Browsing by Subject "validity"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Standard setting lessons learned in the South African context: implications for international implementation
    (Taylor & Francis, 2013) Pitoniak, Mary J; Yeld, Nan
    Criterion-referenced assessments have become more common around the world, with performance standards being set to differentiate different levels of student performance. However, use of standard setting methods developed in the United States may be complicated by factors related to the political and educational contexts within another country. In this article, experience gained from conducting several standard setting studies in South Africa is shared. The legacy of the apartheid era, in which segregation and discrimination were institutionalized, affects the attitudes of South Africans toward assessment and placing students into performance levels. These issues played out as panelists were asked to make judgments related to students' likely performance in higher education. Although the instantiation of panelists' reluctance to label students may be different in South Africa compared to the United States or other countries, lessons can be learned about how the effects of these beliefs and anxieties may be addressed during standard setting activities.
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    Open Access
    The validation of a screening tool for the identification of feeding and swallowing difficulties in the paediatric population aged 0-2 years admitted to general medical wards
    (2019) Sibanda, Cynthia; Norman, Vivienne; Morrow, Brenda
    Background: Feeding and swallowing difficulties (FSD) have been found in typically developing children as well as in children with complex medical conditions and developmental disabilities. These difficulties cause negative health consequences such as aspiration pneumonia, chronic lung disease, failure to thrive, prolonged hospital stay and even death. The early identification and management of feeding and swallowing difficulties is important as it prevents the negative effects on health and quality of life. Hence, there is a need for a validated screening tool to use in the general hospitalized paediatric population. Research Aims: The aim of this study was to validate the Feeding and Swallowing Questionnaire as a screening tool, in the paediatric population aged 0 – 2 years admitted to general medical wards. The secondary aim was to describe the FSD presenting in the paediatric population aged 0 - 2 years who are hospitalized in the general medical wards. Methodology: A prospective, descriptive, clinimetric design was utilized. A sample of 107 participants admitted to the general medical wards at Steve Biko Academic Hospital were included in the study. Participants’ feeding and swallowing was screened by a research assistant using the Feeding and Swallowing Questionnaire. After the screening, a clinical feeding and swallowing assessment was conducted for comparison, the assessment was conducted by the student researcher using the Clinical Feeding and Swallowing Assessment Tool. Results: There was a 27% FSD prevalence, with the majority of cases (92%) occurring in children under one year of age. One hundred and three children (63% male; median (IQR) age 5.2 (2.1 – 12.8) months) underwent screening and clinical assessment for feeding and swallowing disorders. The criterion validity of the Feeding and swallowing Questionnaire was established with a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 32%. Internal consistency was achieved with an acceptable Cronbach’s alpha of 0.79, and good inter-rater reliability (80%). Participants presented with feeding difficulties in all the phases of swallowing, while some participants had behavioural feeding difficulties. Those who had FSD had the following medical conditions: cardiorespiratory, neurological and gastrointestinal disorders namely acute gastroenteritis and liver disease. Feeding and swallowing difficulties were associated with increased mealtime duration (p=0.005) and supplementary oxygen support (p=0.03). Conclusion: The results confirm that the Feeding and Swallowing Questionnaire shows promising findings as a reliable and valid tool for the identification of FSD in the general hospitalized paediatric population. However, further research in other setting with general paediatric medical wards is required to increase the robustness of the screening tool.
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    Towards the development and validation of an isiXhosa tool for the assessment of apraxia speech in adults: A descriptive study
    (2024) Allie, Nasreen; Singh, Shajila; Pascoe, Michelle
    South Africa is a culturally and linguistically diverse country. Serving isiXhosa speakers is a challenge for many Speech-Language Pathologists as there is a lack of appropriate assessment tools for this population. Current methods of adapting existing English tools are not appropriate as this does not allow the isiXhosa linguistic features to be assessed. Changing the method of scoring renders the tool invalid and unreliable. This project consisted of 3 sequential studies based in an exploratory quantitative framework. Each study has its own methodology and sub-aims with the overall aim to develop and determine the validity and reliability of isiXhosa speech stimuli for the assessment of Apraxia of Speech (AOS) in adults. Study 1 aimed to describe and generate criteria and corresponding speech stimuli for an assessment of AOS in isiXhosa. IsiXhosa has distinguishing linguistic features – such as additional phonemes, alternate places and manners of articulation (e.g. ejectives), as well as phonetic features unique to the language (e.g. prenasalised consonants and tonal contrasts). Inclusion of these features were considered to be important in the creation of the tool. Study 2 aimed to determine the face, content and construct validity of the generated criteria and speech stimuli. The speech stimuli which consisted of words, phrases and sentences were found to be culturally appropriate and to have face, content and construct validity as judged by a group of isiXhosa speakers and a Delphi panel. The speech stimuli met the criteria for an assessment of AOS as set out in Study 1. Study 3 assessed the theoretical constructs outlined in Study 1 and Study 2 determined whether the revised criteria, which generated the newly devised speech stimuli, was valid and reliable in diagnosing AOS. The speech stimuli were based on criteria for the assessment of AOS and considered the isiXhosa linguistic features. There was high inter-rater reliability (79.2 – 98.4%) for determining the presence of features of AOS. Many of the error patterns displayed were similar to that documented in the literature for AOS, such as a higher number of errors were present on less frequently used speech stimuli and stimuli with an increasing number of syllables. It was it was hypothesized that the differences in the language such as clicks and tonal contrasts may add to complexity. Clicks presented with a higher number of errors whereas tonal contrasts had fewer errors suggesting tone was less affected by AOS. Results further suggested that the first consonant of the stimulus rather than the initial phoneme in words add to complexity in isiXhosa. Further research in this area and refinement of the speech stimuli are required to create a comprehensive tool for assessment of AOS in adults.