodness-of-fit statistics using orthogonal components based on second- third- and fourth-order marginals were examined. If lack-of-fit is present in higher-order marginals, then a test that incorporates the higher-order marginals may have a higher power than a test that incorporates only first- and/or second-order marginals. To this end, two new statistics based on the orthogonal components of Pearson's chi-square that incorporate third- and fourth-order marginals were developed, and the Type I error, empirical power, and asymptotic power under different sparseness conditions were investigated. Individual orthogonal components as test statistics to identify lack-of-fit were also studied. The performance of individual orthogonal components to other popular lack-of-fit statistics were also compared. When the number of manifest variables becomes larger than 20, most of the statistics based on marginal distributions have limitations in terms of computer resources and CPU time. Under this problem, when the number manifest variables is larger than or equal to 20, the performance of a bootstrap based method to obtain p-values for Pearson-Fisher statistic, fit to confirmatory dichotomous variable factor analysis model, and the performance of Tollenaar and Mooijaart (2003) statistic were investigated. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Statistics 2018

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Departamento de Estatística, 2014. / Submitted by Larissa Stefane Vieira Rodrigues (larissarodrigues@bce.unb.br) on 2014-10-31T12:07:42Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_BernardoNogueiraSchlemper.pdf: 581353 bytes, checksum: dbb95d5a8efc78a7e72b4beec7287047 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Raquel Viana(raquelviana@bce.unb.br) on 2014-11-05T16:40:59Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_BernardoNogueiraSchlemper.pdf: 581353 bytes, checksum: dbb95d5a8efc78a7e72b4beec7287047 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-11-05T16:40:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_BernardoNogueiraSchlemper.pdf: 581353 bytes, checksum: dbb95d5a8efc78a7e72b4beec7287047 (MD5) / Neste trabalho, são apresentados testes de adequabilidade de ajuste para modelos de teoria de resposta ao item (TRI). Um novo teste baseado na estimação não paramétrica da curva característica do item (CCI) obtida a partir da aplicação de técnicas de regressão isotônica é apresentado. O teste foi implementado no software R, e foram feitas simulações para observar seu desempenho na avaliação da adequabilidade de modelos paramétricos para a curva característica do item, juntamente com o teste utilizando a estimação via suavização por kernel (Ramsay,1991).

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Departamento de Estatística, 2014. / Submitted by Ana Cristina Barbosa da Silva (annabds@hotmail.com) on 2014-12-03T16:33:43Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_JoacyVictorMaiaAraujo.pdf: 4068255 bytes, checksum: ab847f51071ed43331416cf2146e9558 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Raquel Viana(raquelviana@bce.unb.br) on 2014-12-04T19:36:41Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_JoacyVictorMaiaAraujo.pdf: 4068255 bytes, checksum: ab847f51071ed43331416cf2146e9558 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-04T19:36:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_JoacyVictorMaiaAraujo.pdf: 4068255 bytes, checksum: ab847f51071ed43331416cf2146e9558 (MD5) / O trabalho consiste na construção de uma metodologia voltada ao processo de escolha de carreira pelo aspirante ao serviço público. Parte do trabalho reside na construção de simulados realizados por Testagem Adaptativa Computadorizada, fundamentados pela Teoria da Resposta ao Item. Outra parte consiste em inferir os parâmetros das distribuições de resultados dos diversos concursos. Essa inferência é particularmente desafiadora, pois só existe informação pública dos aprovados, ou seja, da parte direita da distribuição. Finalmente, cruzaram-se os resultados dos simulados padronizados com os resultados reais dos concursos. Calcularam-se as probabilidades do resultado do concursando estar dentro da zona de aprovação nas diversas carreiras. Essas probabilidades poderão ser ranqueadas de forma a direcionar o candidato à área de maior chance de sucesso, considerando também o valor esperado, calculado em função da remuneração dos cargos. ___________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT / This work consists of constructing a methodology focused on the career choice for aspiring to public service process. Part of it involves the construction of Computerized Adaptive Testing, grounded by Item Response Theory. Another part is to infer the parameters of the distributions of results of various competitions. This inference is particularly challenging because there is only public information of approved candidates, i.e., the right tail of distribution. Finally, simulated pro_ciencies were crossed to actual results of contests. The odds of the outcome of candidate to be within the approval zone in the various careers were calculated. These probabilities were ranked in order to direct the candidate to the area of greatest chance of success, considering also the expected value, calculated according to the compensation of positions.

