Abstract
Waste pickers often have limited opportunities to partake in the formal economy that requires educated and skilled workers. As a result, waste pickers are usually restricted to working in the informal economy and, in most cases, have limited exposure to career guidance and support. Moreover, traditional career guidance methods involve literacy skills and psychometric tests that require formal schooling to obtain a high score. Traditional career guidance methods do not consider the importance of identifying careers that give individuals meaning and purpose. However, a suitable alternative is the Life Design process that uses an individual’s life narratives to assist in career guidance and help the individual find a career path that will give him/her meaning and purpose. In addition, the Life Design process has shown to be helpful when working with individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds as the process can be adapted to fit individual’s needs. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore the value of the Life Design process for the career development of waste pickers. The study viewed waste pickers' experiences from a constructivist lens and understood their contextual factors from Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological framework. In addition, the data were collected from two groups. The first group consisted of three participants that resided in Vereeniging, Gauteng. The second group consisted of twelve participants who lived in Vredefort, Free State. The participants were chosen based on the snowball sampling method. Moreover, the data was collected using the Life Design process, observations, biographical questionnaires, and the researcher’s reflective journal. The Life Design process was conducted in a group setting and incorporated a range of activities that include the career construction interview (CCI), life line, the balloon activity, creating a life portrait, and an open-ended exit interview. The data was then analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step thematic analysis model to deliver the research findings. The research findings revealed that waste pickers highly value access to information, education, and further training. The psychosocial experiences of waste pickers included assets and resources, as well as adverse life experiences. The waste pickers also indicated that they found purpose and meaning from waste picking and felt part of a community. In addition to having career ambitions, they were able to see opportunities and overcome obstacles. The waste pickers were grateful for the knowledge that they gained and felt encouraged to pursue their dreams. However, as the Life Design process progressed, the waste pickers showed vii increased career adaptability and were able to plan towards expanding their career-related enterprises. Hence, the Life Design process has shown to be an asset when providing career guidance to individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds with limited literacy skills. Still, a renewed focus should be placed on finding career guidance approaches that can be used with individuals with limited literacy abilities.
M.Ed. (Educational Psychology)