Citation

Leung P, Cheung M. Child. Youth Serv. Rev. 2013; 35(12): 1993-2002.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.09.014

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study explored the development of a short version of "ASK" (Attitude-Skills-Knowledge) Scale -- a tool for caseworkers and supervisors self-assessing cultural competency in a training context. The goal was to determine the validity and reliability of the 97-item long form and find factors to consolidate the items to create a shorter tool for training and practice use. In a state project, 171 caseworkers and supervisors rated the level of importance of 97 areas of attitudes, skills, and knowledge competency in terms of self-assessing their readiness to work in a culturally diverse environment. Attitude, skill, and knowledge domains of the instrument were tested with high reliability (.93 for the 30 "attitude" items,.95 for the 40 "skill" items, and.92 for the 27 "knowledge" items). Factor analyses indicate that this scale can be efficiently applied to categorize the 30 attitude items into eight factors, the 40 skill items into nine factors, and the 27 knowledge items into seven factors. With these 24 factors, a short ASK version was constructed for future research to encourage continuous self-assessment.