Erasmus, C.PDe Klerk, WVan der Merwe, Ilze2025-07-012024https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4330-5093https://repository.nwu.ac.za/handle/123456789/42961Doctor of Philosophy in Health Sciences with Psychology, North-West University, Mahikeng CampusConsidering formal intelligence assessment instruments currently applied to South African school learners, characterised as a multicultural and multilingual population, and residing and schooled in multidiverse contexts, the applicability, reliability, validity, and fairness of these instruments have come into question. South African psychologists and psychometrists need to conduct intelligence assessments as part of a battery of assessments, following referrals from parents, guardians, therapists, or schools after observing challenges such as learning difficulties or to guide school learners in their educational careers. Based upon findings from intelligence testing and other forms of data gathered (i.e. interviews, background history taking, other measurements such as scholastic and emotional assessments), practitioners need to appropriately deduce diagnoses and suitable interventions (i.e. placement in a special needs classroom/school, arrangement of concessions for formal testing, referral to therapists or clinicians, and more) that are tailored with the best interest of the school learner in mind. Several legislation and policies have been implemented that guide practitioners in the field of psychometrics to employ professional and ethically correct practices. This implies that practitioners need to conduct intelligence assessments that are fair and reliable by using measurements that are applicable and valid. The South African school learner population is characterised as heterogeneous; the multilingual, multicultural school learners reside and attend schools in contexts that vary in levels of socio-economic stance, acculturation, and quality of education received. In order to conduct intelligence testing that is fair to this multi-ethnic group of school learners, practitioners would need appropriate intelligence measurements and assessment skills. This is where the challenge lies, as there is a shortage of cross-culturally fair intelligence measurements. In addition, if the practitioner does not conduct the assessment in the attempt to prevent unfair testing practices, it would lead to a scenario where the learner may be deprived from the opportunity to receive the needed guidance and help; excluding any child from receiving professional services on the grounds of a demographic element such as cultural or language is against that school learner’s constitutional right to equality and having access to healthcare services. Therefore, this PhD research study has aspired to explore the need for a strategic guideline for practitioners (i.e. psychologists, psychometrists, researchers, and experts in intelligence measurement development/adaptation) to ensure that when intelligence instruments are designed, they are applicable and fair when administered to South African school learners. This PhD research study adopted a multi-method approach, consisting of three phases. Phase 1 (Document 1) entailed conducting a critical review of peer-reviewed scientific literature related to the topic of intelligence assessment instruments applied to South African school learners. Extracted data were analysed qualitatively using the thematic data analysis method, which revealed the following three themes: (i) Applicability of intelligence instruments administered to South African school learners; (ii) Contextual and demographic influences affecting performance on administered intelligence instruments; and (iii) Intellectual measuring instruments related to developmental and cognitive ability levels. Phase 1 concluded by stating that demographic (i.e. language, culture) and contextual (i.e. socio-economic status, quality of educational background) elements could influence the applicability of an intelligence instrument to South African school learners, bringing into question the reliability, validity, and fairness of these instruments. It is therefore important that practitioners in the field of psychometry take these demographic and contextual influences into account before developing or selecting an intelligence instrument to assess school learners in South Africa, as these elements may cause incorrect test results. This could furthermore yield bias in the interpretation and reporting of results, which could lead to inappropriate diagnoses and intervention plans. Phase 2 (Document 2) aimed to explore and describe the experiences of a group of intelligence test developing and adaptation experts as well as psychologists and psychometrists who have administered intelligence assessment instruments to South African school learners in various contexts. The qualitative interpretive description research design was applied. Using an internet-based communication platform, twelve psychologists/psychometrists (n = 12) were interviewed, of which six were also experts (n = 6)in intelligence test development and/or adaptation. Participants represented all nine provinces across South Africa. Four themes emerged after reflexive thematic analysis of recorded data from the semi-structured interviews, namely: Utilised intelligence measurements in the current South African school learner context are not relevant anymore; South African education system is a major issue specifically within lower socio-economic status contexts; Newly or adapted intelligence measures cannot realistically be standardised in the current South African school learner context; and (iv) Key informants’ recommendations from their experiences. From the shared participant experiences in Phase 2, it became clear that currently administered intelligence measurements are unfair, inappropriate, outdated, and unsuitable to South African school learners, specifically when considering their multidiverse demographics and modern, multidimensional contexts at home and school. These influencing elements have the tendency to yield test performance/results that are not representative of the learners’ true performance (especially those receiving lower quality of education at less privileged schools), which could lead to inappropriate diagnoses and intervention plans. These findings suggest a need for practitioners in the psychometric field to have access to intelligence instruments that are applicable and fair to all South African school learners. Phase 3 (Document 3) aimed to develop a strategic guideline which provided information to practitioners in the field of intelligence assessment, on how to design an intelligence assessment instrument that is applicable to South African school learners. This was done by employing a qualitative document analysis through the reflexive thematic analysis on Document 1 (published) and Document 2 (in the process to be published) and combining their findings. The following four themes were identified: (i) Utilised intelligence measurements in current South African school learner context are inapplicable; (ii) Newly or adapted intelligence measures cannot really be standardised in the current South African school learner context; (iii) Current South African education system needs to be taken into consideration; and (iv) Current South African school learner contextual and demographic influences need to be taken into consideration. From these themes, steps were created that form the strategic framework to design applicable intelligence instruments for South African school learners. The steps describe both guidance towards instrument design as well as the manner and context of applying the design itself, since these features function as interrelated entities. In conclusion of Phase 3 it became clear that there exists an essential need for emic, up-to-date, applicable, and fair intelligence measurements to be administered to multidiverse South African school learners. When administering intelligence assessments to South African school learners, practitioners are ethically and legally obligated to conduct practices that are fair and equal to all; it is imperative that they consider the local school learners’ schooling, demographic, and contextual (i.e. socio-economic status, acculturation level) background before developing or selecting intelligence measurements for assessment and subsequent diagnoses and crafting of intervention plans. This Phase and the PhD research study’s developed strategic guideline to design an intelligence instrument suitable for a South African population of school learners, informs on fair assessment measurements and practices that will allow multi-ethnic equalisation and empowerment of both school learners and practitioners.enThesis