This study validates a competence-focused Career Maturity Inventory (CMI-G) developed for Ghanaian senior high students. The instrument measures six classroom-relevant competencies—self-assessment, world-of-work knowledge, résumé and letters, interviewing, job-search rules, and career planning—reflecting the skills emphasized in Ghana’s guidance curriculum. Using Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses and bifactor-ESEM modeling, the study tested content validity, reliability (ω, ωh, H), measurement invariance (gender, school type), and convergent and sensitivity-to-change validity against adjacent constructs of career adaptability and decision self-efficacy. Results indicate a hierarchical structure with a dominant general career maturity factor, scalar invariance across groups, and strong responsiveness to competence-based instruction. The validated CMI-G offers a psychometrically robust and contextually relevant tool for diagnosing students’ career competencies and for integrating evidence-based guidance within Ghana’s Senior High School system.
Keywords: Bifactor-ESEM Modeling, Career Maturity, Ghanaian senior high schools, competence-based education, psychometric validation
