Determination of the Psychometric Characteristics of the Learning Disability Early Symptoms Screening Scale

Year 2024, Volume: 37 Issue: 2, 534 - 554, 29.08.2024

Mehmet Okur , Veysel Aksoy

https://doi.org/10.19171/uefad.1401110

Abstract

This study aims to develop a Learning Disability Early Symptoms Screening Scale (LDESSS), and determine its psychometric characteristics in order to detect children who are at risk for a learning disability at an early age. Identifying learning disabilities in the pre-school period is significant for early intervention. The main reason to conduct this study is the absence of a scale that comprehensively evaluates early symptoms, in Türkiye. This research is a scale development study carried out in a retrospective descriptive screening design. Participants of the study were 1429 parents of students with learning disabilities. The scale demonstrated high reliability with a Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of .95 and a content validity index of .92. It was found to have a four-factor structure, explaining 48.99% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded fit indices of CFI=.97, SRMR=.079, NNFI=.96, and RMSEA=.068, indicating a good fit of the model to the data. This study establishes that LDESSS consists of 52 items and four subfactors, which are Language Development and Communication, Cognitive Skills, Psychomotor Development Skills, and Social-Emotional Skills. The findings were analyzed and discussed in alignment with the established criteria in the literature. The results of the study demonstrate that LDESSS is a valid and reliable tool for examining the early and developmental indicators of learning disabilities.

Keywords

Learning Disability, Early symptoms, Scale Development, Screening Scale

Öğrenme Güçlüğü Erken Belirtileri Tarama Ölçeğinin Psikometrik Niteliklerinin Belirlenmesi

Abstract

Okul öncesi dönemde öğrenme güçlüğü olabilecek öğrencilerin belirlenmesi erken müdahale için önemlidir. Bu araştırma kapsamında, öğrenme güçlüğü riski taşıyan çocukların erken evrede tespit edilebilmesi amacıyla, Öğrenme Güçlüğü Erken Belirtileri Tarama Ölçeği (ÖGEBTÖ)’nün geliştirilmesine ve bu ölçeğin psikometrik özelliklerinin kapsamlı bir şekilde incelenmesine yönelik bir çalışma gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu çalışmanın yapılmasının temel nedeni, Türkiye'de öğrenme güçlüğünün erken belirtilerini kapsamlı bir şekilde değerlendiren bir ölçeğin bulunmamasıdır. Bu araştırma, geriye dönük betimsel tarama deseninde gerçekleştirilen bir ölçek geliştirme çalışmasıdır. Araştırmaya öğrenme güçlüğüne sahip çocuğu olan toplam 1429 öğrenci ebeveyni katılmıştır. Ölçek, iç tutarlılık açısından Cronbach Alpha katsayısı ile 0.95 değerinde yüksek bir güvenilirlik göstermiş, kapsam geçerliği indeksi 0.92 olarak bulunmuştur. Dört faktörlü yapısıyla ölçeğin toplam varyansın %48.99'unu açıkladığı tespit edilmiştir. Doğrulayıcı faktör analizinde elde edilen uyum indeksleri; CFI=0.97, SRMR=0.079, NNFI=0.96 ve RMSEA=0.068 olarak hesaplanarak, modelin veriye iyi bir uyum sağladığını ortaya koymuştur.
Bu araştırmada, ÖGEBTÖ; Dil Gelişimi ve İletişim, Bilişsel Beceriler, Psikomotor Gelişim Becerileri ve Sosyal Duygusal Beceriler şeklinde dört alt faktörden ve 52 maddeden oluşmuştur. Bu sonuçlar ÖGEBTÖ’nün öğrenme güçlüğünün erken ve gelişimsel belirtilerinin incelenmesinde kullanılabilecek geçerli ve güvenilir bir araç olduğunu göstermektedir.

Keywords

Öğrenme güçlüğü, Erken belirtiler, Ölçek geliştirme, Tarama ölçeği

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