Abstract
Interpretive participatory action research methods were used to assist the education community in Botswana, a developing nation, to identify a framework for the use of tests in the nation’s schools. User preferences for understanding important learner-related qualities through the use of tests were emphasized. Participant informants were educators and school counselors (n = 1,221), learners (n = 355), parents/guardians (n = 162), and education program personnel from civic and multilateral agencies (n = 47). The learners and school personnel were drawn from a nationally representative sample of 328 schools (49% primary and 51% secondary levels; 92% public and 8% private schools). Data on the components and content of a prospective framework were gathered using concept mapping and preference methods. The data were analyzed to construct a locally grounded test use framework appropriate to the Botswana school system. Findings suggest a test use framework spanning the following preferred assessment domains: learning readiness, aptitude, personal development, community norms, socialization, and guidance and counseling. Learners and their parents/guardians prefer that learners access test information first from their classroom teachers followed by guidance and counseling personnel. The use of a consensus-driven multilayered participatory action research consultative processes to develop a framework for test use with the education community has potential for replication in educational and other settings in other developing countries.
References
(2002). Enhancing psychological assessment in sub-Saharan Africa through participant consultation (pp. 169–175). Nairobi, Kenya: Kenya Medical Research Institute.
. (2009). Development of a framework for implementation of tests in the Ministry of Education and Skills Development instruments. Gaborone, Botswana: Africa Scholarship Development Enterprize.
(2006). Removing the Fuzziness from the front end service innovation through customer interaction. Industrial Marking Management, 3, 68–80.
(2008). Constructing tests of cognitive abilities for schooled and unschooled children. Journal of Cross- Cultural Psychology, 39, 529–551. doi: 10.1177/0022022108321176
(2003). The effect of scale tailoring for cross-cultural application on scale reliability and construct validity. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 63, 484–501. doi: 10.1177/0013164403063003009
(2007). Examining the ways and extent to which counselors in Botswana are utilizing indigenous cultural practices and structures (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). UMI, Pittsburgh, PA.
(2005). Designing and leading comprehensive school counseling programs. Promoting student competencies and meeting student needs. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
(1989). Reflective teacher and teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 5, 125–212.
(2008). Enhancing schools’ capacity to support children in poverty: An ecological model of school-based mental health services. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 35, 395–409. doi: 10.1007/s10488-008-0182-y
(2003). The family-school partnership: An opportunity to promote the learning competence of all students. School of Psychology Quarterly, 18, 454–482. doi: 10.1521/scpq.18.4.454.26995
(2005). Evidence-based parent and family interventions in school psychology: State of scientifically based practice. School Psychology Quarterly, 20, 525–528. doi: 10.1521/scpq.2005.20.4.525
. (2012). The concept mapping software. Ithaca, NY: Concept Systems.
(2007).
Challenging educational inequalities: School counselors as agents of social justice . In C. C. Lee (Ed.), Counseling for social justice (2nd ed., pp. 3–14). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.(2011). Interpretive validity theory: Mapping a methodology for validating educational assessments. Educational Research, 53, 303–320. doi: 10.1080/00131881.2011.598659
(2006). Action research literature 2004–2006. Themes and trends. Action Research, 4, 439–458. doi: 10.1177/1476750306070105
(2006). Listening to parents’ voices: Action research in schools. Professional Psychology, Research and Practice, 37, 359–366. doi: 10.1037/0735-7028.37.4.359
(2006). Some thoughts on the perceptions on the role of educational psychologists in early childhood intervention. Early Child Development and Care, 176, 111–127. doi: 10.1080/03004430500209522
(1991). School programs and teacher practices of parent involvement in inn-city elementary and middle schools. The Elementary School Journal, 91, 289–305. doi: 10.1086/461656
(2007). Transforming the school counseling profession (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
(2002). Quality of school based prevention programs: Results from a national survey. Journal of Research on Crime and Delinquency, 39, 3–35. doi: 10.1177/002242780203900101
(2012). Development, testing, and use of a valid and reliable tool for urban American Indian/Alaska native youth programming using culturally appropriate methodologies. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 21, 77–94. doi: 10.1080/15313204.2012.673426
(1991). Learning and transfer in everyday cognition. Cognitive Development, 6, 233–260. doi: 10.1016/0885-2014(91)90038-F
(2005). Sustainability of teacher program implementation of school based mental health programs. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33, 665–679. doi: 10.1007/s10802-005-7646-2
(2013).
Promoting culturally competent assessment in schools . In C. S. Cluass-EhlersZ. N. SerpellM. weist (Eds.), Handbook of culturally responsive school mental health (pp. 209–218). New York, NY: Springer.(2011). Promoting social justice with freedom. Ideas and Research You Can Use, 19, 10–17.
