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Exploring vocational and academic fields of study: development and validation of the Flemish SIMON Interest Inventory (SIMON-I)

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Lot Fonteyne at Ghent University
Lot Fonteyne
Bart Wille at Ghent University
Bart Wille
Wouter Duyck at Ghent University
Wouter Duyck
Filip De Fruyt at Ghent University
Filip De Fruyt
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Abstract

A new, Holland-based Interest Inventory is proposed, intended to facilitate the transition from secondary to tertiary education. Specific interest items were designed to grasp activities that are prevalent during tertiary studies, including an Academic-track-scale to assist in the choice between academic and vocational-oriented programs. Interest profile descriptions are complemented by a list of matching study programs. Data from 3,962 students were analyzed to evaluate the underlying circumplex structure, the criterion validity of the Academic-track-scale and the study program RIASEC codes. It is concluded that the assessment and feedback tools are promising instruments to facilitate the transition to tertiary education.
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Exploring vocational and academic fields of study:
development and validation of the Flemish SIMON
Interest Inventory (SIMON-I)
Lot Fonteyne
1
•Bart Wille
1
•Wouter Duyck
1
•
Filip De Fruyt
1
Received: 23 April 2015 / Accepted: 18 July 2016 / Published online: 18 August 2016
Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016
Abstract A new, Holland-based Interest Inventory is proposed, intended to facil-
itate the transition from secondary to tertiary education. Specific interest items were
designed to grasp activities that are prevalent during tertiary studies, including an
Academic-track-scale to assist in the choice between academic and vocational-
oriented programs. Interest profile descriptions are complemented by a list of
matching study programs. Data from 3,962 students were analyzed to evaluate the
underlying circumplex structure, the criterion validity of the Academic-track-scale
and the study program RIASEC codes. It is concluded that the assessment and
feedback tools are promising instruments to facilitate the transition to tertiary
education.
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´comme une
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`la transition entre l’enseignement secondaire et tertiaire. Les items e
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´cifiquement pour mesurer des inte
´re
ˆts aux activite
´s qui sont pre
´valent
pendant l’enseignement tertiaire, incluant une e
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´mique’ qui aide la choix
entre l’enseignement acade
´mique soit professionnelle. Les profils d’inte
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ˆts sont
&Lot Fonteyne
Lot.Fonteyne@UGent.be
Bart Wille
Bart.Wille@UGent.be
Wouter Duyck
Wouter.Duyck@UGent.be
Filip De Fruyt
Filip.DeFruyt@UGent.be
1
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2,
9000 Ghent, Belgium
123
Int J Educ Vocat Guidance (2017) 17:233–262
DOI 10.1007/s10775-016-9327-9
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... In interest congruence research, a large variety of instruments are used to measure students' interest. Instruments can be distinguished based on whether they focus on occupations or activities (Fonteyne, Wille, Duyck, & De Fruyt, 2017). Occupation-focused instruments assess students' vocational interests based on their ratings of occupational titles, such as "airline pilot" or "accountant". ...
... Lastly, there are mixed instruments that use both occupational titles and activities. Examples include the Self-Directed-Search (SDS; Holland, 1994) and the SIMON Interest Inventory (SIMON-I; Fonteyne et al., 2017). There is one notable concern about using these instruments: students generally do not have enough knowledge about occupations and work-related activities, or their knowledge is incorrect (Fonteyne et al., 2017;Kuder, 1977;Meens, Bakx, Mulder, & Denissen, 2019). ...
... Examples include the Self-Directed-Search (SDS; Holland, 1994) and the SIMON Interest Inventory (SIMON-I; Fonteyne et al., 2017). There is one notable concern about using these instruments: students generally do not have enough knowledge about occupations and work-related activities, or their knowledge is incorrect (Fonteyne et al., 2017;Kuder, 1977;Meens, Bakx, Mulder, & Denissen, 2019). Given this lack of knowledge, it could be more difficult to complete occupation-focused instruments, which may result in less reliable congruence results. ...
