Cross-Cultural Adaptation of A Developmental Test (Dial-R) for Young Children in Taiwan

Abstract

DIAL-R (Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning-Revised), a developmental test for children 2 to 6 years old, was modified minimally and translated for use in Taiwan. After it was normed on a stratified sample of 322 children in Taipei, analyses of internal consistency, construct validity, test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity all indicated that the test meets the standards of a technically adequate screening test for that culture, giving it criterion-referenced meaning. In addition, some tentative cross-cultural comparisons of young children's motoric, conceptual, and language development can be drawn. Whereras the normative data suggest that most skills develop at comparable ages in the two cultures, there are some notable exceptions, some of which develop earlier in American children, others of which develop earlier in Chinese children. These differences are discussed in context with environmental and cultural components, giving the test construct-referenced meaning.

The Hidden Dropout Phenomenon among Immigrant High-School Students

“…These results may be explained by the fact that in Ethiopia, as opposed to other Western societies, no emphasis is put on visual motor organization, which was examined in the current and previous studies (Katz et al, 2002;Rosenblum et al, 1997Rosenblum et al, , 2000. In fact, visual motor and spatial organization skills are acquired through practice of drawing or writing tasks, while proceeding through formal education and beginning from a young age (Mardell-Czudnowski et al, 1986;Saeki et al, 1995). Most youths who participated in this study had not received formal education in Ethiopia and lacked elementary experience in drawing or writing tasks.…”

Construct Validity of Beery's Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration for Taiwanese Children

“…Cross-cultural studies have emphasized the danger of applying a standardized test developed in one culture as a diagnostic instrument for individuals from a different culture (Berry, Poortinga, Segall, & Dasen, 1992;Cella, Lloyd, & Wright, 1996;Mardell-Czudnowski, Hwang, & Wang, 1987;Martin, Sewell, & Manni, 1977;Poortinga, 1989;Poortinga, Fons, & Vijver, 1987;Wilson, 1994). Such an external comparison may not be valid because tests of ability and achievement are developed within a context-specific environment with culturally specific content (Miller-joanes, 1987).…”

“…Comparative studies have already shown that different developmental rates exist among children with different cultural backgrounds. The differences are not only found in the development of the component skills that underlie visual-motor integration such as visual perception, fine motor coordination, and cognitive concept development, but also in visualmotor integration itself (Bryant, Davies, & Newcombe, 1974;Liu, 1972;Mao, 1995;Mardell-Czudnowski, et al, 1987;Martin, et al, 1977;Saeki, Clark, & Azen, 1985;Schooler & Anderson, 1979;Solomons & Solomons, 1975;Song & Ginsburg, 1987;Stevenson, Stigler, Lucker, Lee, Hsu, & Kitamura, 1985).…”

Comparing participation patterns in out-of-school activities between Israeli Jewish and Muslim children

“…Familial and environmental factors also include cultural background. Culture and religious beliefs are related to familial attitudes toward the child, create expectations from the child, and encourage the development of specific behaviors and skills (14,(18)(19)(20)(21). All of these may affect the child's participation (22).…”