THE DESIGN OF AN INSTRUMENT TO MEASURE CHANGE IN ATTITUDES OF WHITE AND BLACK-CHILDREN

A curriculum was developed to promote positive relations between white and black children. To measure the effect of the curriculum an instru ment was needed to measure change (pre- and posttest) in attitudes. Th is article describes how the instrument was designed. By means of a li terature study existing scales were identified which measure the attit udes of children towards others of different race and ethnic groups. A n evaluation of these scales showed that they could not be used un-cha nged with children in South Africa. Some could serve as examples of th e types of scales which could be included in an attitude instrument. A n attitude instrument was designed which consists of a biographical qu estionnaire, two semantic differential scales, an opinion questionnair e and a social distance scare. The instrument was designed to measure whether any shift occurred in ethnic attitude, prejudice and behaviour al intentions as a result of a specific intervention. Content validity of the instrument is based on the fact that the scales and items prov ide for a continuum of relevant attitudes and that certain procedures were followed to ensure that Std. 7 pupils understood the items. The i nstrument was used with a sample of respondents (n = 150) from differe nt schools in the Eastern Caps. Results correlated positively with oth er relevant variables which indicated construct validity. Cronbach's a lpha internal consistency reliability coefficient was calculated and t he values obtained indicate consistency of the instrument.