In this study, data collected from 875 college freshman and sophomore students enrolled in a 4-year university in central China are used to examine the applicability and validity of a Chinese version of Holland's Self-Directed Search (SDS) that was adapted in the 1990s. The total sample was randomly divided into two groups. Data from the first…

This study investigated the relationship between personality types and career choices of undergraduate students of Moi University. In Kenya, students are allowed to revise their career choices at various levels of education before they settle on one course of study in the University. The process of choosing careers begins in form three where…

This study examined the career aspirations and self-perceptions of University Honors Program students at Indiana State University. The current trend in education, especially gifted and talented education, focuses on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). How has this impacted the gifted and talented population when they become…

Youths with disabilities are at risk of failing to complete high school and face considerable uncertainty as they attempt to transition toward a productive adulthood. One potential tool to help more of these youths to stay in school and provide them with information as to suitable post-school careers is the use of vocational assessments. This…

Self-beliefs are not measures of ability and skill but they are correlated with interests and activities and are useful predictors of occupational choices. Holland's theory of vocational personalities provides a framework compatible with Social Cognitive Career Theory and goal theory; the Self-Directed Search is a viable means of assessing…

Discriminant analysis of Holland's Self Directed Search and Vocational Preference Inventory significantly improved the predictive validity of his classification scheme, over the traditional method of assigning high point codes. These results were obtained with both an initial and a replication sample of undergraduates pursuing various degrees. The…

In response to criticisms of the sex bias/fairness of career inventories, new guidelines, modifications to existing inventories, and new inventories have been developed. The occupational card sort, Occu-Sort (O-S), was administered to junior and senior high school students from suburban and urban communities to assess its effectiveness in…

The psychological meaning and predictive value of a person's vocational aspirations were examined by applying Holland's typology to the vocational aspirations of high school juniors (N=1,005), college juniors (N=692), employed adults (N=140), and a second sample of college students studied over a 1 year interval (N=624). The aspirational data were…

Increase in predictability of vocational plans of college women (N=152) was sought by using variables from Holland's Self-Directed Search (SDS). The most recent daydream and summary of daydream codes were the best single predictors of academic major. The most recent daydream was the best single predictor of vocational plans. (Author)

John Holland's Self-Directed Search-Form E (SDS-E) is a vocational personality assessment instrument based upon the well-known Self-Directed Search (SDS) but designed for use with poor readers or children. Virtually no data are available in the professional literature pertaining to the SDS-E. High school students (N=44) in five remedial reading…

This study explores the use of a self-counseling device, Holland's Self-Directed Search (SDS), as a diagnostic tool in identifying students who have encountered difficulties in college but persist in their attendance when they may have been better suited to vocational training programs. Thirty-seven students in the University of Maryland Office of…

Investigates: (1) the ability of the Canadian Occupational Interest Inventory (COII) and the Self-Directed Search (SDS) to discriminate among Grade 12 students; (2) inter-scale correlations of these measures; and (3) relationships between the student groups' interest patterns and external reference points. Findings indicate the scales discriminate…

The career guidance component of the Mississippi State University/West Point Enrichment Project involved three sessions: self-inventory, career exploration, and personal development guidance counseling. The career guidance component was developed to provide at-risk adolescents with the experience of career exploration and information about…

There was some concern that Holland's Self Directed Search for Educational and Vocational Planning (SDS) was inappropriate to use with blacks since it may steer them toward more Realistic occupations not requiring a college education. The purpose of the study was to compare the pattern of vocational planning choices for black and white students…