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... Second, affective measures refer to socio-emotional skills that are developed and socially determined over the course of our life. Variables such as personality and motivation are examples of the factors included in this category (Fonteyne, Wille, et al., 2017;Pierre et al., 2014;Schneider & Preckel, 2017). Finally, demographic data includes information on student's background characteristics that may also influence academic achievement (e. g., gender, migration status, language, …) (Richardson et al., 2012). ...
... Measures of prior study performance, which correlate greatly with cognitive ability, are also included in this category (Roth et al., 2015). This measure is often quantified as (high school) GPA (Grade Point Average) and is one of the most used predictors of academic achievement (Fonteyne, Wille, et al., 2017;Hodara & Lewis, 2017;Poole et al., 2012;Richardson et al., 2012;Schelfhout et al., 2019b). ...
... The interaction of gender with affective predictors of academic achievement has been thoroughly researched, but the results are often inconclusive. In what follows, we provide examples on the most preeminent affective predictors of academic achievement, which all demonstrate incremental validity over and beyond measures of cognitive ability (Fonteyne, Wille, et al., 2017;Schneider & Preckel, 2017). ...
Interactions of Gender with Predictors of Academic Achievement
Article
  • Jul 2023
  • CONTEMP EDUC PSYCHOL
Predictive models of academic achievement are used in various (often high stakes) applications, including selection and study orientation procedures for higher education. Considering the far-reaching consequences of their outcomes, these models should show as little bias for irrelevant factors as possible. While numerous studies have researched the impact of gender on the isolated individual predictors of academic achievement, no studies yet have explored how gender affects program-specific prediction models of academic achievement. As such, the present study examined whether prediction models exhibit gender differences in the accuracy of their predictions, and how such differences relate to the gender balance within a study program. Besides that, we developed gender-specific prediction models of academic achievement in order to examine how these models differ in terms of which predictors are included, and whether they make more accurate predictions. Data was examined from a large sample of first year students across 16 programs in an open access higher education system (N = 5,016). Results revealed interactions between gender and several predictors of academic achievement. While the models exhibited little difference in the accuracy of their predictions for male and female students, analyses showed that using gender-specific models substantially improved our predictions. We also found that male and female models of academic achievement differ greatly in terms of the predictors included in their composition, irrespective of the gender balance in a study program.
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... Despite the empirical evidence on the importance of vocational interests variance within one specific environment (Nye, Perlus et al., 2018;Schelfhout et al., 2019;Tracey et al., 2012), the most common methods of determining RIASEC environment profiles use RIASEC interest means, while ignoring RIASEC interest variance. For instance, the incumbent method usually only takes the mean of RIASEC scores over students in a specific program to determine the RIASEC profile of that specific program (Allen & Robbins, 2010;Fonteyne et al., 2017;Schelfhout et al., 2021a). Indeed, even a specific, homogeneous environment (for instance due to ASA processes, see also Schneider et al., 2000) can still exhibit quite some variance regarding vocational interests, which is rarely considered when determining the vocational interest profile of a specific environment (Nye, Perlus et al., 2018). ...
... However, literature already shows that linear RIASEC dimensions are related in a circular pattern, but not to the extent that two or more dimensions have highly collinear patterns (Holland, 1997;Fonteyne et al., 2017). For profile generation specifically, we thus consider the option to further reduce RIF12 to a regression with linear RIASEC terms only, ...
... The RIASEC dimensions are measured using the SIMON-I instrument, specifically designed for the context of study counseling in higher education (Fonteyne et al., 2017). The test consists of 173 items with a yes or no answer, asking students whether they would be interested in performing specific activities and occupations. ...
