A measure of cultural competence as an ethical responsibility: Quick-Racial and ethical sensitivity test

Selcuk R. Sirin, Lauren Rogers-Sirin, Brian A. Collins

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This article presents the psychometric qualifications of a new video-based measure of school professionals' ethical sensitivity toward issues of racial intolerance in schools. The new scale, titled the Quick-Racial and Ethical Sensitivity Test (Quick-REST) is based on the ethical principles commonly shared by school-based professional organisations and James Rest's model of moral decision making. The validation of the measure is established through two separate studies: one conducted with 238 school professionals, including teachers, administrators, psychologists, coaches and others who work in diverse schools; and the other conducted with 57 student teachers. The results, with regard to the internal reliability of the items and convergent and overall construct validity, showed that the Quick-REST is a psychometrically sound measure of school professionals' ability to recognise violations of ethical principles as depicted in two five-minute videotapes illustrating instances of racial intolerance in schools. There was no evidence of bias due to social desirability. Areas of use for the Quick-REST in teacher education and ways to improve the scale are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)49-64
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Moral Education
Volume39
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2010

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Religious studies

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