Adaptation of the Spatial Integration Test (Tosa) to 36-48 months-old Turkish children

This study was conducted to assess the validity and reliability of the Test of Spatial Assembly (TOSA) for children aged 36-48 months. The population of this general survey research consists of children aged 36-48 months attending official or private kindergartens affiliated with the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services during the 2022-2023 academic year. A sample of 330 children was randomly selected from the accessible population using a random sampling method. Data collection instruments included the 'General Information Form' and the Test of Spatial Assembly (TOSA), developed by Verdine and Golinkoff (2014) and revised by Verdine and Golinkoff (2020). Validity and reliability studies were conducted using the data obtained from the implementation of the TOSA. Confirmatory factor analysis results indicated that most of the items confirmed the unidimensional factor structure for the 2D and 3D subtests and the sub-dimensions of Horizontal and Vertical Direction, Relative Position, and Adjacent Pieces within the 2D subtest, generally representing the unidimensional factor structure. The Cronbach's alpha reliability analysis results for the Spatial Integration Test in the application groups were found to be 0.72 for Horizontal and Vertical Direction, 0.71 for Relative Position, 0.73 for Adjacent Pieces, 0.88 for the 2D subtest, and 0.88 for the 3D subtest. The positive and high correlation coefficients between the subtests and sub-dimensions of the test indicate that the items sample similar skills and that the internal consistency of the test is high. Additionally, based on the test-retest reliability, the Test of Spatial Assembly (TOSA) was determined to exhibit a stable structure over time. According to these results, it can be said that the Test of Spatial Assembly (TOSA) is an accessible and appropriate spatial measurement tool with acceptable psychometric properties for Turkish children aged 36-48 months.