Development of an Instrument for Measuring Thai Reading and Writing Skills Based on Yonisomanasikāra for Children of Migrant Workers

Abstract

This research article aimed to develop and validate an instrument for measuring Thai reading and writing skills based on Yonisomanasikāra (thorough attention) for children of migrant workers. Key informants in the instrument development phase included experts in reading and writing skill development in Thai, experts in Yonisomanasikāra, and specialists in test development. In the instrument validation phase, the sample consisted of 400 children of migrant workers in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, selected through multi-stage random sampling. The research instrument used for data collection was a Thai reading and writing skills assessment based on Yonisomanasikāra. The quality of the instrument was examined through content validity, construct validity, item discrimination, and reliability. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequency distribution, median, interquartile range, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and correlation coefficients, followed by confirmatory factor analysis.

The findings revealed that (1) the developed instrument for measuring Thai reading and writing skills based on Yonisomanasikāra is a multiple-choice test with four options, consisting of 65 items. It includes appropriate components and indicators for assessing Thai reading skills based on Yonisomanasikāra, comprising 4 components and 10 indicators. (2) The instrument passed quality evaluation, demonstrating content validity as assessed by experts, statistically significant item discrimination at the .05 level, and construct validity as indicated by the consistency between the measurement model and empirical data. The reliability coefficient for the Thai reading skills instrument was 0.91, and for the Thai writing skills instrument was 0.83.