Regressed person-environment interest fit: Validating polynomial regression for a specific environment
Article
  • Jun 2022
  • J VOCAT BEHAV
Polynomial regression is a proven method to calculate person-environment (PE) interest fit between the RIASEC (realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional) interests of a student and the RIASEC profile of a study program. The method has shown much larger effects of PE interest fit on academic achievement than earlier approaches in literature. However, the polynomial regression method in its current form only focuses on establishing the regressed interest fit (RIF) of a population of students with their study environments, in order to observe how large the general impact of PE interest fit can become on academic achievement. The present study (N = 4407 across n = 22 study programs) further validates this method towards new applications by theoretically deriving two measures of RIF that only affect a single environment like a study program. Analyses show that the use of RIF for a single study environment results in an even stronger positive relation between PE interest fit and academic achievement of r = 0.36, compared to r = 0.25 for the original polynomial regression method. Analyses also show that RIF for one environment can be used to generate interpretable and reliable RIASEC environment profiles. In sum, RIF for a single (study) environment is a promising operationalization of PE interest fit which facilitate both empirical research as well as the practical application of interest fit in counseling settings.
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... Holland used six primary dimensions, classifying both people's interests and people's environments on the same template, allowing for commensurate measurement: Realistic (R), Investigative (I), Artistic (A), Social (S), Enterprising (E) and Conventional (C). The Holland model has been extensively verified on empirical data and has led to the development of multiple interest inventory tests, linking interests, academic subjects and careers around the world ( [9][10][11]). Our paper explores the implications of the diversity of interest profiles among pupils and discusses how this information could be relevant for guiding teachers and policy makers. To begin with, we examine responses of Scottish adolescents to a validated and contemporary interest inventory tool [11]. ...
... Our paper explores the implications of the diversity of interest profiles among pupils and discusses how this information could be relevant for guiding teachers and policy makers. To begin with, we examine responses of Scottish adolescents to a validated and contemporary interest inventory tool [11]. This instrument allows us to establish a vocational interest profile for each adolescent. ...
... Vocational interests corresponding to each academic subject are determined by one-dimensional types ( [13,14]). Our tool is derived from that of [11], in which all vocational interest profiles of study programmes are defined by a two-dimensional type. In other words, in our presentation, vocational interests of the adolescents are characterised by the one or two most dominant (i.e., highest scoring) Holland interest dimensions (R, I, A, S, E or C). ...
An examination of gender imbalance in Scottish adolescents’ vocational interests
Article
Full-text available
This paper documents Scottish adolescents’ vocational interest types. Our research is based on the responses of 1,306 pupils from 18 secondary schools to an empirically verified online interest inventory test. Our results are threefold. First, the structural validity of the test with the Scottish sample is confirmed by evaluating the underlying circumplex structure of Holland’s RIASEC vocational interests. Second, gender distribution along the six primary vocational interest dimensions is consistent with the research literature: young men scoring higher on the Realistic vocational interest and young women scoring higher on the Social dimension. Finally, we observe that across dimensions, vocational interests of young women are less diverse than those of young men. We discuss how these dissimilarities could lead to differences in education choice and career decision-making.
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... The present study focuses on predicting academic achievement by assessing the basic skillset of students towards a specific program. The present study explores the prediction power of these basic skillsets by using data from the SIMON (i.e., Skills and Interest MONitor) project at Ghent University, which aims to dispense program-specific, post-enrolment advice for each student prior to the start of the first bachelor year Fonteyne, Wille et al., 2017). The advice is based on test results measuring the basic skills and properties to succeed in a specific higher education program. ...
... The dataset for this study was obtained through the large longitudinal SIMON -project (dataset 2016-2018, see also Fonteyne, Wille et al., 2017) in Flanders, Belgium (Flanders), featuring a large pool of first-year students (N = 6,624, 64% response rate, 60% female). The dataset contains independent samples from eleven faculties and 21 bachelor programs from an open access university (ARWU top 100 of the Shanghai ranking of worldwide universities). ...
How accurately do program-specific basic skills predict study success in open access higher education?
