The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree to which preschool children are able to provide reliable and valid sociometric data pertaining to their classroom peers. The applicability of a sociometric picture rating scale was assessed by examining its concurrent validity using the Kohn Social Competence Scale, a teacher rating instrument designed to provide an indication of the classroom social behavior of preschool children based on teacher observation. Reliability of the sociometric rating scale was investigated through a test-retest procedure over a six-week interval. Subject were thirty-two 3 and 4 year olds (16 male; 16 female) attending public school preschool programs in a rural community in Western Massachusetts. The data obtained included two sets of sociometric scores for each subject (test, retest) as well as scores from the rating scales teachers completed for each subject. Analysis of the data involved investigation of the strength of association between teacher rating scale scores and sociometric scores, as well as stability of the sociometric scores over the six-week test-retest interval. Additionally, analyses were undertaken to determine if there were statistically significant differences in the sociometric scores due to a subject's age, gender, prior socialization experiences, or Special Education status. Results indicated fairly good reliability of the sociometric picture rating scale (correlation between the test and retest sets of scores =.71, p $<$.01). Significant relationships were also found between the sociometric scores and those obtained from the teacher rating scale. Therefore, concurrent validity of the sociometric measure was demonstrated. The only differences of statistical significance found in the sociometric scores were those related to a subject's gender. In this study, females were more likely to receive high sociometric ratings from peers and males were more likely to receive low ratings. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the picture rating scale technique represents a valid and reliable sociometric measure for preschoolers. It was suggested that sociometrics always be used in conjunction with other measures of social functioning, namely direct observations of behavior or teacher rating scales.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-7833 |
| Date | 01 January 1990 |
| Creators | Kalesnik, Joanne Frances |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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