Abstract
M.A.
South Africa finds itself in the socio-historical transition from the modern to the post-modern era, which influences every South African in all their life roles. One of the most prominent life roles is that of a career, which is also within a post-industrial transition state. It is imperative to develop a post-modern approach to career psychology to provide in the career needs of every individual within the given context of post-industrialisation and multiversalism. The objective of this study is therefore to define the position of career psychology in the post-modern paradigm, and to apply the Grounded Theory in developing an approach to establish career psychology in the post-industrial world of work. The research strategy consists of the Grounded Theory and more specifically the paradigm model. The post-modern approach to career psychology can be summarised as the narration of a life story, with the purpose to achieve a realistic and pro-active career choice within the context of st-industrialisation and multiversalism. The self takes a central position in the subjective and objective career contexts, and is influenced by the self s interpretation of its current and anticipated values, roles and life style. This pro-active process is future
orientated, occurs in the present, and has its roots in the past. The post-modern approach to career psychology is flexible enough to integrate new or existing theories or approaches in career psychology or related disciplines.