ERIC Number: EJ871513
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
Reference Count: 38
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1043-7797
Construction and Validation of a Professional Suitability Scale for Social Work Practice
Tam, Dora M. Y.; Coleman, Heather
Journal of Social Work Education, v45 n1 p47-63 Win 2009
This article reports on the construction and validation of a professional suitability scale, designed for assessing students' suitability for social work practice. Data were collected from 188 field supervisors who provided usable questionnaires, representing a response rate of 74%. Construct validation by exploratory factor analysis identified a 5-factor solution to measure suitability that accounted for 52.1% of variance: Overall, Analytical, Practice, Personal, and Ethical Suitability. This solution has achieved modest construct validity with communalities ranging between 0.753 and 0.376 (alpha = 0.93). Potential use of the scale and suggestions for future study are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)
Descriptors: Futures (of Society), Construct Validity, Questionnaires, Factor Analysis, Social Work, Ethics, Measures (Individuals), Philosophy, Reliability, Career Choice
Council on Social Work Education. 1725 Duke Street Suite 500, Alexandria, VA 22314. Tel: 703-683-8080; Fax: 703-683-8099; e-mail: info@cswe.org; Web site: http://www.cswe.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: N/A

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