Date of Graduation

1981

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to accomplish two specific goals: (1)The selection and field-evaluation of a vocational abilities test and an occupational interest test for use as client assessment instruments to aid in the vocational planning stage of the rehabilitation process, and (2)the construction of a computerized vocational guidance delivery system based upon the interest and abilities tests which were selected in the fulfillment of Goal 1. In accomplishing the first goal, the selection of the tests was done by a careful evaluation of Vocational Rehabilitation practices through an extensive literature review and firsthand observation of these practices in a VR office. The establishment of test selection criteria was based upon the requirements of these practices. Candidate tests, offered as alternatives by VR professionals, were measured against three criteria and an occupational interest and a vocational abilities test were selected. The appropriateness of the selected tests for use in VR was determined by a field-trial in which the tests were used to measure the interest and abilities of seventeen disabled persons. The satisfactoriness of the tests, and the satisfaction of the tested clients and their respective counselors with the test results were evaluated by the administration of a questionnaire to the counselors and by direct observations and questioning of the VR clients and their counselors during and following the administration and interpretation of the interest and abilities tests. The second goal was accomplished through the completion of a number of tasks which (A)led up to the development of the computerized system, and (B)the verification of the accuracy of the completed guidance system. The accomplishment of this goal resulted in the creation of a computer mediated system with which a counselor might obtain an interpretation of the results of the COPS interest and the CAPs abilities inventories. The consequence of the first step of Goal 1, test selection, was the identification of the California Occupational Preference System (COPS), and the Career Abilities Placement Survey (CAPS) as the best choices for use in vocational assessment in VR from among 12 candidate interest and abilities tests which were suggested by VR professionals, and were reviewed and evaluated against the test selection criteria established by the study investigator. The results of the field-trial evaluation of the selected tests led to the conclusion that the COPS interest and the CAPS abilities tests were: (1)appropriate for some, but not all of the clients seen by the four VR counselors who were surveyed, (2)easily administered and interpreted with the client-subjects who participated in this study, (3)useful by both the counselor and client for establishing a vocational goal for the client's VR plan (IWRP), and (4)sufficiently simple to administer and score so as to allow a person other than the VR counselor him/herself to perform this function. The outcome for Goal 2 was the creation of an easily utilized, simple, yet reliable computerized vocational guidance system that is capable of furnishing alternative vocational choice possibilities based on the results of interest and abilities evaluation with the COPS and the CAPS.

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