Holland’s Theory and 
              Patterns of College Student Success  
            
                                             
                                             
                                             
                             Commissioned Report for the  
                National Symposium on Postsecondary Student Success:  
                       Spearheading a Dialog on Student Success 
                                             
                                             
                                             
                                     John C. Smart, Ph.D. 
                                   The University of Memphis 
                                             
                                   Kenneth A. Feldman, Ph.D. 
                                     SUNY at Stony Brook 
                                             
                                   Corinna A. Ethington, Ph.D. 
                                   The University of Memphis 
                                             
                                             
                                                        
                                             
                                             
                                        July 2006 
            
        
                        
                                                                              TABLE OF CONTENTS 
                       Section                                                                                                                                Page 
                        
                           1                 Assessing Contemporary Efforts to Understand Student Success...................                                  1 
                            
                                             Some Concerns About the Current Research Literature on Student Success..                                         2 
                                             Potential Benefits From Reliance on Holland’s Theory..................................                           5 
                                             Concluding Observations.................................................................................         7 
                                              
                           2                 Overview of Holland’s Theory........................................................................             7 
                            
                                             Holland’s Theory:  Essential Components and Fundamental Assumptions....                                          7 
                                              
                           3                 New Directions for Research on Student Success...........................................                        13 
                            
                                             Preliminary Considerations:  Definitions of Selected Terms in Holland’s  
                                                         Theory and Patterns of Student Success.............................................                  13 
                                             Holland’s Theory Revisited.............................................................................          15 
                                             A Growing Focus on the Centrality of the Sociological Assumption of  
                                                         Holland’s Theory................................................................................     16 
                                             Alternative Patterns of Student Success Within the Context of Holland’s  
                                                         Theory.................................................................................................  17 
                                              
                           4                 Illustration of Alternative Patterns of Student Success....................................                      20 
                            
                                             Research Procedures........................................................................................      24 
                                             Findings...........................................................................................................  26 
                                             Discussion........................................................................................................  26 
                                             Observations and Conclusions Regarding Alternative Patterns of Student  
                                                         Success................................................................................................  28 
                                              
                           5                 Research, Policy, and Practical Implications...................................................                  30 
                            
                                             Holland’s Theory and Student Success:  Research Implications.....................                                31 
                                             Holland’s Theory and Student Success:  Practical, Programmatic, and  
                                                         Policy Implications.............................................................................     35 
                                              
                           References .........................................................................................................................  39 
                            
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                                                                         LIST OF TABLES 
                    Table                                                                                                                   Page 
                     
                        1               Student ability and interest scales, 1986 and 1990..........................................        24 
                         
                        2               Average change in abilities and interests for students with different 
                                        dominant personality types majoring in academic disciplines expressed as 
                                        standardized scores and in standard deviation units (effect sizes)...................               27 
                         
                                                                                    iv