Establishing local norms for adaptive behavior of Hmong children using the Texas Environmental Adaptation Measure (TEAM)

• Main Author: Miles, Winona Cound
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarly Commons 1990
• Subjects: Educational evaluation; Educational psychology; Education
• Online Access: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/3356; https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4352&context=uop_etds

Statement of problem. Assessment of adaptive behavior is a mandated component of the information necessary to make special education decisions and includes consideration of cultural and environmental expectations placed upon the child. Adaptive behavior scales currently in use do not include many ethnic minorities in their standardization, bringing into question their validity when used on non-majority students. Establishing local norms for ethnic minority groups allows children to be compared to their peer group when determining their level of adaptive functioning. Sources of data. This research study, which used the Texas Environmental Adaptation Measure-Adaptive Behavior Scale (TEAM-ABS), was based on a random sample of 100 Hmong students (49 girls, 51 boys) who completed first grade during the 1989-90 school year in the Stockton (CA) Unified School District. A mean and standard deviation, and standard error for the total sample was calculated. Alpha reliability coefficients were computed for the total and subscale scores of the TEAM-ABS, and means and standard deviations for each test item were calculated. In addition, 51 families completed the structured interview portion of the TEAM. This descriptive information is presented in frequency and percentage format. Conclusions reached. Local norms with a mean of 98, S.D. of 15 and SEM of 4.74 provide the information needed to make the TEAM useful as a measure of adaptive behavior with Hmong first graders between the ages of 6 and 8. Because of the homogeneity of the Hmong, these norms should be valid for use with Hmong children in other locations. Recommendations for further research include expanding norms to include kindergarten and second grade Hmong students, and other ethnic subgroups. Test-retest reliability and further concurrent and predictive validity research is needed to make the TEAM a more generally useful measure.