CAREER ASSESSMENT IN AN AFRICAN CONTEXT: VALIDATION OF A PICTORIAL RIASEC INTEREST MEASURE

This study describes the development and validation of a pictorial career interest inventory created for use with low educated individuals in a developing labor market. Interest items were adapted from established RIASEC scales to suit the comprehension of individuals with low literacy levels and were based on work activities and occupations that were relevant and obtainable in local labor markets. The study utilized a sample of 1335 South African men and women, mostly aged between 18 and 34 years. A third of the sample did not have a high school education, about 20% were educated above high school but not up to the tertiary level, while the rest of the sample had at least a high school education. Results of structural validity tests showed that the pictorial scale adhered more closely to the RIASEC hypothesized circumplex model for higher educated individuals and women, but not for the sample as a whole. Reliability based on internal consistency measurements were moderate for the different scale facets. Although the measure did not perform completely as expected structurally, it generally exhibited acceptable reliability and concurrent validity to support its applied use for career assessment within a typically underrepresented group. Furthermore, subgroup differences focusing on gender and education level were in line with expected patterns based on previous research. These results highlight the importance of taking into account sociocultural and economic factors when creating career assessment tools. Also, when transferring tools from more developed labor market contexts to developing ones, challenges unique to these environments must be considered both in the construction of the measures and interpretation of results derived from their use.