Self-ratings of professional knowledge and skills in early intervention

Abstract

This article describes the development and use of a 32-item self-rating of professional knowledge and skills in the context of early intervention for infants and toddlers with handicaps. Participants in a series of workshops designed to teach family-focused skills completed the form prior to training. Although items on the scale differentiated knowledge and skills in 16 areas of competence, professionals did not make that distinction in rating themselves, with 73% of the knowledge items rated exactly the same as the skill items. A factor analysis revealed three clusters of items: family-focused ratings, child-focused ratings, and team-focused ratings. Cronbach's coefficient alpha indicated high internal consistency for each factor. Changes in participants' ratings over time are described, and implications of these findings for self-rating procedures in general and for evaluating inservice experiences in early intervention are discussed.