The development and evaluation of an instrument to assess and develop the desirable attributes of RAF Airmen

Abstract

The research reported in this thesis related specifically to Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel. The primary aim of the work was to design an instrument to assess and develop the desirable attributes of airmen regardless of rank, trade-group or location. The work comprised three separate but integrated studies that culminated in the successful introduction of the tool to the Recruit Training Squadron (RTS). The first study consisted of a job analysis based on repertory grid technique with data elicited from 128 RAF personnel with experiences of line management of airmen. This stage of the research yielded 117 constructs from which twenty desirable attributes (each illustrated by observable behavioural examples) were generated. The second study was conducted to assess the content validity and generalisability of the list of twenty attributes identified from the first study. Thirty three officers and airmen, who represented all RAF ranks, considered the face validity of the list: ranked the twenty items in order of importance; and rated a ‘good5, ‘average’ and ‘poor’ airmen on each of the attribute items. The results of this study were used to develop the instrument for recruit assessment and development. The final study was designed to examine the reliability and validity of the tool for use at RTS. In this stage of the research, RTS instructors were trained in the use of the tool which they then trialled with four separate recruit groups. In trial recruits were assessed on the development tool on three occasions over seven weeks. At the end of the initial training period development scores were correlated with standard assessment measures. The correlations between development instrument scores and standard training measures were all statistically significant, with some associations being particularly strong.