culture

Chapter 14: The 16PF in South Africa

AUTHORS: N. Taylor, C. Prinsloo, R. van Eeden

ABSTRACT: Personality assessment and the general history of the development of the 16PF are briefly discussed. An overview of the history of the 16PF in South Africa is subsequently given including the development and psychometric properties of older versions of the questionnaire and of related questionnaires. This is followed by a detailed discussion of two versions of the questionnaire, namely the SA92 version and the SA fifth edition. Both versions are locally used and supported by test publishers (although the form SA92 is being phased out in favour of the SA fifth edition). The latter represents current local and international developments and the former is important in terms of the associated research results both from a practical and a methodological point of view. The versions are described in terms of their development and the subsequent research conducted in South Africa. The emphasis is on critical discussion/examination of the instruments in the local context, focusing on cross-cultural research. In addition to comparisons across groups, issues such as the understanding of items, the role of language proficiency and translation difficulties are discussed. Issues related to the 16PF in practice are discussed and the chapter concludes with ideas on the future of the questionnaire in South Africa. Reliability, validity and bias issues are highlighted as far as possible.

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Chapter 10: The Learning Potential Computerised Adaptive Test (LPCAT) in South Africa

AUTHOR/S: M. de Beer

ABSTRACT: In the multicultural and multilingual South African context where differences in socio-economic and educational background and opportunities of individuals further complicate psychological assessment, the measurement of learning potential provides additional information in the cognitive domain that has shown positive results.  This chapter deals with the history of dynamic assessment internationally and locally and provides empirical results on the LPCAT that provide support for utilizing this approach in conjunction with standard tests of cognitive ability and aptitude.  It further elucidates how the use of Item Response Theory (IRT) and Computerised Adaptive Testing (CAT) addresses a number of practical and measurement issues that have been hampering the wide-scale implementation and use of dynamic assessment of learning potential in assessment in education and in industry.

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Chapter 9: Dynamic Assessment in South Africa

AUTHOR/S: Z. Amod & J. Seabi

ABSTRACT: This chapter outlines current developments in Dynamic Assessment (DA), an interactive assessment procedure that uses deliberate and planned mediational teaching and assesses of the impact of that teaching on subsequent performance. The objective of the chapter is to critically review the major criticisms of the traditional “static“ testing approach, discuss the theoretical basis of the DA approach and its relevance within the South African context, present current empirical research on the Dynamic Assessment of children, and suggest some directions for future research. The DA approach has been motivated by the inadequacy of traditional “static” tests to provide accurate information about the individual’s ability. Given that the history of “static” testing in South Africa closely resembles the racial policies of apartheid, which attempted to preserve and perpetuate social structures (Benjamin & Lomosfky, 2002), and that many of such tests have been standardized on middle class children, concerns regarding the relevance of traditional testing have been raised.  DA is presented in this chapter as an alternative approach that minimizes discriminatory approaches to the assessment of culturally different populations and facilitates a strong link between assessment and intervention.  DA is aimed at changing and modifying the individual’s cognitive structures within the assessment process. The theoretical foundations of DA are derived primarily from Vygostky’s socio-cultural theory, specifically the zone of proximal development, and Feuerstein’s Mediated Learning Experience theory. DA has been applied with different educational and clinical groups of children and adolescents both abroad and in South Africa and has been found to be more accurate in reflecting children’s learning potential. Although the DA approach has a great appeal to many professional psychologists and educators, it has not yet become a central part of prevailing practice. Major critiques leveled against the DA approach are discussed.

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Chapter 8: The Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) in a South African context

AUTHOR/S:  Z. Amod

ABSTRACT: Limitations of current intelligence tests, the search for more equitable assessment procedures and the need to link assessment with intervention have led to the exploration of alternative forms of cognitive assessment.  Information processing models of assessment embodied in the work of Luria, Kaufman and Das, for instance, are in the forefront of the latest developments in cognitive psychology.  In this chapter the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) developed by Das and Naglieri (Das, Naglieri & Kirby, 1994) is discussed both theoretically and in relation to research conducted mainly abroad but also in South Africa. This novel assessment approach is based on the Planning, Attention, Simultaneous and Successive (PASS) model of cognitive functioning. There is empirical support for the PASS theory and the CAS (Naglieri, 1999; Van Luit, Kroesbergen and Naglieri, 2005) and extensive research has been conducted to establish the relationship between certain cognitive processes of the PASS model and specific academic skills (Kirby and Das, 1990; Hold, 2000; Lerew, 2003; Germain, 2004). The usefulness and application of the CAS instrument in South Africa has been indicated by several studies (Chow and Skuy, 1999; Churches, Skuy & Das; Fairon, 2006; Floquet, 2008; Hofmeyer 2000; Naidoo, 2001; Reid, Kok & van der Merwe, 2000). The PASS Remedial Programme (Das et al, 1994) has been developed to provide a link between cognitive processing strategies and academic content. It is proposed in this chapter that the PASS model as operationalized by the CAS is a valuable alternative or at least adjunct to traditional intelligence tests. Further research needs to be conducted which combines the Information Processing model with Dynamic Assessment, to facilitate a link between assessment and intervention.

