Validity of the school setting interview for students with special educational needs in regular high school - a Rasch...

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Special Education
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Adolescent educational participation is crucial for health and future opportunities.
• The School Setting Interview (SSI) measures student-environment fit and identifies needs for school participation adjustments.
• Investigating the SSI's psychometric properties for students with special educational needs (SEN) in regular high schools is important.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the psychometric properties of the School Setting Interview (SSI).
• To assess the validity and reliability of the SSI for students with special educational needs.
• To evaluate the SSI's suitability for identifying necessary environmental adjustments in schools.

Main Methods:

• A sample of 509 students with special educational needs was assessed using the SSI.
• The polytomous unrestricted Rasch model was employed for psychometric analysis.
• Analysis included targeting, model fit, differential item functioning (DIF), response category functioning, and unidimensionality.

Main Results:

• The SSI generally fit Rasch model assumptions with acceptable reliability (0.73).
• Differential item functioning (DIF) was detected for specific items based on gender and diagnosis.
• All items exhibited disordered thresholds, though unidimensionality was demonstrated.

Conclusions:

• The SSI is considered valid for assessing and evaluating environmental adjustments for students with special educational needs.
• The study recommends further investigation into items with detected DIF and the SSI's rating scale thresholds.
• Refinements to the SSI may enhance its utility for supporting student participation in educational settings.