Book in preparation: "The Forgotten in Vocational Interest Assessments: Complexity Levels"

As a research group, we are writing a book on "The Forgotten in Vocational Interest Assessments: Complexity Levels".

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In this book we focus on the importance of integrating occupational complexity levels into vocational interest assessments and into important topics related to interest assessments such as when to assess interests in the transition from high school to higher education and the job, vocational interventions at high school and higher education, interest assessments in relation to job analyses and work fit, adaptability at work, career progress planning, and gender differences. Chapter contributors of this book, edited by Yonca Toker-Gültaş, are (in alphabetical order) Yalçın Açıkgöz, Fuat Çıkan, Sinem Fakılar, Aysu Gökalp, Zeynep Göksu, Mehmet Gültaş, Nurdan Keleş, Atakan Okat, Yonca Toker-Gültaş, and Furkan Tosyalı.

Gender Differences in Vocational Predictors and Outcomes

In collaboration with our Ph.D. student Nurdan Keleş.

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Gender differences have been demonstrated on vocational outcomes and certain cognitive abilities, albeit with small differences. In such studies variables have been considered independent from each other in trying to explain the gender-gap in STEM. We seek to focus on interests toward complex activities, personality (e.g. achievement motivation), and cognitive abilities in understanding how they may be differentially related to STEM-related self-concept, attitudes, and achievement across genders.

TÜBİTAK 3501 - Project Funded by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey

Integrating Occupational Complexity Levels in the Assessment of Social/Enterprising Area Interests: Investigation of the People Interaction and Verbal Data Processing Complexity Scales in Student and Employed Samples, October 2017–July 2020. Project No: 117K364

(Sosyal/Girişimci Mesleki Alanlara İlgilerin Ölçümünde Karmaşıklık Düzeylerinin Entegrasyonu: İnsanlarla Etkileşim ve Sözel Veri İşleme Karmaşıklık Düzeylerine İlgi Ölçeklerinin Öğrenci ve Çalışan Örneklemlerinde İncelenmesi)

Principal Investigator: Yonca Toker

Scholarship Student: Aysu Gökalp

In collaboration with: Assistant Prof. Dr. Yalçın Açıkgöz

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• Holland's social and enterprising areas include occupations with varying levels of complexities.
• The Vertical Social Interest Scale_Data Complexity Levels (VSIS_DCL) was developed based on information gathered from an extensive review of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, the Occupational Information Network, and interviews with incumbents. Items reflect activities representative of dealing with data from low to high levels of complexity in social and enterprising areas.
• The Vertical Social Interest Scale_People Complexity Levels (VSIS_PCL), which was developed previously, was also validated.
• Construct and criterion-related validities were shown in four different samples: undergraduate (N = 401), graduate (N = 83), and employee samples from Turkey (N = 188), and a sample of employees from the USA (N = 186).
• VSIS_DCL especially predicted area/job satisfaction, affective occupational commitment, interests toward moderate and high-complexity activities including analysis, synthesis, and generating, and self-perceptions of performance in jobs predominantly based on verbal data involvement.
• VSIS_PCL especially predicted emotional exhaustion, work withdrawal, turnover intentions, and self-perceptions of performance in jobs predominantly based on interpersonal interactions.
• Scale items were invariant across the employee samples from Turkey and the US.

TÜBİTAK 3001 - Project Funded by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Interest Complexity Scale Validation in the Turkish Context and Examination with Item Response Theory, August 2014–July 2016. Project No: 114K034.

(Fen Bilimleri, Teknoloji, Mühendislik ve Matematik Alanlarında Mesleki Karmaşıklık Düzeyine İlgi Envanterinin Türk Örnekleminde Geçerliği ve Madde Tepki Kuramı ile İncelenmesi)

Principal Investigator: Yonca Toker

Scholarship Student: Mehmet Gültaş

https://app.trdizin.gov.tr/publication/show/pdf/project/TVRVek5qWTI

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• Validity of the STEM Interest Complexity Inventory, which was previously developed and validated in the US, was sought in university samples in Turkey.
• The original 127-item measure was shortened to 37 items based on Item Response Theory-based discrimination parameter estimates and differential functioning across genders.
• The Short Form yielded moderate associations with the vocational fit criteria of satisfaction with being in a STEM-major, intentions to graduate from a STEM-major, intentions to pursue a STEM graduate degree, intentions to pursue a career in a STEM-field, and intentions to work in a STEM occupation with relatively higher levels of complexity.
• The measure yielded small-to-moderate associations with academic success criteria of STEM-course CGPA and grades in mathematics, physics, and chemistry.
• Albeit with small differences, men displayed higher STEM interests as compared to women.
• Implicit achievement motivation was the best predictor of academic success and STEM interest complexity was the best predictor vocational attitudes amongst the predictors of implicit achievement motivation / fear of failure, explicit achievement motivation, explicit test anxiety, and STEM interests.

Project Funded by the METU Scientific Research Grants (BAP) (BAP-01-04-2017-001)

Validation of the STEM Interest Complexity Scale in Employed Samples, January–December 2017.

Principal Investigator: Yonca Toker

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• The STEM Interest Complexity measure, initially validated with student samples, was put to a test of validation with an employed sample (N=151; 23.2% engineers, 15.2% scientists, 38.4% technicians and technologists, 11.9% accountants, 11.3% social occupations).
• High-complexity cluster of engineering and sciences had the highest interests, followed by the moderate-complexity cluster of technologists and technicians. Non-STEM groups had lower interests.
• STEM interests' incremental contributions in predicting affective occupational commitment, work withdrawal, and self-reported performance over job motivating potential levels were significant in the high-complexity cluster (8% to 13%), but were not significant in the moderate-complexity cluster (3% to 5.6%).
• Results highlight the usefulness of measuring interests towards complex activities in STEM, especially for complex STEM occupations.