Construct validation of factors affecting the choice of technical careers

Authors

  • Sandra Ninett Ramírez Flores Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70939/revistadiged.v2i1.29

Keywords:

content validity, expert judgment, technical careers, vocational choice, measurement instrument

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine the content validity of an instrument developed to identify the factors that influence the low student preference for technical careers at the Instituto Tecnológico Universitario Guatemala Sur. METHOD: The expert judgment method based on Lawshe’s model was applied, involving five specialists in vocational guidance, technical education, and higher education. The instrument, composed of 20 items grouped into four categories (sociocultural perception, job and economic expectations, quality of vocational information, and personal and motivational factors), was evaluated by the experts. Each specialist assessed the relevance of the items, and based on these evaluations, the content validity index of each item was calculated, using a minimum acceptable threshold of 0.58. RESULTS: Out of the 20 items evaluated, 18 exceeded the minimum validity threshold (0.58), representing 90% agreement among the experts. Two items, related to media representation and future opportunities, did not meet the required level and are therefore recommended for revision. These findings support the relevance of the instrument for future data collection and highlight the usefulness of expert judgment as a preliminary validation technique.  CONCLUSION: Most of the validated items were consistent with the proposed theoretical construct and may be retained in the final version of the instrument, pending additional empirical testing to reinforce their validity.

Author Biography

Sandra Ninett Ramírez Flores, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala

actualmente se encuentra estudiando el doctorado en Educación en la Escuela de Estudios de Postgrado de la Facultad de Humanidades de la universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, con maestría en Ingeniería de Mantenimiento e ingeniería química, ambos títulos obtenidos en la Facultad de Ingeniería de la Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. Participación en investigación del Centro de Investigaciones Tecnológicas del Sur CIT-ITUGS-USAC. Ha publicado dos artículos científicos relacionados con cursos de la carrera de Procesos Productivos y Calidad Alimentaria del Instituto Tecnológico Universitario Guatemala Sur de la USAC.

References

Castells, M. (2000). La era de la información: Economía, sociedad y cultura. (voy. 1). La sociedad red (2ª ed.). Alianza Editorial.

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. [La motivación intrínseca y la autodeterminación en el comportamiento humano]. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2271-7

Ginsberg, E., Ginsburg, S. W., Axelrad, S., & Herma, J. L. (1951). Elección ocupacional: una aproximación a una teoría general. Editorial de la Universidad de Columbia.

Hernández Sampieri, R., Fernández Collado, C., & Baptista Lucio, P. (2014). Metodología de la investigación (6ª ed.). McGraw-Hill.

Lawshe, C. H. (1975). A quantitative approach to content validity. Personnel Psychology, 28(4), 563–575.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1975.tb01393.x

Rodríguez, L. (2018). Estigmas sociales y percepción de las carreras técnicas en jóvenes preuniversitarios. Educare, 22(1), 45–59.

https://doi.org/10.15359/ree.22-1.3

Super, D. E. (1990). A life-span, life-space approach to career development. En D. Brown & L. Brooks (Eds.), Career choice and development (2nd ed., pp. 197–261). Jossey-Bass.

Super, D. E. (1990). Un enfoque de vida y espacio de vida para el desarrollo profesional. En D. Brown y L. Brooks, Elección de carrera y desarrollo: Aplicación de las teorías contemporáneas a la práctica (2ª ed., pp. 197-261). Jossey-Bass.

Herrera Vergara, J. I. (2021). Barreras socioculturales de estudiantes hombres y mujeres en carreras técnicas de nivel superior atípicas a su género. [Tesis de maestría, Universidad de Chile]. Repositorio Académico Universidad de Chile. https://repositorio.uchile.cl/bitstream/handle/2250/180542/Barreras-socioculturales-de-estudiantes-hombres-y-mujeres-en-carreras-tecnicas-de-nivel-superior-atipicas-a-su-genero.pdf

Martínez Silva, M. J. (2023). Consideraciones sobre la inclusión de estudiantes indígenas en la educación superior en Colombia. Revista Educación Superior Y Sociedad (ESS), 35(2), 452-473. https://doi.org/10.54674/ess.v35i2.633

Navarro Martínez, E. (2016). La educación mediática con perspectiva de género. En A. Martín Oller & M. C. Tornay Márquez (Coords.). Comunicación, periodismo y género. Una mirada desde Iberoamérica (pp. 99–128). Egregius.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341702110_LA_EDUCACION_MEDIATICA_CON_PERSPECTIVA_DE_GENERO

Downloads

Published

2025-05-25

How to Cite

Ramírez Flores, S. N. (2025). Construct validation of factors affecting the choice of technical careers. Revista Científica Avances En Ciencia Y Docencia, 2(1), 39–46. https://doi.org/10.70939/revistadiged.v2i1.29

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2025): Revista Científica Avances en Ciencia y Docencia

Section

Artículos

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Sandra Ninett Ramírez Flores

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.