Submitted by isabela.moljf@hotmail.com (isabela.moljf@hotmail.com) on 2017-06-23T14:34:24Z No. of bitstreams: 1 edilenenoronharodrigues.pdf: 5251162 bytes, checksum: 84e82c4603e207a783d3b2f6cffa3c4c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-08-07T20:14:34Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 edilenenoronharodrigues.pdf: 5251162 bytes, checksum: 84e82c4603e207a783d3b2f6cffa3c4c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-08-07T20:15:08Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 edilenenoronharodrigues.pdf: 5251162 bytes, checksum: 84e82c4603e207a783d3b2f6cffa3c4c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-07T20:15:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 edilenenoronharodrigues.pdf: 5251162 bytes, checksum: 84e82c4603e207a783d3b2f6cffa3c4c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-04-15 / O funcionamento diferencial do item ocorre quando um item é aplicado a dois grupos de alunos com mesma habilidade cognitiva e esses grupos obtêm desempenhos diferenciados ao responderem a esse item, levando um grupo a apresentar melhores resultados que o outro. O presente estudo levou em consideração grupos de alunos do sexo feminino e do masculino de diferentes grupos raciais e alunos de regiões distintas dos Estados do Rio de Janeiro e Minas Gerais. Os resultados estatísticos obtidos entre dois grupos de alunos podem demonstrar que um grupo está sendo beneficiado em relação ao outro. A importância de realizar a análise do funcionamento diferencial – DIF– dos itens nos diferentes grupos de alunos se justifica, para que a proficiência estimada seja de boa qualidade, e os resultados possam ser adequadamente equalizados. Pode também apontar uma diferenciação pedagógica entre as regiões escolares, devido a uma maior exposição ao tema ou maior ênfase curricular, diferenças culturais associadas a diferenças sócio-econômicas, ou diagnosticar deficiências pedagógicas existentes. O objetivo da pesquisa é identificar e analisar os itens de Língua Portuguesa, especificamente das 3ª, 4a e 5ª séries do Ensino Fundamental, referentes aos testes aplicados em 2005 pelo Programa Nova Escola e pelo Simave/Proeb, que apresentaram funcionamento diferencial, segundo sua dificuldade, para alunos de diferentes regiões e com diferenças de gênero e raça, no Estado do Rio de Janeiro e Minas Gerais. Inicialmente, apresentou-se uma revisão histórica da avaliação em larga escala no Brasil e dos principais programas de avaliação executados nos Estados; sem pretensão de esgotar o assunto, alguns métodos de medidas em avaliação educacional em larga escala e a construção da escala de habilidades foram descritos. A seguir, procurou-se descrever o Funcionamento Diferencial do Item – DIF, os principais métodos para sua detecção e sua evolução histórica. Posteriormente, identificou-se o Funcionamento Diferencial-DIF em itens do Programa Nova Escola e do Simave/Proeb, foram classificados os encontrados e que geraram hipóteses para explicar o DIF. No presente estudo constatou-se que nem todos os itens diagnosticados com DIF são ruins para efeito de avaliação, pois eles podem trazer informações importantes para diagnóstico do sistema educacional do Estado do Rio de Janeiro e de Minas Gerais; por intermédio deles, podem-se diagnosticar as deficiências curriculares, indícios de discriminações raciais ou diversidades culturais. Assim, nem sempre o procedimento mais adequado é a sua retirada dos testes. / The operation of the item gap occurs when an item is applied to two groups of students with cognitive ability and these same groups get different performances to respond to that item, leading a group to produce better results than the other. This study took into account groups of students were female and male from different racial groups and students from different regions of the states of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. The statistical results obtained between two groups of students can demonstrate that a group is being received in relation to the other. The importance of conducting an analysis of the functioning differential - DIF-of items in different groups of students is justified, so that the estimated proficiency is of good quality, and results can be adequately equalizados. It may also indicate a differentiation between the regions educational school, due to greater exposure to the subject or greater emphasis curriculum, cultural differences associated with socio-economic differences, or diagnose existing educational deficiencies. The objective of the survey is to identify and analyse the items of Portuguese Language, specifically the 3, 4th and 5 th series of elementary school, regarding the tests applied in 2005 by the New School Program and the Simave / Proeb, which showed differential operation, according to their difficulty For students from different regions and with differences in gender and race in the state of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. Initially, presented to a review of historical assessment on a large scale in Brazil and the core program implemented in the evaluation; without pretension to exhaust the subject, some methods of measures in educational evaluation on a large scale and the scale of construction skills were described . Then, sought to describe the operation Differential Item - DIF, the main methods for its detection and its historical development. Subsequently, identified as the Operation Differential-DIF items in the Programme and the New School Simave / Proeb, were classified and that those found generated hypotheses to explain the DIF. In this study it was found that not all items are diagnosed with DIF bad for the purpose of evaluation, because they can provide important information for diagnosis of the educational system of the State of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, through them, you can diagnose learning disabilities, evidence of racial discrimination or cultural diversity. So, not always the most appropriate procedure is the withdrawal of its tests.

