A dilemma in South African vocational guidance - and a possible solution

Abstract

The dilemma in vocational guidance in the new democratic South Africa is clear. The rapidly changing social, demographic and economic features of life in South Africa require the immediate provision of culturally relevant vocational services to historically disadvantaged individuals and groups - services which have been as yet non-existent because of the previous systematic and structural exclusion of persons of colour from the development of relevant vocational guidance tests and procedures. In this article the authors suggest the implementation of self-help vocational guidance instruments (SHI’s) as a possible solution to the dilemma. An example of a self-constructed SHI is given as an illustration of how teachers can construct self-help instruments for their schools.