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Examining the ecological validity of the Talent Development Environment Questionnaire
Russell J J Martindale1, Dave Collins, Carl Douglas
1School of Life, Sport and Social Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, Sighthill Campus, Sighthill Court, Edinburgh EH11 4BN, UK. r.martindale@napier.ac.uk
Journal of Sports Sciences
|August 25, 2012
Summary
The Talent Development Environment Questionnaire accurately identifies high-quality sports environments. Key factors like quality preparation and understanding the athlete are crucial for effective talent development.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Talent Development
- Psychology
Background:
- Effective talent development exists globally, but evidence-based practices are lacking.
- Disseminating knowledge and promoting evidence-based talent development systems is crucial.
- The Talent Development Environment Questionnaire (TDEQ) could aid dissemination but requires ecological validation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the real-world applicability and ecological validity of the TDEQ.
- To determine if the TDEQ can discriminate between different quality talent development environments.
- To identify specific TDEQ features that are significant discriminators of environment quality.
Main Methods:
- Discriminant function analysis was employed.
- Athletes from ten regional squads/academies were categorized into 'higher quality' (n=48) and 'lower quality' (n=51) environments.
- Environments were assessed based on process quality and productivity.
Main Results:
- The TDEQ accurately discriminated between environment quality levels with 77.8% accuracy.
- 'Quality preparation' and 'understanding the athlete' were significant discriminators (P < 0.01).
- The questionnaire as a whole demonstrated strong discriminatory power.
Conclusions:
- The TDEQ exhibits robust structural properties and sound ecological validity.
- The findings support the confident application of the TDEQ in applied and research settings.
- The TDEQ can effectively identify and differentiate talent development environments based on key factors.
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