Article
  • Jan 2022
  • Int J Educ Res
Student fail rates in the first year of open access academic higher education can become dramatically high. The present study in Flanders, Belgium examines how performance on program-specific basic skillsets can identify students at risk at the start of their curriculum in 21 bachelor programs (N = 6,624), months before actually failing their exams or dropping out. Results identify up to 58% of the students prone to failure at relatively lower error rates while still adhering to the principles of higher education equity. In practice, institutions and counselors can use the methodology of this study to identify at-risk students and offer them reorientation and remediation trajectories, preventing failure. Future applications towards more restricted or selective international education systems are discussed.
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... Theoretically and empirically, interest is regarded as a key component for educational as well as vocational choices (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002; J. L. Holland, 1997;Lent et al., 1994;Simpkins et al., 2006;Wigfield et al., 2015), and promoting students' interest has long been considered an effective way to facilitate career choices (Betz & Schifano, 2000;Lent et al., 1994;Luzzo et al., 1999;Renninger et al., 1992;Turner & Lapan, 2005). For example, students with higher realistic (i.e., preferences for the manipulation of objects, tools, and machines; J. L. Holland, 1997) and investigative (i.e., preferences for the systematic observation and investigation of physical, cultural, and biological phenomena; J. L. Holland, 1997) vocational interests are more likely to choose school subjects and study majors in STEM (e.g., Elsworth et al., 1999;Fonteyne et al., 2017; J. L. Holland, 1997;Päßler & Hell, 2012;Perera & McIlveen, 2018;Ralston et al., 2004;Schelfhout et al., 2021;Wille et al., 2020). ...
The Effects of Unstructured Out-of-School Engagement in Science on Adolescents’ Vocational Interests, Occupational Aspirations, Competencies, School Grades, and Ability Self-Concepts
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2024
Unstructured out-of-school time (OST) science activities, such as reading a science book, watching a science television show, or researching on the internet about science, constitute a self-sustaining way for adolescents to engage in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Although it is suggested that long-term engagement in such activities could have a broad influence on several STEM-related constructs, so far little is known about the impact of unstructured OST science engagement. The current study therefore investigated the effects of unstructured OST science engagement on the development of vocational interests, occupational aspirations, competencies, school achievement, and ability self-concepts. For this purpose, we used a large longitudinal subsample (N = 2,655) from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS; Blossfeld & Roßbach, 2019) where students in Germany were assessed in Grades 9, 11, and 12. Following the recommendations of VanderWeele et al. (2020), we used an outcome-wide longitudinal design for causal inference: Outcome-wide effects of unstructured OST science activities were estimated while controlling for a set of joint confounders and pretest measures. Our findings show that unstructured OST science activities influence investigative vocational interests, but do not influence occupational aspirations, competencies, school grades, and ability self-concepts. The results suggest that adolescents with similar initial interest trait levels who engage in unstructured OST science activities develop a stronger interest toward STEM, compared to adolescents who do not engage in such activities.
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... The SIMON-I questionnaire (172 yes-or-no items) was used to assess the students' vocational interest profile (Fonteyne, Wille, et al., 2017;Schelfhout et al., 2019). Scores between 0 and 100 were given to each student on each of the RIASEC scales (recall that the letters of this abbreviation stand for realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional ...
Does Studying Latin in Secondary Education Predict Study Achievement in Academic Higher Education?
Article
  • Mar 2024
  • LANG LEARN
Studying Latin in secondary education is still widespread in Europe and believed to result in cognitive benefits, even beyond the linguistic domain. In this study we explored the relation between such study and later academic achievement in higher education (N = 1,898). First, we demonstrated that Latin students exhibit increased levels of study achievement in higher education, particularly in study programs other than those covering science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Second, we explored where the instruction of Latin was a significant predictor in models of academic achievement, explaining incremental variance over 21 other cognitive, attitudinal, and demographic variables. Latin instruction was included as a variable in the prediction models in 42% of the programs (mainly in the non-STEM ones), but the incremental predictive validity was substantial only in the linguistic programs. Our results highlight how the study of Latin can be a valuable predictor of academic achievement in other study fields.
