International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

Frequency: 12
line decor
  
line decor

 Volume 11, Issue 5 (May 2024), Pages: 200-208

----------------------------------------------

 Original Research Paper

Development and validation of assessment tools for literacy and numeracy skills in early childhood education

 Author(s): 

 Atin Fatimah 1, 2, *, Punaji Setyosari 1, Dedi Kuswandi 1, Henry Praherdhiono 1

 Affiliation(s):

 1Educational Technology Department, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia
 2Educational Technology Department, Universitas Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, Serang, Indonesia

 Full text

  Full Text - PDF

 * Corresponding Author. 

  Corresponding author's ORCID profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0586-2190

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

 https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2024.05.022

 Abstract

This study focuses on developing and validating a tool to assess literacy and numeracy skills in young children. A total of 137 children from five kindergartens participated. The tool was first evaluated for content validity through a review of existing literature and further refined by expert feedback. Then, its construct validity was examined using exploratory factor analysis, and its reliability was assessed using McDonald's Omega (ω) and Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α). The data were analyzed using SPSS to confirm the validity and reliability of the tool for each skill set. Both literacy and numeracy components showed high validity with a p-value of 0.000. The reliability for the literacy tool was also high, with Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's Omega both around 0.797. For the numeracy tool, reliability was acceptable, with Cronbach's alpha at 0.713 and McDonald's Omega at 0.705. The results confirm that the questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument for evaluating literacy and numeracy skills in early childhood. This research contributes to the creation of two tools that can aid educators in various institutions interested in enhancing literacy and numeracy education at the kindergarten level. Further exploration of additional aspects is suggested for future research.

 © 2024 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

 Early childhood education, Literacy assessment, Numeracy assessment, Validity and reliability, Exploratory factor analysis

 Article history

 Received 25 December 2023, Received in revised form 1 May 2024, Accepted 11 May 2024

 Funding 

The authors received financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article through the Indonesia Endowment Funds for Education (LPDP) Center for Higher Education Funding (BPPT).

 Acknowledgment 

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Indonesia Endowment Funds for Education (LPDP) Center for Higher Education Funding (BPPT) and all contributors involved in data collection for the current script. In addition, the authors would like to thank all research participants, including validators and teacher collaborators, for their unwavering support.

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Ethical considerations

This study adhered to the highest ethical standards, ensuring voluntary participation with informed consent from the children's parents or guardians. The privacy and confidentiality of participants were strictly maintained, with anonymized data collection. The research was approved by the institutional review boards of Universitas Negeri Malang and Universitas Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, minimizing risks and discomfort by designing child-friendly assessment tools. The study was funded by the Indonesia Endowment Funds for Education (LPDP) Center for Higher Education Funding (BPPT), ensuring unbiased outcomes and cultural sensitivity throughout the research process.

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

 Fatimah A, Setyosari P, Kuswandi D, and Praherdhiono H (2024). Development and validation of assessment tools for literacy and numeracy skills in early childhood education. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 11(5): 200-208

 Permanent Link to this page

 Figures

 Fig. 1 

 Tables

 Table 1 Table 2 Table 3

----------------------------------------------   

 References (65)

