A distinct body of research literature reflects work initiated in the last decade of the 20th century to examine issues in the development and use of career assessment instruments across cultures. The authors review this literature to integrate current understandings of career assessment in cultural context and to identify potentially fruitful avenues for future inquiry. The theoretical framework of cultural validity and cultural specificity developed by Leong and Brown was used to guide the current review. Based on this framework, the review focuses on literature dealing with (a) the cultural validity of career assessment instruments for use cross-culturally with racial and ethnic minority populations, (b) the extent to which culture-specific variables may influence the career assessment process, and (c) the construction and validation of new culture-specific career assessment measures. Most research contained within the review pertains to cultural validity with much less attention given in the current literature on new test construction and cultural specificity. The authors conclude their review with a summary of findings and implications for research and practice in career assessment. Surveying leading scholars in the fields of career development and vocational psychology could elaborate our understanding of career assessment in cultural context and determine empirically its prospects for advancement and refinement.
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