چكيده لاتين
One of the most important assessments in the educational system for children is the school readiness assessment program for children entering primary school. The aim of this study is to develop and preliminarily validate the school readiness assessment test for children entering primary school in Kabul, Afghanistan. This study employs a mixed exploratory method (qualitative and quantitative).
Qualitative Method In the qualitative section, a systematic review of 100 scientific-research articles from 15 reputable Persian and English sources, including SID, Magiran, Iran Documents, Iran Medix, PubMed, Springer, ProQuest, Scopus, Elsevier, and Cochrane, was conducted. Data were collected and analyzed to identify components. Among these articles, 34 that met the research entry criteria were analyzed. As a result, 10 components were identified: numerical reasoning, attention and memory, image completion, quantitative reasoning, retrieval, associative play, sentence and number repetition, visual-spatial reasoning, problem-solving, and visual-motor skills.
Quantitative Method - Preliminary Validation (Psychometric Exploratory Factor Analysis) To examine content validity and construct validity, exploratory factor analysis was used. For test reliability, the Cronbachʹs alpha method and split-half method were employed.
The study population included 5 to 7-year-old children entering school in Kabul, among the total population of Kabulʹs districts (totaling 638,233, with 407,914 boys and 230,319 girls). Using cluster sampling from three districts in Kabul (districts 11, 13, and 15), a sample of 290 children aged 5 to 7 years, including 155 girls and 135 boys, was selected. The research tool was the school readiness assessment test for children entering primary school, which consists of 10 components and 100 items. The test was administered individually within a 20 to 25-minute timeframe by the researcher and a school counselor in coordination with school officials and principals. A checklist was arranged for scoring the test, assigning a score of (1) for correct answers and (0) for incorrect answers.
In the quantitative section, preliminary validation and psychometric analysis were conducted. The implementation of this study and the administration of the school readiness assessment test for children entering primary school were carried out on a sample population of 5 to 7-year-old children in three districts of Kabul in the year 2023.
Factor analysis results indicated that the school readiness test for children in Afghanistan includes 10 components with a high Cronbachʹs alpha reliability coefficient (0.96). The overall test score and subscales were as follows: numerical reasoning (0.89), attention and memory (0.96), image completion (0.78), quantitative reasoning (0.92), retrieval (0.74), associative play (0.79), sentence and number repetition (0.80), visual-spatial reasoning (0.94), problem-solving (0.94), and visual-motor skills (0.91). The split-half reliability of the school readiness questionnaire for all components was above 0.7, indicating acceptable reliability.
The results of this study indicate that the school readiness assessment test for children in Afghanistan has appropriate validity (construct validity and factor analysis) and reliability (Cronbachʹs alpha, 0.96). Based on the psychometric results, it can be inferred that this tool can be used as an initial screening and assessment tool for school entry.
