Blog 7

            My blog entry this week will pertain to an article that I found for our group project. The article by Rabie and Naidoo (2016), focuses on the period of time between six and 24 months that takes place after the completion of secondary school, and its impact on future career decisions and preparedness. During that time, an individual will engage in a range of activities including work, study, and traveling, while pondering about their future.  The article studied 11 first year university students who experienced a gap year immediately after completing secondary school. Eight were recruited through the use of purposive sampling, and three were recruited through snowball sampling, which means that they were identified by participants who had been previously interviewed. The study did not have a predetermined sample size. The sample consisted of nine female participants, and two were male. The reported gap year ranged from 10-16 months.

            The data was collected by the use of a short biographical questionnaire and individual semi-structured interviews. The interviews consisted of 11 open-ended questions that related to the gap year experience. Rabie and Naidoo included examples of the questions, “How would you describe the influence your gap year has had on your life?” and “Was your gap year experience what you expected it to be?” The interviews were conducted in a neutral environment in the university, and recorded digitally. The recordings of the interviews served as the main data for the study, they were transcribed verbatim and then analyzed. Using Atlas.ti, a qualitative data analysis computer program, the data was coded. The researchers used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to analyzed the data. The IPA looks for occurring themes; clustering themes; and constructing a summary table. An additional step was added of analyzing occurring themes across multiple cases.

            Skills that could be gained during the gap year can be divided into two subthemes, ‘soft skills’ and ‘practical skills.’ The term ‘soft skills’ refers to the attainment of interpersonal, communication, managerial and organizational skills, and ‘practical skills’ is defined as the individual’s ability to implement the knowledge they have gained during their gap year. The soft skills were gained through the variety of exposure to social interactions. These interactions appeared to have a major impact on their development of interpersonal skills. The most significant practical skill developed was the ability to manage their finances.  Participants described living on limited budget and planning for possible future expenses.

            A limitation of the study is that it focused on the gap year experience of students enrolled in tertiary institutions. Therefore, it excluded experiences of individuals who entered the working profession directly after their gap year, individuals who did no enroll in continuing education programs, unemployed individuals, and those who are still discovering their career paths.

In conclusion, the study found that a gap year appears to be beneficial for individuals to create curiosity regarding future personal and career development, and implement career adaptability. The study demonstrated that a gap year can be a valuable tool for individuals to address any career uncertainty and gain various skills to prepare them for entering formal schooling and direction within their career development.

Reference

Rabie, S. and Naidoo, A. V. (2016). The value of the gap year in the facilitation of career adaptability. South African Journal of Higher Education, 30 (3), 138-155.