This thesis sought to address the application of non-parametric item response theory (NIRT) to cognitive and functional assessment in dementia. Performance on psychometric tests is key to diagnosis and monitoring of dementia. NIRT can be used to improve the psychometric properties of tests used in dementia assessment in multiple ways: confirming an underlying unidimensional structure, establishing formal item hierarchical patterns of decline, increasing insight by examining item parameters such as difficulty and discrimination, and creating shorter tests. From a NIRT approach item difficulty refers to the ease with which an item is endorsed. Discrimination is an index of how well an item can differentiate between patients of varying levels of severity. Firstly I carried out a systematic review to identify applications of both parametric and non-parametric IRT to measures assessing global cognitive functioning in people with dementia. This review demonstrated that IRT can increase the interpretive power of cognitive assessment scales and confirmed the limited number of IRT analyses of cognitive scales in dementia populations. This thesis extended this approach by applying Mokken scaling analysis to commonly used measures of current cognitive ability (Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R)) and of premorbid cognitive ability (National Adult Reading Test (NART)). Differential item functioning (DIF) by diagnosis identified slight variations in the patterns of hierarchical decline in the ACE-R. These disease-specific sequences of decline could serve as an adjunct to diagnosis, for example where learning a name and address is a more difficult task than being orientated in time, late onset Alzheimer’s disease is a more probable diagnosis than mixed Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia. These analyses also allowed key items to be identified which can be used to create briefer scales (mini-ACE and Mini-NART) which have good psychometric properties. These scales are clinically relevant, comprising highly discriminatory, invariantly ordered items. They also allow sensitive measurement and adaptive testing and can reduce test administration time and patient stress. Impairment of functional abilities represents a crucial component of dementia diagnosis with performance on these functional tasks predictive of overall disease. A second aspect of this thesis, therefore, was the application of Mokken scaling analyses to measures of functional decline in dementia, specifically the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) scale and Physical Self-Maintenance Scale (PSMS). While gender DIF was observed for several items, implying the likelihood of equal responses from men and women is not equal a generally consistent pattern of impairment in functional ability was observed across different types of dementia.

