Design, Development, and Evaluation of an E-Career Assessment Tool for Secondary School Students

Abstract

The current study focused on the design, development, and evaluation of an e-career interest assessment tool - 'Xcelerate Career,' to facilitate career exploration of secondary school students in Pakistan. Grounded in John Holland's RIASEC model, the tool aimed to help students with self-awareness and opportunity awareness by aligning their interests with suitable career paths. The study followed a three-phase Design and Development Research methodology. Phase 1 focused on developing and validating the career assessment tool. Phase 2 involved the development of the product i.e., the web portal. In Phase 3, the tool's effectiveness was evaluated. A purposive sampling technique was employed to collect data where the sample consisted of 230 Pakistani secondary school students. Quantitative data were analyzed using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). The results from the (EFA) showed that five out of the six personality types were associated with factors, while there was some overlap observed in the social personality type. The study highlighted the tool's capability to effectively improve students' self-awareness and opportunity awareness, as reflected in the positive feedback of the participants. This study emphasized the significance of contextualized and technology-integrated career guidance tools in assisting individuals to make well-informed career decisions, particularly in developing nations like Pakistan.