nicole kotras masters thesis

second language or culture. Hambleton (1994) defined an instrument adaptation guideline
as "a practice which is judged as important for conducting and evaluating the adaptation or
parallel development of psychological and educational instruments for use in different
populations" (p.233).
Manaster and Havighurst (1972) proposed that a "culture-common" test should have
the following characteristics:
(i) it should tap aspects of cultural experience which are common to all people to whom
the test will be administered;
(ii) it should be designed to have virtually the same degree of intrinsic interest for the
different cultural groups to whom it will be administered;
(iii) it should use a form of language which is widely familiar; and
(iv) the directions should be stated in simple, operational terms which are easily
understood.
The suggested guidelines (Hambleton, 1994) and proposed characteristics
(Manaster & Havinghurst, 1972) were both incorporated into the present study.
The utilization of instruments which have neither been developed nor standardized in
a particular culture, can prove to be biased and thus have long term implications for the
individual involved. This raises the question of constructing a single test which can be
utilized exclusively for a particular culture. However, the cultural and educational
discrepancies existing between the various population groups, may compound the problem
of constructing a single test for all South African children. Since the construction of a single
test is fraught with many difficulties, an alternative approach has been put forward. This
involves taking an existing culture-fair test, which is widely used in many countries around
the world, and adapting it for use in all population groups of South Africa. This is where the
Griffiths Scales of Mental Development (Griffiths Scales) play a critical role.
PROBLEMS FACED WHEN TESTING IN A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY
Holt (1974) stated that as unobtrusive developmental variations and delays may be
the first indication of serious conditions, early assessment of the potentially handicapped
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