Development and Validation of Brief Education Program on Learning Disability in Children for Pre-School Teachers

Introduction: Learning disability (LD) in children is very common, yet it is often missed by many educators. Aim: We developed a brief education program on learning disability (LD) in children and validated its corresponding assessment tool (Knowledge and Attitude on Learning Disability Questionnaire (KALDQ) for pre-school teachers in Malaysia. Methods: Based on an extensive review, the essential educational components of a program for LD in children and relevant items for KALDQ were identified, from which a brief health educational program was designed. The face and content validity of the tools were established via expert evaluation. A subsequent pilot study was held on 57 pre-school teachers (N=57) to evaluate the feasibility of the program and to establish the construct validity and reliability of the newly developed KALDQ. Results: A 10-hour interactive health education program comprises of 4 sessions to orientate pre-school teachers on LD in children and direct them towards medical referral and rehabilitations services, as appropriate, was developed. The face and content validity for both the program and KALDQ were satisfactory. Exploratory factor analysis performed on the original 65-items questionnaire. The final KALDQ consisted of 34 knowledge-domain and 14 attitude-domain items. The reliability of the two domains was satisfactory (Knowledge-domain α=0.83, Attitude-domain α=0.60). Discussion: This study developed a brief education program on LD in children and its corresponding assessment tool. KALDQ is valid and reliable to be used to assess the effects of this newly developed program on participants’ knowledge and attitude after attending the program.