  1. Aljojo N, Munshi A, Almukadi W, Zainol A, Alanaya I, Albalawi H, Alharbi G, Almadani N, Almohammadi E, Kadu A, and Abdulghaffar NA (2019). The design and implementation of an Arabic pronunciation application for early childhood. Journal of Technology and Science Education, 9(2): 136-152. https://doi.org/10.3926/jotse.486   [Google Scholar]
  2. Almanasreh E, Moles R, and Chen TF (2019). Evaluation of methods used for estimating content validity. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 15(2): 214-221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2018.03.066   [Google Scholar] PMid:29606610
  3. Aunio P, Heiskari P, Van Luit JE, and Vuorio JM (2014a). The development of early numeracy skills in kindergarten in low-, average-and high-performance groups. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 13(1): 3-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X14538722   [Google Scholar]
  4. Aunio P, Korhonen J, Bashash L, and Khoshbakht F (2014b). Children’s early numeracy in Finland and Iran. International Journal of Early Years Education, 22(4): 423–440. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2014.988208   [Google Scholar]
  5. Bergman Deitcher D, Aram D, and Itzkovich I (2021). Alphabet books: Relations between aspects of parent-child shared reading, children’s motivation, and early literacy skills. Reading Psychology, 42(4): 388–410. https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2021.1888344   [Google Scholar]
  6. Bolger F and Wright G (1992). Reliability and validity in expert judgment. In: Wright G and Bolger F (Eds.), Expertise and decision support: 47-76. Springer US, Boston, USA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-585-34290-0_4   [Google Scholar]
  7. Braak D, Lenes R, Purpura DJ, Schmitt SA, and Størksen I (2022). Why do early mathematics skills predict later mathematics and reading achievement? The role of executive function. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 214: 105306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105306   [Google Scholar] PMid:34655996
  8. Bryant P and Nunes T (2002). Children’s understanding of mathematics. In: Goswami U (Ed.), Blackwell handbook of childhood cognitive development: 412-439. Blackwell, Malden, USA. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470996652.ch19   [Google Scholar] PMid:11889409
  9. Budianto A, Setyosari P, Kuswandi D, and Ulfa S (2022). Summaries writing to enhance reading comprehension: Systematic literature review from 2014 to 2021. Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 8(1): 149–161.   [Google Scholar]
  10. Campbell DT and Fiske DW (1959). Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 56(2): 81–105. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0046016   [Google Scholar] PMid:13634291
  11. Cheung GW, Cooper-Thomas HD, Lau RS, and Wang LC (2023). Reporting reliability, convergent and discriminant validity with structural equation modeling: A review and best-practice recommendations. Asia Pacific Journal of Management. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-023-09871-y   [Google Scholar]
  12. Cheung SK, Yang X, Dulay KM, and McBride C (2018). Family and individual variables associated with young Filipino children’s numeracy interest and competence. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 36(2): 334–353. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjdp.12222   [Google Scholar] PMid:29171059
  13. Clay MM (2019). An observation survey of early literacy achievement. Heinemann, Portsmouth, USA.   [Google Scholar]
  14. Dewi MS, Setyosari P, Kuswandi D, and Ulfa S (2020). Analysis of kindergarten teachers on pedagogical content knowledge. European Journal of Educational Research, 9(4): 1701–1721. https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.9.4.1701   [Google Scholar]
  15. Dicataldo R, Rowe ML, and Roch M (2022). “Let’s read together”: A parent-focused intervention on dialogic book reading to improve early language and literacy skills in preschool children. Children, 9(8): 1149. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9081149   [Google Scholar] PMid:36010039 PMCid:PMC9406408
  16. Drost EA (2011). Validity and reliability in social science research. Education Research and Perspectives, 38(1): 105-123.   [Google Scholar]
  17. Fraenkel JL, Wallen NE, and Hyun HH (2012). How to design and evaluate research in education. McGraw Hill, New York, USA.   [Google Scholar]
  18. Gandolfi E, Traverso L, Zanobini M, Usai MC, and Viterbori P (2021). The longitudinal relationship between early inhibitory control skills and emergent literacy in preschool children. Reading and Writing, 34(8): 1985–2009. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-021-10131-y   [Google Scholar]
  19. Gee JP (2003). Opportunity to learn: A language-based perspective on assessment. International Journal of Phytoremediation, 21(1): 27–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/09695940301696   [Google Scholar]
  20. Grünke M (2019). The effects of reading racetracks on the sight word recognition of four elementary school students with learning difficulties. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 11(4): 291–297. https://doi.org/10.26822/iejee.2019450787   [Google Scholar]
  21. Guillot-Valdés M, Guillén-Riquelme A, and Buela-Casal G (2022). Content validity through expert judgment for the depression clinical evaluation test. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 22(2): 100292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2022.100292   [Google Scholar] PMid:35572073 PMCid:PMC9055062
  22. Hayes AF and Coutts JJ (2020). Use omega rather than Cronbach’s alpha for estimating reliability. Communication Methods and Measures, 14(1): 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/19312458.2020.1718629   [Google Scholar]
  23. Hellstrand H, Korhonen J, Räsänen P, Linnanmäki K, and Aunio P (2020). Reliability and validity evidence of the early numeracy test for identifying children at risk for mathematical learning difficulties. International Journal of Educational Research, 102: 101580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101580   [Google Scholar]
