The "Beobachtungsbogen fur Vorschulkinder" (BBK) - a proposal for the formation of BBK-scales

In Germany the "Beobachtungsbogen fur Kinder im Vorschulalter" (BBK) develo ped by Duhm and Althaus (1979) is a widely used questionnaire for the ratin g of preschool children. In the first part of this paper a proposal for the formation of BBK-scales made by Bilsky and Flaig (1986) is critically disc ussed. In the second part we propose an alternative formation of summative scales. Principal component analyses and scale analyses of BBK-data yield 7 scales: (1) "task-oriented behavior", (2) "aggressive behavior", (3) "shyn ess/inhibition", (4) "activity/initiative" (5) "intensity of play", (6) "la nguage development" and (7) "communication behavior". Coefficients (Cronbac hs Alpha) from .85 ("intensity of play") up to .94 ("task oriented behavior ") show a relatively high degree of internal consistency - with the excepti on of "communication behavior" with alpha=.74. Stanines and percentile rank s (15, 30, 50, 70, 85) have been calculated.