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Chapter 1: Contextualising Psychological Assessment in South Africa

AUTHOR/S: S. Laher & K. Cockcroft

ABSTRACT: According to Claassen (1997), psychological testing came to South Africa through Britain and that the development of psychological tests in South Africa followed a similar pattern to that of the tests in the United States. The difference is that tests in South Africa were developed in a context with unequal distribution of resources due to apartheid. According to Nzimande (1995), assessment practices in South Africa were used to justify the exploitation of black labour and to deny black people access to education as well as economic resources. Sehlapelo and Terre Blanche (1996) argue further that tests are used on a large scale in South Africa to determine who gains access to economic and educational opportunities, which is why the reformation of tests is important. The Employment Equity Act (Act 55 of 1998) requires that all testing procedures are scientifically reliable, valid and free from bias. This chapter briefly contextualises psychological assessment within the history of South Africa and alerts the reader to some of the main debates in the area. The chapter then proceeds to highlight the input provided by each of the chapters in the book. Thus it serves as an introduction to the book whilst at the same time highlighting the salient aspects in psychological assessment in South Africa.

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Chapter 21: The Millon Inventories in South Africa

AUTHORS: R. Patel, S. Laher

ABSTRACT: The Millon family of instruments consists of the MCMI-III, MIPS, MAHI,MBHI. This chapter will provide a brief history into their development touching on Millon’s theory of abnormal and normal personality development. Following this a brief description of each instrument will be provided. Since the MCMI-III is the most commonly used instrument both internationally and locally, this will receive more coverage in the chapter. Research on the MCMI-III in SA will be presented. Finally the MIPS was studied in the SA context and SA norms were developed for the instrument. These will also be included in the chapter.

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Chapter 18: The NEO-PI-R in South Africa

AUTHOR: S. Laher

ABSTRACT: The NEO-PI-R is a widely used test both in assessment and research locally and internationally. Aside from being used in research and practice to assess personality, it is also amongst the most commonly used instruments to operationalise the FFM of personality. Thus this chapter intends providing a brief history of the development of the NEO-PI-R, followed by a brief description of the NEO-PI-R domain and facet scales. Following this research using the NEO-PI-R in the South African context will be presented. Finally the chapter will conclude with some discussion on the use of the NEO-PI-R in the SA context.

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Chapter 6: Assessing young children in South Africa

AUTHORS: Z. Amod, D. Heafield

ABSTRACT: This chapter explores the complexities, purpose and relevance of school-readiness assessment within the South African context as well as the existing research in this field.  The concept of school-readiness assessment is a contentious issue in this country. This is firstly due to the historical misuse of assessment instruments for the purpose of exclusionary practices and the perpetuation of an inequitable education system.  Secondly children in this country exist within extremely diverse socio-cultural and economic structures and this contributes towards significant emotional and developmental differences between young children. A linear, maturational model of school-readiness assessment (as espoused by Kagan, 1992, 1994 and Damarest, Reisner, Humphrey & Stein, 1993) therefore seems immensely inadequate, and denying a child the right to begin school at the appropriate age based on this model could be considered both discriminatory and unfair. It is partly for this reason that the government has imposed an informal moratorium on school readiness assessment within government schools. The objective of this chapter is therefore to propose a more holistic and eco-systemic view of school readiness assessment, based on a critique (which includes strengths and limitations) of existing approaches.  The move towards an inclusive education and training system which has been outlined in Education White Paper 6 (2001) places the responsibility on schools, and the education system as a whole, to provide adequate support structures to accommodate a diverse range of children with a variety of barriers to learning. The emphasis on learners being ready for school has therefore shifted to schools being ready for all learners.   This interactional / bi-directional concept of school readiness is supported in the literature (Meisels, 1996) and in a recent South African study (Goldblatt, 2004).  Although there is still a place for the assessment of individual learners to determine the types of support structures that may be needed,  government expenditure on education is more suitably spent on upgrading facilities, reducing class sizes and improving teacher training. This will provide all learners with a better chance of reaching their full potential.

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Chapter 5: Assessing school readiness in children using the JSAIS

AUTHORS: L. Theron

ABSTRACT: Drawing on personal professional experience as a practicing educational psychologist from 2000-present (which includes weekly use of the JSAIS as part of a school readiness assessment for a private boys school), I provide a brief introduction to the JSAIS. The introduction summarizes the structure, broad aims and general modus operandi of the JSAIS. I emphasize that the JSAIS should be used to provide a profile of weaknesses and strengths that will allow intervention towards optimal school readiness. The focus of the chapter, however, is a critical examination of the JSAIS in our multicultural, 21st century South African context with its multiple challenges and chronic violence. As part of this critique, I look at items which favour acculturated knowledge and have the potential to trigger previous traumas in order to guide students towards fairer assessment practices. I also provide extensive guidelines, based on my extensive observation and reflection, on using the JSAIS diagnostically with regard to emotional readiness for school, concentration difficulties, language barriers and motor difficulties. In essence, the chapter encourages students not to limit the JSAIS to a measure of intelligence, but to use it as a tool to comment qualitatively (rather than just quantitatively) on children’s readiness for formal learning.

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Chapter 4: South African Individual Scales Revised

AUTHOR/S: K. Cockcroft

ABSTRACT: This chapter will provide a brief introduction to the SSAIS-R. The introduction will summarize the purpose and development of the SSAIS-R including its historical links to other traditional psychometric measures of intelligence. Details will be provided regarding administration, scoring, demographic effects, as well as normative data and the standardized sample for this intelligence test. Psychometric properties such as reliability and validity will be commented upon. There will be some discussion on how the SSAIS-R can be used to provide a profile of weaknesses and strengths that will allow for appropriate intervention decisions to be made. Available studies that have used the SSAIS-R in a range of diagnostic and educational settings will be presented and critically evaluated.

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