فصلنامه اندازه گیری تربیتی
پیاپی 54 (زمستان 1402)

In order to increase the precision of measurement, survey studies apply scales for the evaluation of latent features. This study aimed to examine differential item functioning (DIF) of Academic Alienation scale items in students based on the Item Response theory (IRT) framework. DIF analysis is used to test the hypothesis if the item parameters for the different groups of identical ability are invariant. DIF analyses of gender and education duration were performed using a sample of 1100 Psychology and educational sciences students in the city of Tehran. The Academic Alienation items (Burbach, 1972) studied were 4-point Likert-type scales. The questionnaire had three subscales: isolation, meaningless, and powerlessness. Analyses were conducted using the graded item response model with likelihood ratio (IRT-LR) tests of DIF. DIF analyses were conducted with 4 anchor items and after Bonferroni adjustment only 3 items based on gender and 2 items according to education duration were detected with meaningful DIF. The explanation of DIF detection can be discussed based on the cultural context of universities. Sexual inequality, teachers’ attitudes, university management policies, and finally educational injustice may be the reasons for the sense of academic alienation in students.

Today's man is confronted with a multitude of challenges, ranging from health, environmental, economic, and international relations issues, to matters of spirituality. These problems, whether considered individually or collectively, pose significant threats to human life and well-being. Experts and researchers across various disciplines are now working diligently to develop solutions and overcome these challenges facing humanity. The concept of Evolutionary-Cosmic Metacognition represents an effort to foster a sense of unity and interconnectedness with all aspects of existence, potentially enabling individuals to view themselves as an integral part of the broader fabric of existence and promoting positive, constructive behavior while reducing destructive tendencies. The primary objective of this study was to conceptualize the theory of Cosmic Evolutionary Metacognitive Beliefs and validate a measurement instrument for assessing these beliefs. The study was designed with an applied purpose and utilized a correlational research methodology. For the data collection, a random multi-stage cluster sampling technique was employed, and 181 students from both Shiraz University and Shahid Bahonar University in Kerman participated in the survey. They provided responses to a set of 81 statements pertaining to the concept of evolutionary-cosmic metacognitive beliefs. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were utilized in this study to assess the validity and reliability of the scale. Through EFA, it was determined that 20 items possessed the necessary conditions for inclusion in the Cosmic Evolutionary Metacognitive Beliefs Scale. These items were grouped into four factors based on the obtained results. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis found that 3 of the items did not possess adequate strength to account for the desired factors. As a result, the Cosmic Evolutionary Metacognitive Beliefs scale incorporates 4 factors and 17 items with favorable psychometric indices. This revised scale is recommended for use in future research by interested scholars and researchers.

The Sources of Counseling Self-Efficacy Scale, Malaysia (SCSE-M) is a self-report scale that measures self-efficacy with a focus on how counselors work with 25 items; however, this scale has not been investigated and psychometrically evaluated in Iranian society. The aim of the current study was, in the first step, to translate this scale from English to Persian and then to determine its psychometric properties in Iranian samples. The survey sample consisted of 297 of his 1400 Tehran city counselors, selected in a Convenience non-random sampling, and they responded to the research tools including Counseling Self-Efficacy Scale (2020), General Self-Efficacy Scale (1995), Deiner Flourishing Scale (2010), and Counselors Self-Efficacy Scale (2009). The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis. According to the findings, face validity, content, and structure showed the appropriate validity and reliability of this tool. We used the combined reliability and Cronbach's alpha coefficient to assess the reliability and internal consistency of the Counselor Self-Efficacy Resource Scale, and the results showed that this scale has good internal consistency and composite reliability. Finally, the analysis of the correlation matrix related to the variables of the study showed that the Counseling Self-Efficacy Resource Scale had a positive and significant correlation with the general self-efficacy scale (GSE-10), Deiner Flourishing Scale, Counselors Self-Efficacy Scale, age and activity experience (p<0.01). The results of the present study demonstrated that this scale has favorable statistical properties in Iranian samples and can be reliably used in Iranian samples to assess self-efficacy in counseling.

