Promoting sustainable career development in inclusive education: a psychometric study of career maturity among students with Special Educational Needs

Despite progress in inclusive education, students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) often lack valid, tailored tools for career assessment, limiting equitable transitions to adulthood and employment. Closing this gap is crucial for Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), which calls for quality and inclusive educational opportunities. This study addresses this need by adapting and validating a 16-item Career Maturity Inventory-Form C (CMI-C) for Chinese post-secondary SEN students (n = 34) in vocational training in higher education. Rasch modeling, supported by exploratory factor analysis, indicated that a two-factor structure—‘career choice readiness’ and ‘intention to seek career consultation’—provided the best fit to the data, rather than the originally hypothesized four-factor model. The results were more consistent with a two-dimensional structure than with prior four-factor frameworks, though both were explored. Two poorly performing items were removed, resulting in a fourteen-item scale with acceptable item fit and reliability indices in this hard-to-reach group. This restructuring suggests constructs such as concern, confidence, and curiosity are closely linked in SEN populations, underscoring the value of context-sensitive assessment. The revised instrument demonstrated satisfactory model fit and internal consistency; however, convergent validity and practical utility should be interpreted cautiously given the modest sample size. While further validation in larger and more diverse samples is warranted, this study offers preliminary evidence for an adapted, inclusive assessment tool that aligns with SDG 4’s aim to promote equity and empower SEN students in educational and career pathways.