A preliminary investigation of the psychometric properties of the Integrated Teacher Rating Form (ITRF) in Greek school children

ABSTRACT

Given the dearth of technically adequate universal screening tools in the Greek language, the current study sought to examine the psychometric properties of a 67-item universal screener (i.e. Integrated Teacher Rating Form; ITRF), that was originally developed in American English and then translated and implemented in Greek primary schools. The ITRF, which was designed to identify students at risk and facilitate the planning of interventions targeting classroom behaviors that interfere with academic and social functioning, incorporates four constructs (i.e. Disorganized/Academic Performance Problems, Disruptive behavior, Anxious/Depressed behavior, Socially Withdrawn behavior). To test the classification accuracy of the ITRF, a multi-gated screening procedure was followed, consisting of a brief 4-item screening measure that Greek teachers completed for all students in classroom, followed by completion of the ITRF for those students whose first-gate ratings indicated concern. Results suggested that teachers reported the highest level of concern for students’ academic performance problems, followed by oppositional/disruptive behaviors, socially withdrawn behaviors, and anxious/depressed behaviors. Classification accuracy was found to be excellent for the Disorganized/Academic Productivity Problems Gate 1 measure, good for the Disruptive/Oppositional measure, fair for the Socially Withdrawn measure and poor for the Anxious/Depressed measure.

KEYWORDS:

• Multi-gated screening procedures
• universal screening
• Greek teachers
• students with academic and behavioral concerns

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Onassis Foundation under grant [number 6885].

Notes on contributors

Eleni Didaskalou

Eleni Didaskalou, Associate Professor, Department of Special Education, University of Thessaly, Greece.

Amy M. Briesch

Amy M. Briesch, Professor, School of Applied Psychology-Division of School Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Robert J. Volpe

Robert J. Volpe, Professor and Chair, School of Applied Psychology-Division of School Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Christina Roussi-Vergou

Christina Roussi-Vergou, Assistant Professor, Department of Special Education, University of Thessaly, Greece.