Objective: Executive functions govern our ability to navigate complex and novel situations in day-to-day life. There is increased interest on environmental influences that may cause changes to executive functioning. The current thesis involves two studies examining the derivation and performance of an executive behaviour screener from the Behavioral Assessment System for Children (BASC-2-PRS; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004) on two different adolescent samples using a previously derived four-factor model of executive functioning (Garcia-Barrera et al., 2011, 2013). Participants and Methods: Study 1. BASC-2 PRS standardization data consisting of a demographically matched American sample of 2722 12-21 year olds was obtained. The screener was derived using 25 items assigned a priori to each executive factor. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), invariance testing, and multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) models were used to evaluate the screener. Study 2. The screener was applied to a previously collected sample of 479 elite adolescent hockey players from Canada with or without a history of concussion, followed through a single season of play. CFA, invariance testing, and MIMIC models were used to evaluate the screener and the hockey sample was compared to the standardization sample. Results: Study 1. Acceptable-to-good reliability was obtained for all factors (α = .75-.89). The four-factor model was the best fit to the data (CFI = .990, TLI = .989, RMSEA = .037). Configural, metric, and scalar but not latent mean invariance was shown for sex. Age-related uniform differential item functioning (DIF) and SES-related uniform and non-uniform DIF were shown. Standardized norms for use in clinical settings were created. Study 2. Acceptable-to-good reliability was shown for 3 factors (α = .72-.85). Emotional Control showed poor reliability (α = .58). The four-factor model was the best fit to the data (CFI = .991, TLI = .990, RMSEA = .026). Configural, metric, and scalar but not latent mean invariance was shown between the two samples. Uniform and non-uniform DIF were not observed for those with an increasing number of past concussions. Conclusions: Findings support the four-factor model measured through the screener in adolescence. Females and hockey players demonstrate fewer executive behaviour problems overall. Sex, age, and SES may influence the interpretation of factor scores. Continued exploration and development of the screener is suggested. / Graduate / 2018-09-27

This dissertation is composed of three studies that examined illness-related stigma, depressive symptoms and attachment style among patients living with HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV). The first study examined the psychometric properties of a brief HIV Stigma Scale (B-HSS) in a sample of adult patients living with HIV (PHA) (n=94). The second study developed and explored the psychometric properties of the HCV Stigma Scale in a sample of adult patients living with HCV (PHC) (n =92). Psychometric properties were evaluated with classical test theory and item response theory methodology. The third study explored whether illness-related stigma mediated the relationship between insecure attachment styles (anxious attachment or avoidant attachment) and depressive symptoms among PHA (n =72) and PHC (n=83). From June to December 2008, patients were recruited to participate in a questionnaire study at the outpatient clinics in The Ottawa Hospital. Findings indicated that the 9-item B-HSS is a reliable and valid measure of HIV stigma with items that are highly discriminatory, which indicates that items are highly effective at discriminating patients with different levels of stigma. The 9-item HCV Stigma Scale was also found to be reliable and valid with highly discriminatory items that effectively differentiate PHC. Construct validity for both scales was supported by relationships with theoretically related constructs: depression and quality of life. Among PHA, when HIV stigma was controlled the relationship between anxious attachment style and depression was not significant. However, the relationship between avoidant attachment style and depressive symptoms decreased but remained significant. Among PHC when HCV stigma was controlled the relationship between insecure attachment styles and depressive symptoms was not significant. Dissertation results emphasize the importance of identifying patients experiencing illness-related stigma and the relevance of addressing stigma and attachment style when treating depressive symptoms among PHA and PHC.

Differential item functioning (DIF) can occur across age, gender, ethnic, and/or linguistic groups of examinee populations. Therefore, whenever there is more than one group of examinees involved in a test, a possibility of DIF exists. It is important to detect items with DIF with accurate and powerful statistical methods. While finding a proper DIP method is essential, until now most of the available methods have been dominated by applications to large scale testing contexts. Since the early 1990s, Ramsay has developed a nonparametric item response methodology and computer software, TestGraf (Ramsay, 2000). The nonparametric item response theory (IRT) method requires fewer examinees and items than other item response theory methods and was also designed to detect DIF. However, nonparametric IRT's Type I error rate for DIF detection had not been investigated. The present study investigated the Type I error rate of the nonparametric IRT DIF detection method, when applied to moderate-to-small-scale testing context wherein there were 500 or fewer examinees in a group. In addition, the Mantel-Haenszel (MH) DIF detection method was included. A three-parameter logistic item response model was used to generate data for the two population groups. Each population corresponded to a test of 40 items. Item statistics for the first 34 non-DIF items were randomly chosen from the mathematics test of the 1999 TEVISS (Third International Mathematics and Science Study) for grade eight, whereas item statistics for the last six studied items were adopted from the DIF items used in the study of Muniz, Hambleton, and Xing (2001). These six items were the focus of this study. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate