Reliability and Validity of a Spatial Ability Assessment Tool for 5- to 6-Year-Old Children: An Empirical Study of 112 Children

期刊: 《Educational Guide》 DOI:10.64649/yh.eg.issn3078-4794.20260415 全文阅读 返回期刊

Xu Gehang;Lai Yihan;Mu Rongqi;Chen Xinhang;Chen Yuwei

Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321004, China.

摘要

Objective: The present study evaluated the quality of individual items and obtained preliminary evidence on the reliability and validity of a spatial ability assessment tool for children aged 5–6 years. Methods: Liu’s (2021) assessment tool served as the basis for the assessment. The participants were 112 children from four classes in one kindergarten. The 15 dichotomously scored items were grouped into spatial perception, mental rotation, and spatial visualization. Item characteristics, internal consistency, preliminary structural evidence, and associations between age and spatial ability were examined. Results: The items varied considerably in difficulty and discriminatory performance. Item 5 was answered correctly by 92.9% of the children and showed a relatively weak corrected item–total correlation, suggesting that its difficulty may need adjustment. Items 6 and 7 were difficult, but both retained some discriminatory capacity, so their low accuracy alone does not warrant deletion. KR-20 coefficients were 0.713 for spatial perception, 0.293 for mental rotation, 0.778 for spatial visualization, and 0.657 for the full assessment. For children aged 61–75 months, age was not significantly related to any dimension or to the total score. Conclusion: The assessment provided preliminary evidence of acceptable item performance and reliability for several components of spatial ability in 5- to 6-year-old children. However, the mental rotation dimension showed limited internal consistency, and Item 5 may require further revision. Further studies with larger and more diverse samples are needed to examine the stability of the proposed structure and to strengthen the validity evidence for the assessment.

关键词

5- to 6-year-old children; spatial ability; assessment tool; item analysis; reliability; validity

参考文献

[1]LIU Q X. Development of an Assessment Tool for Spatial Ability in 5- to 6-Year-Old Preschool Children and Its Developmental Status [D]. Changsha: Hunan Normal University, 2021. DOI: 10.27137/d.cnki.ghusu.2021.001308.

[2] NEWCOMBE N S, SHIPLEY T F. Thinking about spatial thinking: New typology, new assessments[C]// GERO J S. Studying Visual and Spatial Reasoning for Design Creativity. Dordrecht: Springer, 2015: 179–192. DOI: 10.1007/978-94-017-9297-4_10.

[3] UTTAL D H, MEADOW N G, TIPTON E, et al. The malleability of spatial skills: A meta-analysis of training studies[J]. Psychological Bulletin, 2013, 139(2): 352–402. DOI: 10.1037/a0028446.

[4] FRICK A, HANSEN M A, NEWCOMBE N S. Development of mental rotation in 3- to 5-year-old children[J]. Cognitive Development, 2013, 28(4): 386–399. DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2013.06.002.

[5] FRICK A, FERRARA K, NEWCOMBE N S. Using a touch screen paradigm to assess the development of mental rotation between 3½ and 5½ years of age[J]. Cognitive Processing, 2013, 14(2): 117–127. DOI: 10.1007/s10339-012-0534-0.

[6] KANG D, WEN X. Effects of mental rotation training on spatial ability and mathematical ability in 5- to 6-year-old children[J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2020, 36(1): 19–27. DOI: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2020.01.03.

[7] WEBER A, BOBROWICZ K, GREIFF S, LEUCHTER M. Mental rotation is supported by block play in boys and girls[J]. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 2024, 91: 101630. DOI: 10.1016/j.appdev.2023.101630.

[8] STREINER D L, NORMAN G R, CAIRNEY J. Health Measurement Scales: A Practical Guide to Their Development and Use[M]. 6th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024.


XML显示示例

    
·