Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment

Teachers are the primary implementers of social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. Their beliefs about SEL likely influence program delivery, evaluation, and outcomes. A simple tool for measuring these beliefs could be used by school administrators to determine school readiness for SEL programming and by researchers to better understand teacher variables that impact implementation fidelity and program outcomes. In a two-phase study, we developed and then validated a parsimonious measure of teachers’ beliefs about SEL. In Phase 1, survey items were administered to 935 teachers and subjected to both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, resulting in three reliable scales pertaining to teachers’ comfort with teaching SEL, commitment to learning about SEL, and perceptions about whether their school culture supports SEL. Phase 2 provided evidence for the concurrent and predictive validity of the scales with a subsample of teachers implementing an SEL program as part of a randomized controlled trial. The discussion focuses on the value of measuring teachers’ beliefs about SEL from both researcher and practitioner perspectives.

Problem solving is fundamental to psychoeducational assessment practices and generally grounded in activities related to identifying problems, developing and refining hypotheses, generating solutions, developing and implementing actions, and evaluating outcomes. While the process is central to response-to-intervention practices as well, little research has addressed the form, content, or outcomes of decision-making teams as they operate in schools. One barrier to building a program of research on team problem solving has been the absence of a credible and feasible measure of team performance. We developed the Decision Observation, Recording, and Analysis (DORA) tool to document problem-solving behaviors during team meetings. We were interested in evaluating problem solving during team meetings that focus on academic and behavior concerns in school. We describe the development and preliminary psychometric data for DORA in this article. Our discussion focuses on the implications of DORA for expanding the study of team processes and for improvement of problem-solving practices in schools.

The validity of the Student–Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) was examined in a preschool community sample (N = 925) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Factorial invariance across genders was also investigated as was concurrent and discriminant validity. Indicators of validity were teacher-rated social competence, problem behavior, and mental health, as well as the children’s score on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Results showed that the original three-dimensional model of the STRS was not satisfactorily confirmed. However, a slightly modified 25 items, 3-factor version of the STRS showed an acceptable fit. Model fit was acceptable for both boys and girls. The modified three-factor model evidenced good concurrent validity. The discriminant validity of the dependency versus the conflict subscale was somewhat unsatisfactory, mainly due to imperfections in the dependency subscale.

The article introduces a new anxiety scale, called the LAOM (Lestvica anksioznosti za otroke in mladostnike [The anxiety scale for children and adolescents]) for measuring self-reported multidimensional anxiety. The scale has been developed with a special focus on the school setting, using one sample from an elementary school which is representative of fourth- and eighth-grade students in Slovenia (N = 10,427) and two secondary samples from secondary schools (N = 1,406; N = 3,253) which are representative of final-year secondary school students in Slovenia. The exploratory (PCA) and confirmatory analyses (CFA) were performed on separate samples for the elementary and the secondary school students. The CFA confirmed that the items on the scale formed three factors which were related to the higher order factor. The structure was stable over different age groups. The scale demonstrated adequate internal consistency and sensitivity. Validity tests are presented in their preliminary forms and will be elaborated upon in future research.

Trait emotional intelligence (EI) is a constellation of emotion-related self-perceptions located at the lower levels of personality hierarchies. This article examines the validity of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire–Child Form and investigates its relationships with Big Five factors and cognitive ability. A total of 690 children (317 Males; M Age = 10.25 years; SD = 1.58 years) completed the TEIQue-CF, the Raven Progressive, Matrices and the Big Five Questionnaire; in addition, a subsample of 136 participants answered to Depression and Anxiety scales. Results evidenced that TEIQue-CF is a reliable measure of Trait EI that is partially determined by all of the Big Five factors but independent of cognitive ability. Trait EI predicts depression and anxiety scores over and above the five higher order personality dimensions.

The present study aimed to evaluate the factor structure of the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ) with Turkish children, and to investigate gender, grade-level, and socioeconomic status (SES) differences in reactive and proactive aggression. Participants consisted of 1,081 Turkish children (544 boys and 537 girls) aged 9 to 14 years. Findings from the confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence for the two-factor reactive-proactive model. It was also found that the factor structure of the RPQ was the same across gender groups. Reactive and Proactive Aggression scales and Total Aggression scale showed high internal consistency. Boys got higher scores on both Reactive and Proactive Aggression scales. Reactive and proactive aggression increased with age until Grade 7 in both boys and girls. Finally, the findings showed that, for both boys and girls, children with low SES had significantly higher reactive and proactive aggression scores than children with middle and high SES.

The study explored the invariance of Filipino and English versions of the Inventory of School Motivation (ISM) for Filipino-English bilingual students. There was invariance in the factor structure and factor loadings across the two language versions. Between-network construct validation showed consistent associations between ISM-mastery goals and sense-of-self dimensions.