  24. Hernandez DJ (2011). Double jeopardy: How third-grade reading skills and poverty influence high school graduation. Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore, USA.   [Google Scholar]
  25. Jordan NC, Kaplan D, Ramineni C, and Locuniak MN (2009). Early math matters: kindergarten number competence and later mathematics outcomes. Developmental Psychology, 45(3): 850–867. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014939   [Google Scholar] PMid:19413436 PMCid:PMC2782699
  26. Konishi H, Froyen LC, Skibbe LE, and Bowles RP (2018). Family context and children’s early literacy skills: The role of marriage quality and emotional expressiveness of mothers and fathers. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 42: 183–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2017.10.008   [Google Scholar]
  27. Korat O, Gitait A, Bergman Deitcher D, and Mevarech Z (2017). Early literacy programme as support for immigrant children and as transfer to early numeracy. Early Child Development and Care, 187(3–4): 672–689. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2016.1273221   [Google Scholar]
  28. LeFevre JA, Cankaya O, Xu C, and Lira CJ (2018). Linguistic and experiential factors as predictors of young children's early numeracy skills. In: Berch DB, Geary DC, and Koepke KM (Eds.), Language and culture in mathematical cognition: 49-72. Academic Press, Cambridge, USA. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-812574-8.00003-1   [Google Scholar] PMid:29573829
  29. Leyton-Román M, Mesquita S, and Jiménez-Castuera R (2021). Validation of the Spanish healthy lifestyle questionnaire. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 21(2): 100228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2021.100228   [Google Scholar] PMid:33737951 PMCid:PMC7933739
  30. Liu B, Li F, Jiang H, and Laura JM (2020). Associations between young children’s print fixations during book reading and their early literacy skills. Journal of Chinese Writing Systems, 4(1): 45–56. https://doi.org/10.1177/2513850219888031   [Google Scholar]
  31. Lonigan CJ, Allan DM, and Phillips BM (2017). Examining the predictive relations between two aspects of self-regulation and growth in preschool children’s early literacy skills. Developmental Psychology, 53(1): 63–76. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000247   [Google Scholar] PMid:27854463 PMCid:PMC5191909
  32. Lonigan CJ, Goodrich JM, and Farver JAM (2018). Identifying differences in early literacy skills across subgroups of language-minority children: A latent profile analysis. Developmental Psychology, 54(4): 631–647. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000477   [Google Scholar] PMid:29251963 PMCid:PMC5886800
  33. Manolitsis G, Georgiou GK, and Tziraki N (2013). Examining the effects of home literacy and numeracy environment on early reading and math acquisition. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28(4): 692–703. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2013.05.004   [Google Scholar]
  34. Markussen-Brown J, Juhl CB, Piasta SB, Bleses D, Højen A, and Justice LM (2017). The effects of language-and literacy-focused professional development on early educators and children: A best-evidence meta-analysis. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 38: 97–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2016.07.002   [Google Scholar]
  35. McLeod S, Harrison LJ, and Wang C (2019). A longitudinal population study of literacy and numeracy outcomes for children identified with speech, language, and communication needs in early childhood. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 47: 507–517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.07.004   [Google Scholar]
  36. MOE (2022). Merancang kurikulum operasional satuan PAUD. Ministry of Education, Jakarta, Indonesia. 
  37. Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, and PRISMA Group (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. Annals of Internal Medicine, 151(4): 264-269. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-151-4-200908180-00135   [Google Scholar] PMid:19622511
  38. Morrison GS (2007). Early childhood education today. In: Julie P (Ed.), Educating Zimbabwe for the 21st century: What every educator should know. Nova Science Publishers, Hauppauge, USA.   [Google Scholar]
  39. Newman I, Lim J, and Pineda F (2013). Content validity using a mixed methods approach: Its application and development through the use of a table of specifications methodology. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 7(3): 43–60. https://doi.org/10.1177/1558689813476922   [Google Scholar]
  40. Newman R, Ratner NB, Jusczyk AM, Jusczyk PW, and Dow KA (2006). Infants' early ability to segment the conversational speech signal predicts later language development: A retrospective analysis. Developmental Psychology, 42(4): 643–655. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.42.4.643   [Google Scholar] PMid:16802897
  41. Niklas F and Tayler C (2018). Room quality and composition matters: Children’s verbal and numeracy abilities in Australian early childhood settings. Learning and Instruction, 54: 114–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2017.08.006   [Google Scholar]
  42. Niklas F, Cohrssen C, and Tayler C (2016). The sooner, the better: Early reading to children. SAGE Open, 6(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016672715   [Google Scholar]
  43. Novarianing Asri D, Setyosari P, Hitipeuw I, and Chusniyah T (2017). The Influence of project-based learning strategy and self-regulated learning on academic procrastination of junior high school students’ mathematics learning. American Journal of Educational Research, 5(1): 88–96. https://doi.org/10.12691/education-5-1-14   [Google Scholar]
