African Early Child Development Assessment Resource (ECDRES) 2007

Description:
The resource which includes descriptions of tests used to assess a range of functions together with African research and standardisation data, is available as a searchable on-line portal.
Abstract:
Child development researchers working in African face a unique set of challenges in understanding developmental phenomena: our research often deals with infections and nutritional deficits which severely affect the healthy development of children; we work in culturally and linguistically varied environments; and we have very few tried and tested measures for conducting scientific research in these contexts. Although there are adapted or locally developed measures, for the most part a lack of resources and technical expertise has meant that their psychometric properties have not been adequately established. Similarly, the validation studies that should accompany the use of imported measures have in most cases not been carried out. Nor do we have developmental norms for many different African populations. Nonetheless child development measures are being used in educational, clinical and research settings, in many cases justified only by anecdotal accounts of a measures utility and validity with a specific population. This resource is intended to assist child development researchers working in African contexts to select appropriate and sound measures. In the long term, through co-operation between researchers, this should improve the understanding and availability of instruments tested in an African setting and sensitive to issues of child development in Africa.