A Study on the Effects of Taking a Gap Year Before College

In countries where taking a gap year is a norm, it has become a notable cultural landscape feature and this is because it is promoted in popular media as a means of self-development and is individuals that opt for the gap year are considered to be self-development oriented, mature, confident and independent. Most literature point to the advantages of taking a gap year as one transitions from high school into university. Studies show the direct correlation between taking a gap year and motivation immediately after joining institutions of higher learning. Motivation is in turn linked to performance and its improvement. However, it is important to note that the motivation that is associated with taking a gap year has not been extensively studied a lengthy period after joining higher education and as such research should be pointed in this direction.

Hypothesis Students that take a gap year between high school and university or college have a higher chance of performing better compared to students who transition immediately. Review of Related Literature Western countries are now adopting the idea of taking a gap year between high school and institutions of higher learning. For example, by 2010, as much as 24% of Australian students took a gap year of between one and two years. This was an increase of 14 percent from the number of students who took a gap year at the turn of the century. The trend is still relatively new in the United States but the trend is that more and more students are planning to take a gap year after the 12th grade.

The limitation of this study Significance of the Study For the past few decades, there has been a debate of whether taking a gap year would be beneficial to students. However, most of these study seem biased towards the advantages of taking a gap year with limited research on the limitations of the same. This study will therefore focus on both the advantages and disadvantages of taking a gap year for students as they transition from high school to institutions of higher learning such as universities or colleges. Background of the Study History of taking a gap year The exact origin of the gap year phenomenon is yet to be determined. However, at the time that the gap year was being taken as a serious activity for school going individuals in terms of its effects on the student as well as their performance, the gap year was not for everybody the way it is today.

Disadvantages of taking a gap year Most of the literature in this field suggests that taking a gap year is beneficial to the student and their performance after joining colleges or universities. More specifically, students who struggle with performance in their formative years in education might find it beneficial to take a gap year which helps in refocusing on education and enable better readjustments of educational goals and objectives. However, there are associated disadvantages that go unexplored by researchers. Grose (2010), holds a unique contrary opinion of the negative effects of taking a gap year. Grose (2010) explores the effects of taking a gap year for students that perform well in high school. It is also important to note that the benefits propagated by popular media and gap-year companies lean more towards the traditional sense of the gap year which characterize the gap year as a break from education that should be spent volunteering for worthy causes and travelling around the world familiarizing themselves with other cultures, self-reflecting and self-improvement.

Not all gap year experiences should be standardized. Not all students that take the time out of their educational careers end up having a well-structured and purposeful time out period. In countries where the gap year is a norm, such as the U. K, local and international travel as well as volunteering experiences are highly rated because they are perceived to be linked to independence, morality and building character. However, more and more researchers are finding the correlation between taking a gap year and higher motivation and ultimately better performance after transitioning to institutions of higher education such as university or college. Recommendations While most literature pertaining to the topic suggests that taking a gap year might boost motivation and performance after joining college or university it would be premature to advocate for the same without a bit of caution.