Development of the multiple aptitude test –form D (visual-spatial) for career guidancein a private university / Sabrena Gabriella Arosh

Sabrena Gabriella , Arosh (2019) Development of the multiple aptitude test –form D (visual-spatial) for career guidancein a private university / Sabrena Gabriella Arosh. Masters thesis, Universiti Malaya.

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Abstract

This study presents the development of items for the visual-spatial component of a Multiple Aptitude Test currently being developed in a local private university in Malaysia. Despite the benefits of aptitude testing in career guidance and counselling, it is often overlooked in favour of interest and personality testing. Within Malaysia, aptitude testing has been implemented in primary schools, but it is not placed within the career guidance and counselling process to help guide students in making education and career decisions. To meet the need for holistic contextualised assessment tools for career counselling, the career guidance unit of a local private university developed a test battery known as the HELP Career Readiness Evaluation System (HELP CaRES) which included assessments of career readiness, employability skills, personality, interests, and aptitude suitable for students aged 14-25. However, the first three versions of the Multiple Aptitude Test proved too easy to accurately measure the aptitude of students aged 17-25. Due to a lack of large visual-spatial item pool, the current study aims to develop visual-spatial aptitude items that are well matched to this age group. An initial 30-item instrument measuring skills of figure-ground perception, object assembly, progressive series, spatial orientation, spatial visualisation, and visual discrimination was piloted with 149 first-year undergraduates. Pilot results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed good model fit and the instrument had acceptable levels of person and item reliability according to Rasch analysis. 15 items were removed to be replaced with new items, 13 items retained with no changes, and two items were retained with changes. After amendments were undertaken, the scale was distributed to 203 first-year undergraduates of a local private university. It was found that the scale exhibited improved model fit from the pilot study based on the confirmatory factor analysis with better reliability indices in terms of item and person reliability based on the Rasch analysis. A total of nine items need to be replaced, 19 items are retained with no changes and two items require distractor amendments based on the findings of the distractor analysis. A comparison of results between the pilot and the actual study was presented and discussed. The findings of the current study show empirical support for Carroll’s (1993) three-factor theory and extend its applicability to an Asian context. The scale under development also presents an empirically-validated career assessment tool that is well-grounded in literature and contextualised to an Asian setting. Future directions of the study include further revisions of the items to ensure validity and reliability of the scale, establishing norms using standard setting techniques, and application of two- and three-parameter item response theory models to refine item characteristics.

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