Should Self-Nominations Be Allowed in Peer Nomination Forms?

Abstract

The present study addressed the problem of self-nomination in peer nomination forms (PNF) used with children to designate classroom peers who have superior abilities or talents. Its goal was to assess the incidence and worth of that information. The sample consisted of 391 students from 17 classes, almost evenly divided by gender and grade (4 to 8). The instrument was a 12-item frequent (41%). A repeated measures ANOVA showed that the incidence rate was mainly influenced by the type of ability assessed and the rank of the choices, and that both interacted with the following variables: group, grade level, and gender. Self-nominations had no perceptible impact on the reliability of the talent scores. Self and peer nominations were significantly correlated, r = 44. A much lower correlation was observed between self-and teacher nominations, r = 23, attributed mainly to the lower reliability of these two types of scores.