Seek and you shall find : career exploration profiles in the transition to higher education
Authors:   , Demulder Lien 
Published: July 2024

The transition from secondary to higher education can be challenging for many students. This PhD aimed to gain a deeper understanding of students’ study choice process during the transition to higher education. Utilizing the decisional tasks framework of Germeijs and Verschueren (2006) and data from the Columbus assessment tool, a large-scale exploration instrument to aid students in their study choice process, this dissertation provides a longitudinal, person-oriented perspective on this process. First, this dissertation aimed to validate an instrument for assessing students’ engagement in different decision-making tasks within the study choice process. Chapter 1 (n = 11,559) presents the validation of the Shortened Study Choice Task Inventory (SSCTI), which assesses six decision-making tasks: orientation, self-exploration, broad exploration, in-depth exploration, decisional status, and commitment. Second, it aimed to identify different career exploration profiles (Chapter 2, n = 5,660) and possible evolutions between these profiles (Chapter 3, nFall = 9,567, nSpring = 7,254, nLongitudinal = 672) during the final year of secondary education, utilizing a person-centered approach. Three career exploration profiles of students were identified through latent profile analyses on the orientation and exploration subscales of the SSCTI: passive, moderately active, and highly active explorers. Latent transition analysis showed the passive profile to be the most variable, while the moderately active profile was the most stable. Third, it examined the associations between these profiles and various antecedents. The results showed that students with more effective learning strategies, a more positive academic self-concept, and higher levels of motivation were more likely to be initially categorized as highly active explorers rather than passive or moderately active explorers (Chapters 2 and 3). Additionally, motivation and test anxiety affected the transition probabilities (Chapter 3). Finally, it examined the associations between these profiles and different outcomes related to the study choice process (Chapter 2) and academic success in the first year of higher education (Chapter 4, n = 5,358). The highly active explorers were more likely to have made a study choice decision, showed greater commitment to their chosen program, and possessed more knowledge about higher education. Furthermore, students’ knowledge about higher education had a positive direct effect on academic success. Additionally, a significant indirect effect of the exploration profiles on academic success through the amount of knowledge was observed. This dissertation demonstrated the importance of the exploration process when choosing a study for higher education during the final year of secondary education. Three exploration profiles were identified, which were associated with different antecedents and outcomes relevant to the study choice process and academic success in higher education. For practice, tailored assistance can be developed based on these profiles. This dissertation also highlights the importance of the knowledge that students acquire about higher education, which is related to academic success in higher education.