(2005). An introduction to the history of psychology (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
. (2012). Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development report. New York, NY: United Nations Development Program, Human Development Office.
(2009). Knowledge in the blood: Confronting race and the apartheid past. South Africa, Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press.
(2007). Concept mapping for planning and evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
(2011). The feasibility and acceptability of an approach to emotional wellbeing support for high school students. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 16, 193–200. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-3588.2011.00602.x
(2010). Parents’ involvement and expectations of children’s academic achievement goals in Botswana (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO.
(2001). Helping seventh grades be safe and successful: A statewide study of the impact of comprehensive guidance and counseling programs. Journal of Counseling and Development, 79, 320–330. doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.2001.tb01977.x
(2007). Ethics standards impacting test development and use: A review of 31 ethics of codes impacting practices in 35 countries. International Journal of Testing, 7, 71–88. doi: 10.1080/15305050709336859
(2011). Envisioning an African child development field. Child Development Perspectives, 5, 140–147. doi: 10.1111/j.1750-8606.2011.00169.x
(2005).
Translating and evaluating questionnaires: Cultural issues for international research . In P. FayersR. Hays (Eds.), Assessing quality of life in clinical trials: Method and practice (pp. 95–112). Oxford, UK: Oxford Univerity Press.. (1994). The Revised National Policy on Education. Gaborone, Botswana: Government Printers.
. (1996). Policy guide-lines on the implementation of guidance and counseling in botswana education system. Gaborone, Botswana: Guidance and Counseling Division.
. (2012). Botswana budget speech. Gaborone, Botswana: Government Printers.
(1994). Counsellor role perceptions and preferences of Zimbabwe teachers of a Shona cultural background. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 7, 311–326. doi: 10.1080/09515079408254155
(2008, July). Conditions for testing equity in six Sub-Saharan African Countries. Paper presented at the International Congress of Psychology, Berlin, Germany.
(2012). Understanding human abilities in sub-Saharan African settings. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, Unit 4. Retrieved from http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol4/iss3/2ISBN978-0-9845627-0-1
(2009).
Equitable assessment in diverse settings . In E. Origorenko (Ed.), Multicultural psychoeducational assessments (pp. 41–76). New York, NY: Springer.(2005).
School psychology in sub-Saharan Africa: Results and implications of a six-country survey . In C. R. ReynoldsC. Frisby (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of multicultural school Psychology (pp. 1128–1150). New York, NY: Wiley.(2012). Constructing a framework for use of tests in schools: A consumer-oriented approach (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Botswana), Gaborone: Author.
(in press). In-school psychosocial support services for safeguarding children’s rights: Results and implications of a Botswana study. School Psychology International.
(2009).
How universal are test development and use? In E. Grigorenko (Ed.), Assessment of abilities and competencies in an era of globalization (pp. 1–40). New York, NY: Springer.(2010). Diffusion of school-based prevention programs in two urban districts: Adaptations, rationales, and suggestions for change. Prevention Science, 11, 42–55. doi: 10.1007/s11121-009-0148-7
(2013). Parents participation in public primary schools in Botswana: Perceptions and experiences of headteachers. International Education Studies, 6, 68–77. doi: 10.5539/ies.v6n5p68
(2008). The Sage handbook of action research: Participative inquiry and practice. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
. (2004). Millennium development goals. Gaborone, Botswana: Republic of Botswana.
(2011). Social responsibility as a dimension of intelligence, and as an educational goal: Insights from programmatic research in an African society. Child Development Perspectives, 5, 126–133. doi: 10.1111/j.1750-8606.2011.00167.x
(2011). Early educational foundations for the development of civic responsibility. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 134, 77–93. doi: 10.1002/cd.312
(2009). School counselors as accountability leaders: Another call for action. Professional School Counseling, 13, 68–74. doi: 10.5330/PSC.n.2010-13.68
(2002). Culturally competent assessment: More than nonbiased tests. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 11, 61–78. doi: 10.1023/A:1014767511894
(2010). Differentiated assessment: How to assess the learning potential of every student (grades 6–12). New York, NY: Jossey-Bass.
(1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
(2006).
Participatory action research (PAR) by youth . In L. SherrodC. FlanagonR. Kassimir (Eds.), Youth activism: An international encyclopedia (pp. 465–462). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.(2004). Response styles in rating scales: Evidence of method bias in data from six EU countries. Journal of Cross- Cultural Psychology, 35, 346–360. doi: 10.1177/0022022104264126
(2004). Focus groups in psychological assessment: Enhancing content validity by consulting members of the target population. Psychological Assessment, 16, 231–243. doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.16.3.231
(1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511803932
(2005).
Ableism . In G. NelsonI. Prilleltensky (Eds.), Community psychology: In pursuit of liberation and well-being (pp. 405–425). Hamisphere, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