  44. Pan J, Kong Y, Song S, McBride C, Liu H, and Shu H (2017). Socioeconomic status, parent report of children’s early language skills, and late literacy skills: A long term follow-up study among Chinese children. Reading and Writing, 30(2): 401–416. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-016-9682-4   [Google Scholar]
  45. Papic M, Mulligan J, and Highfield K (2013). Numeracy. In: Garvis S (Ed.), Teaching early years: Curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. Routledge, Oxfordshire, UK.   [Google Scholar]
  46. Purpura DJ and Lonigan CJ (2013). Informal numeracy skills: The structure and relations among numbering, relations, and arithmetic operations in preschool. American Educational Research Journal, 50(1): 178–209. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831212465332   [Google Scholar]
  47. Raban B and Scull J (2013). Literacy. In: Garvis S (Ed.), Teaching early years: Curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. Routledge, Oxfordshire, UK.   [Google Scholar]
  48. Raghubar KP and Barnes MA (2017). Early numeracy skills in preschool-aged children: A review of neurocognitive findings and implications for assessment and intervention. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 31(2): 329-351. https://doi.org/10.1080/13854046.2016.1259387   [Google Scholar] PMid:27875931 PMCid:PMC6208324
  49. Sampa FK, Ojanen E, Westerholm J, Ketonen R, and Lyytinen H (2018). Literacy programs efficacy for developing children’s early reading skills in familiar language in Zambia. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 28(2): 128–135. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2018.1435050   [Google Scholar]
  50. Scull J, Page J, Cock ML, Nguyen C, Murray L, Eadie P, and Sparling J (2021). Developing and validating a tool to assess young children’s early literacy engagement. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 46(2): 179–195. https://doi.org/10.1177/18369391211009696   [Google Scholar]
  51. Senechal M and Cornell EH (1993). Vocabulary acquisition through shared reading experiences. Reading Research Quarterly, 28(4): 360-374. https://doi.org/10.2307/747933   [Google Scholar]
  52. Stramel J (2021). Mathematics methods for early childhood. FHSU Digital Press, Hays, USA. https://doi.org/10.58809/LMCP2805   [Google Scholar]
  53. Strauss ME and Smith GT (2009). Construct validity: Advances in theory and methodology. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 5: 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.032408.153639   [Google Scholar] PMid:19086835 PMCid:PMC2739261
  54. Tayler C and Ishimine K (2013). Assessment. In: Pendergast D and Garvis S (Eds.), Teaching early years: Rethinking curriculum, pedagogy and assessment: 285–301. Allen and Unwin, Crows Nest, Australia. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003117704-22   [Google Scholar]
  55. Thomas A, Tazouti Y, Hoareau L, Luxembourger C, Hubert B, and Jarlégan A (2023). Early numeracy assessment in French preschool: Structural analysis and links with children’s characteristics. International Journal of Early Years Education, 31(4): 1018-1035. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2021.1938518   [Google Scholar]
  56. Triwahyuni E, Degeng I, Setyosari P, and Kuswandi D (2020). The effects of picture word inductive model (PWIM) toward student's early reading skills of first-grade in the primary school. İlköğretim Online, 19(3): 1523–1526. https://doi.org/10.17051/ilkonline.2020.733100   [Google Scholar]
  57. Vessonen T, Widlund A, Hakkarainen A, and Aunio P (2023). Validating the early numeracy teacher rating scale for preschoolers (TRS–EN). European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 31(2): 205–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2022.2081350   [Google Scholar]
  58. Wackerle-Hollman AK, Durán LK, and Miranda A (2020). Early literacy skill growth in Spanish-speaking children with and at risk for disabilities in early childhood. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 40(1): 24–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/0271121420906469   [Google Scholar]
  59. Wästerlid C (2022). Low-achieving grade K-3 children’s early numeracy competences: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Early Years Education, 30(4): 748-765. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2020.1848524   [Google Scholar]
  60. Whitehurst GJ and Lonigan CJ (1998). Child development and emergent literacy. Child Development, 69(3): 848-872. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1998.tb06247.x   [Google Scholar] PMid:9680688
  61. Wirth A, Ehmig SC, and Niklas F (2022). The role of the home literacy environment for children’s linguistic and socioemotional competencies development in the early years. Social Development, 31(2): 372–387. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12550   [Google Scholar]
  62. Wirth A, Ehmig SC, Drescher N, Guffler S, and Niklas F (2020). Facets of the early home literacy environment and children’s linguistic and socioemotional competencies. Early Education and Development, 31(6): 892–909. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2019.1706826   [Google Scholar]
  63. Xu Y, Farver JAM, and Krieg A (2017). The home environment and Asian immigrant children’s early literacy skills. Parenting, 17(2): 104–123. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2017.1304783   [Google Scholar]
  64. Yang X, Dulay KM, McBride C, and Cheung SK (2021). How do phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, and vocabulary contribute to early numeracy and print knowledge of Filipino children? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 209: 105179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105179   [Google Scholar] PMid:34020135
  65. Zhang X, Räsänen P, Koponen T, Aunola K, Lerkkanen MK, and Nurmi JE (2020). Early cognitive precursors of children's mathematics learning disability and persistent low achievement: A 5‐year longitudinal study. Child Development, 91(1): 7-27. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13123   [Google Scholar] PMid:29998603