This research was conducted to determine the diagnostic validity of the fifth edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC-V) in students with learning disabilities in Tehran. The methodological approach employed in this study is specifically within the domain of psychometrics, which is a subfield of methodology studies. The statistical population of this study encompassed all elementary school students (from the first to fourth grade) studying in Tehran during the academic year 2018-2019. The sample size involved 400 students with learning disabilities who were chosen through a targeted and accessible sampling method, in addition to an additional 400 students without learning disabilities who were randomly selected in adherence with the study objectives. This study utilized the fifth edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC-V) as the primary measurement tool. The diagnostic validity of the assessment was evaluated through the application of sensitivity coefficient and clarity methodologies. Upon examination, the study concluded that the Vocabulary and Information subtests (from the Verbal Comprehension Index), Arithmetic (from the Fluid Reasoning Scale), Number Span (forward and backward), Picture Span, Letter-Digit Sequencing, and Letter-Number Sequencing (from the Working Memory Scale), as well as Coding, Cancellation (random), and Cancellation (structural) subtests (from the Processing Speed Index) hold diagnostic validity. Therefore, it can be concluded that the fifth edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC-V) possesses diagnostic validity and can effectively distinguish students with learning disabilities from those within the normative range.

Marital power scale is a self-report scale that consists of two subscales of power process and power outcome, and it has not been used in the Iranian sample to date. The aim of the present study was to determine the psychometric properties of the Persian version of Bogue et al.'s marital power scale (2008) in the Iranian sample. The correlational research method and the study sample consisted of 555 people who were selected through volunteer sampling method and responded to the research tools including the scales of marital power, covert communication aggression, and marital intimacy. The validity of the scale was checked using construct validity, convergent validity and correlation between subscales. In examining the structure of this scale, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used, and the obtained results confirmed the structure of the marital power scale. Also, in the confirmatory factor analysis, all the coefficients were significant, and for this reason, no item was removed or modified in the factor analysis. In order to estimate the internal homogeneity of the marital power scale, the formula of Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used, and the questionnaire had an acceptable Cronbach's alpha (α=0.76). In addition, the correlation results of the marital power scale with other scales showed that this scale and its subscales have a positive relationship with hidden communication aggression and a negative and significant relationship with marital intimacy (p<0.01). All in all, the results of the present study show that this scale has favorable statistical characteristics in Iranian samples and it can be used with confidence in Iranian samples.

This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Holden and Hawk Meta-Parenting Questionnaire (MPQ) in a sample of Iranian fathers. The research method is applied and descriptive in terms of its purpose, the data of which has been collected in the form of a survey. During three sub-studies, the fathers of Rasht city were selected in an accessible manner and answered the Persian translated version of the MPQ. In the first study, test-retest reliability was evaluated and this index was r=0.841 for the total score and at the level of evaluation components (r=0.802), predictability (r=0.858), reflection (r=0.839) and problem solving (r=0.864) were obtained and were significant at P<0.001 level. The intra-cluster correlation coefficient was also obtained in all cases ICC > 0.90. In the second sub-study (n=240), Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the whole tool was calculated as 0.778, and for the subscales in the range of 0.70 to 0.73. In the first-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), items 3 and 4 from the evaluation component, item 10 from the prediction component, items 15 and 16 from the reflection component and items 18, 19 and 20 from the problem solving component were removed, because factor loadings less than 0.3 and the construct validity indices confirmed the appropriate fit of the final model. Evidence of concurrent validity also revealed that the MPQ total score has been able to significantly predict and explain the variance of the scores of the family functioning variables in the expected directions. The Persian version of MPQ in fathers with a four-factor structure and after removing 8 questions has good retest reliability, internal consistency, construct validity and concurrent validity.