Year: 2025 | Month: December | Volume: 12 | Issue: 12 | Pages: 346-359
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20251240
Construction and Validation of the PAUD Anti-Bias Observation Scales (PABOS) for Measuring Anti-Bias Competencies in Children Aged 4-6 Years: A Qualitative Study
Ari Putra
Nonformal Education Study Program, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, University of Bengkulu.
Corresponding Author: Ari Putra
ABSTRACT
Background: Implementation of anti-bias education in early childhood education faces fundamental challenges in assessing children's anti-bias attitudes due to the absence of contextually appropriate and developmentally sensitive observation instruments in Indonesian contexts. This qualitative study aimed to develop and explore the implementation of an authentic observation-based assessment toolkit (PABOS) for documenting anti-bias attitudes in children aged 4-6 years through four dimensions: Positive Identity, Comfort with Diversity, Justice Awareness, and Activism Readiness. This qualitative study employed a constructivist grounded theory approach with iterative data collection over 8 months. Participants included 24 early childhood educators and 32 children aged 4-6 years from 6 ECE centers in Central Bengkulu. Data were collected through participatory observations, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, Learning Stories documentation, and reflective journals. Analysis used constant comparative method and thematic analysis. Five major themes emerged: (1) Seeing What Was Invisible, educators discovered subtle manifestations of anti-bias attitudes previously unnoticed; (2) From Intuition to Documentation, transformation from gut-feeling assessments to systematic observation; (3) Identity as Rootedness and Openness, children's positive identity involves pride in cultural roots while embracing diversity; (4) Small Moments, Big Meanings, anti-bias attitudes develop through accumulated micro-interactions; and (5) Children as Agents of Justice, young children's capacity for recognizing and responding to unfairness. The study revealed that authentic observation within culturally-embedded activities provides richer, more nuanced understanding of children's anti-bias development compared to decontextualized assessment methods. PABOS represents a culturally-responsive assessment approach that transforms educator practice by making children's anti-bias learning visible, supporting reflection, and facilitating evidence-based dialogue with families. This study contributes to understanding how documented pedagogy can be meaningfully adapted for assessing social-emotional competencies in diverse Indonesian early childhood contexts.
Keywords: authentic assessment, anti-bias education, documented pedagogy, early childhood observation, psychometric validation
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