Speaker Biography

Javaria Zahra
Biography:

Abstract:

The present study was carried out to develop a valid and reliable indigenous scale for assessment of Learning Disabilities. The study was conducted in two phases. In Phase I culturally relevant item pool was generated through a review of literature and conducting interviews with primary school teachers, parents of primary school children, school counselors and school psychologists, and already developed scales of learning disabilities. In phase II, factor structure, internal consistency and validity of the scale was established. Exploratory Factor Analysis was applied to identify the factor structure of 99 items of Learning Disabilities Scale (LDS). Factorial validity was estimated on a sample of 300 students and four factors were explored. These four factors, i.e. Spoken Language, Listening Ability & Cognition, Reading Ability, Writing Skill & Spelling Ability  and Numerical Ability; explained almost 59% of the total item variance and yielded an overall significant Cronbach alpha (α = .98). Criterion related construct validity was established by comparing normal children with those diagnosed with Learning Disabilities. The results showed that LDS significantly discriminates the mentioned groups which proved the validity of the scale. The study holds useful implications for teachers, parents, school counsellors and school psychologists.