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... In his research, Holland proposes six categories of interest, the so-called RIASEC model (R: Realistic; I: Investigative; A: Artistic; S: Social; E: Enterprising; C: Conventional) and suggests that people who fit or match their interests with their actions and choices in an academic field of study are generally more satisfied, more productive and more likely to persist than those who mismatch. Research on Holland's typology generally supports this prediction in both undergraduate majors and professional settings (Fonteyne et al., 2017;Putz, 2011). Further research into person-environment fit and academic success in higher education underlined the relevance of this framework and showed that study grades, perceived performance and study satisfaction were more strongly related to subjective fit than to subjective abilities (Bohndick et al., 2018). ...
Factors mitigating the decline of motivation during the first academic year: a latent change score analysis
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2023
  • MOTIV EMOTION
Research shows that in university education programs, students’ motivation decreases over time, which is associated with indicators of reduced academic success, such as student dropout rate. Consequently, researchers have analyzed motivation change and explored the options available to universities to maintain a high level of motivation among students. Using Person-environment fit theory, our research suggests that perceived support offered by lecturers and instructional quality influence students’ subject interest. We conducted a longitudinal design of 823 participants from Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University and estimated a latent change score model using data collected between the participants’ first and second academic years. Our findings suggest that perceived support from lecturers mitigated the decrease in subject interest. Moreover, our results support the hypothesis that universities can attenuate the decreasing change of subject interest from students. Our findings are contextualized with reference to contemporary research in the field and we offer practical suggestions for maintaining high motivation among students.
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THE IMPACT OF CONGRUENCE ON STUDENT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: ASSESSMENT OF HOLLAND THEORY IN NON- WESTERN CULTURE
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2021
Purpose of the study: The current study was conducted to investigate Holland's circular order model of interest, congruence between career interest and career aspiration, and congruence impact on students' academic performance in an indigenous context. Methodology: Data have collected from 669 (356 boys & 313 girls) students studying in grade 10 th from 16 high schools, 8 boys school (4 government & 4 private sectors), and 8 girls school (4 government & 4 private sector)-from significant towns of Gilgit division, Pakistan. Career interest was measured using the Urdu version of Career Key (Jones, 2010), students' obtained marks measured academic achievement in the last examination, and career aspirations were assessed by asking about aspired future careers from students. A randomized test of hypothesized order (Hubert & Arabie, 1987) was applied to determine the circular model, congruence was measured using Holland's (1963) first-letter agreement, and academic achievement of congruent, incongruent, and ambivalent groups of students was compared using one-way analysis of variance. Main Findings: The study's findings revealed that the results did not support Holland's circular order model of interest. The congruence hypothesis was partially funded, and the impact of congruence on academic achievement was fully supported in the present study. Gender differences were found in some career interests as well as in aspired occupations. The findings are discussed in a cultural context. Applications of this study: The results of the study are applicable and valuable for the educational institutes. In the present study, we have evaluated three assumptions of Holland's theory: circular order model of interest structure, congruence between career aspiration and career interest, and impact of congruence on students' academic achievement. Novelty: In Pakistan, career success and relevant domains are least explored by researchers. However, it is imperative to provide academic and career counselling services to ensure academic and career success and satisfaction. Therefore, the current study was conducted to assess Holland's model of interest, congruence between career aspiration and interest, and its impact on student's academic achievement in Pakistan.
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How interest fit relates to STEM study choice: Female students fit their choices better
Article
  • Jul 2021
  • J VOCAT BEHAV
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) enrolments in higher education are declining while the STEM gender gap of female underrepresentation seems to widen. The present study addresses both issues by exploring how the fit between a student's vocational interests and the STEM field contributes to a (non-) STEM study choice. Data was collected in the unique setting of an open access and low cost higher education system, which allowed for study of vocational interests without unwanted influence of admission conditions. Specifically, we assessed the interest fit of N = 9162 first-year Belgian university students with (1) the STEM field (i.e., STEM fit) and (2) their specific program of choice (i.e., program fit). Results indicated STEM fit indeed predicted STEM study choice, with a stronger effect in female students. Results also indicated that female students showed a better specific program fit. In order to promote student STEM enrolment and address the gender gap, the present study therefore advocates a gender-specific approach to attract more students with appropriate interest profiles.
