Development of a Peer Competence Scale for Preschool Children

취학 전 아동용 또래 유능성 척도 개발에 관한 연구

The purpose of this study was to develop a scale for evaluation of preschool children's peer competence and to examine its validity and reliability. The 15 items of the preliminary scale were completed by teachers, and peer rating scale for assessment of peer acceptance was administered to 365 children 5 to 6 years of age. The methods for data analysis included item analysis, factor analysis for construct validity, Pearson correlations between teacher's ratings of peer competence and children's ratings of peer acceptance for concurrent validity, and Cronbach's u for reliability. The 15 items of the scathe were found be satisfactory in terms of item response distribution and item discrimination. Factor analysis revealed that a 3-factor solution was the best fit: sociability, prosocial behavior, leadership in peer relations. Correlations between teacher's ratings and children's ratings were as significant. Cronbach'so ranged from .88 to .93 for three subscales and .93 for the total scale. It was concluded that the psychometric properties of the peer competence scale in general were acceptable for use.