M. Beiser et al., MEASURING SELF-PERCEIVED ROLE COMPETENCE AMONG 1ST NATIONS AND NONNATIVE CHILDREN, Canadian journal of psychiatry, 38(6), 1993, pp. 412-419
The objective of this research is to develop and test measures of self
-perceived academic and social competence among First Nations and non
native children. The method used is the analysis of psychometric prope
rties of scales derived from questionnaires administered to First Nati
ons children four culture areas of North America, as well as compariso
n samples of non native children. The results consist of the reliabili
ty coefficients, which fall into a satisfactory range; an internal con
sistency which increases with age; an agreement between self- and teac
her-rated competence which is higher for non native than for native ch
ildren. In the second grade, the competence scores of the native and n
on native children were equal. Thereafter, the scores of the native ch
ildren either declined or remained static, while the non native scores
tended to increase. In conclusion, the Flower of Two Soils scales are
suitable for children from elementary schools, from First Nations and
the majority culture. As children mature, the assessments of competen
ce become an increasingly stable part of their repertoire of self-perc
epts; asynchronous socialization may adversely affect self-perceived c
ompetence.