Development, Validity and Reliability of the Preschool Learning Skills Scale: A Tool for Early Identification of Preschooler at Risk of Learning Disorder in Mainland China (Preprint)

Abstract

Early identification of children at risk of learning disorder (LD) may mitigate the negative effects of delayed intervention by guiding children to receive preventive services at an earlier age. However, there is no assessment tool for early identification of children at risk of LD in Mainland China.

This study aimed to create a Chinese version of the Preschool Learning Skills Scale and to investigate its validity and reliability.

Firstly, a pilot scale was designed based on literature review and expert review. Secondly, a pre-survey of the pilot scale was conducted. In phase 3, a formal survey was carried out to test the reliability and validity of the scale by involving 2678 preschool children from 7 kindergartens into it. Data was collected using a checklist for demographic characteristics, the preschool learning skills scale(PLSS), the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version (BRIEF-P), and Conners’ Rating Scales.

The final scale included 38 items under 7 factors. The reliability tests confirmed that the Cronbach’s alpha, split-half reliability, and test-retest reliability coefficient of the PLSS was 0.946, 0.905 and 0.941. As to construct validity, the Spearman correlations of factor-total score ranged from 0.691 to 0.859. The results of criterion-related validity showed a direct and significant association between the PLSS with the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version (r = 0.643, P< 0.001) and Conners’ Rating Scales (r = 0.652, P< 0.001). The model had a good fit [CFI = 0.910, TLI = 0.901, RMSEA = 0.047, and SRMR = 0.038].

Findings demonstrate that the PLSS has a good internal validity, good test–retest reliability, and acceptable construct validity, which indicates that the scale can be used for early identification of preschool children at risk of LD.