Soo May Yoong, Noor Aini Ahmad, Charanjit Kaur Swaran Singh, Wei Lun Wong
{"title":"The design and development of a dyscalculia checklist based on a focus group interview","authors":"Soo May Yoong, Noor Aini Ahmad, Charanjit Kaur Swaran Singh, Wei Lun Wong","doi":"10.1111/1467-8578.12474","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article aims to explore the symptoms and characteristics of dyscalculia. This is a qualitative study. Five experts in the field of special education took part in a focus group interview. Each expert had more than ten years of experience in their area of expertise. To determine the content validity of the protocol, three experts in special education, language and qualitative research evaluated each of the eight items. Cohen's kappa analysis was used to assess inter-rater reliability. The findings of this study indicate that 59 items have been developed, based on six constructs in the dyscalculia checklist. The six constructs were subitising, estimating, Arabic numerals, verbal numbers, arithmetic facts and calculating processes. Following the focus group interview, a new construct emerged: math anxiety. The study implies that teachers might utilise this checklist to carry out early detection of students with dyscalculia in primary schools. This will enable appropriate intervention, resulting in significant benefits for the Ministry of Education, for educators and teachers, and for the students themselves. Although this study was based in Malaysia, the results have wider implications because dyscalculia is present everywhere.</p>","PeriodicalId":46054,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Special Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9000,"publicationDate":"2023-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"British Journal of Special Education","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-8578.12474","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"EDUCATION, SPECIAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This article aims to explore the symptoms and characteristics of dyscalculia. This is a qualitative study. Five experts in the field of special education took part in a focus group interview. Each expert had more than ten years of experience in their area of expertise. To determine the content validity of the protocol, three experts in special education, language and qualitative research evaluated each of the eight items. Cohen's kappa analysis was used to assess inter-rater reliability. The findings of this study indicate that 59 items have been developed, based on six constructs in the dyscalculia checklist. The six constructs were subitising, estimating, Arabic numerals, verbal numbers, arithmetic facts and calculating processes. Following the focus group interview, a new construct emerged: math anxiety. The study implies that teachers might utilise this checklist to carry out early detection of students with dyscalculia in primary schools. This will enable appropriate intervention, resulting in significant benefits for the Ministry of Education, for educators and teachers, and for the students themselves. Although this study was based in Malaysia, the results have wider implications because dyscalculia is present everywhere.
期刊介绍:
This well-established and respected journal covers the whole range of learning difficulties relating to children in mainstream and special schools. It is widely read by nasen members as well as other practitioners, administrators advisers, teacher educators and researchers in the UK and overseas. The British Journal of Special Education is concerned with a wide range of special educational needs, and covers all levels of education pre-school, school, and post-school.