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A closer look at the psychological diversity within Holland interest types: Construct validation of the Career Insight Questionnaire.
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2015
The past years have been witness to a renewed attention for vocational interests in both theory and practice. In this context the present research aims to illustrate the relevance of finer-grained interest information next to more general information at the domain level. A recently developed and Holland-based interest instrument is presented and validated; it measures 15 interest components in addition to the more familiar Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional (RIASEC) domains. We provide evidence for (a) the hierarchical structure of specific interest components under broader interest domains and (b) the convergent validity of this instrument. Moreover, (c) the relevance of considering diversity within Holland types is illustrated by showing divergent associations with Big Five personality traits.
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Development of Occupational Interest Profiles for O*NET
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 1999
This report focuses on the effort to generate vocational interest information included in the Worker Characteristics domain of the O*NET Content Model. The report describes how Holland's (1997) RIASEC work environments have been applied to the development of Occupational Interest Profiles (OIPs) for the occupations included in O*NET.
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Does gender-specific differential item functioning affect the structure in vocational interest inventories?
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2013
  • Int J Educ Vocat Guid
The study investigates consequences of eliminating items showing gender-specific differential item functioning (DIF) on the psychometric structure of a standard RIASEC interest inventory. Holland’s hexagonal model was tested for structural invariance using a confirmatory methodological approach (confirmatory factor analysis and randomization tests of hypothesized order relations). Results suggest that eliminating items showing gender-specific DIF had no considerable influence on the instrument’s psychometric structure. Considering DIF as one possibility to improve test fairness when developing interest inventories is discussed.
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Education at a Glance 2013 OECD Indicators: OECD Indicators
Book
  • Sep 2013
Education at a Glance 2013: Highlights summarises the OECD’s flagship compendium of education statistics, Education at a Glance. It provides easily accessible data on key topics in education today, including: • Education levels and student numbers: How far have adults studied, and how does early childhood education affect student performance later on? • Higher education and work: How many young people graduate from tertiary education, and how easily do they enter the world of work? • Economic and social benefits of education: How does education affect people’s job prospects, and what is its impact on incomes? • Paying for education: What share of public spending goes on education, and what is the role of private spending? • The school environment: How many hours do teachers work, and how does class size vary? Each indicator is presented on a two-page spread. The left-hand page explains the significance of the indicator, discusses the main findings, examines key trends and provides readers with a roadmap for finding out more in the OECD education databases and in other OECD education publications. The right-hand page contains clearly presented charts and tables, accompanied by dynamic hyperlinks (StatLinks) that direct readers to the corresponding data in Excel™ format.
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Holland's Theory and Implications for Academic Advising and Career Counseling
Article
  • Mar 2004
John Holland's typological theory of persons and environments is regarded as the most influential in the field of career counseling (Brown, 2002), but few have carried the theory over to the field of higher education and academic advising (Smart, Feldman, & Ethington, 2000). Therefore, Holland's theory and the subsequent research on it were explored to determine if the theory would be an appropriate means of understanding the behavior and organization of college faculty members and students. A practical approach for integrating a Holland-based system of academic advising and career counseling is discussed.
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Four Methods to Determine RIASEC Codes for College Majors and a Comparison of Hit Rates
Article
  • Jun 1993
  • CAREER DEV Q
This study compared RIASEC college major codes derived from surveying students enrolled in 28 majors, the judgments of subject matter and counseling experts, and workers employed in jobs related to the majors. Of the four methodologies used to obtain college codes, the highest degree of agreement was the 96% between student Career Decision-Making (CDM) codes having reasonably close matches or better with codes in the Dictionary of Holland Occupational Codes. The article discusses that students must be aware that some common major names are not very communicative or descriptive of the predominant code types studying the subject.
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