Gap Year: A Powerhouse For Self-Actualization And Personal Development
Introduction
In today’s society, the word gap year has gained more and more significance. It is now considered as an important period for an individual to cope with many structured activities, like volunteering, part-time working, Military training and vocational trainings. A gap year is defined as a period “which an individual takes ‘out’ of formal education, training, or the workforce where that time sits in the context of a longer term career trajectory”. This period can involve varying time periods as Andrew Jones (2004) defines it as “any period of time between three and twenty four months which an individual takes ‘out’ of formal education, training or the workplace, and where the time out sits in the context of a longer career trajectory.' Gap year is a practice that should be more widely considered.
Gap year activities vary depending on the participants who have broad choice to take a gap after school, after higher education, during higher education, during employment or training. Even at kindergarten level now gap year is also popularized. Different types of activity are proposed to be useful like work, traveling, military, and leisure. 'Evidence advocates individual participants typically commence a mix of these actions during a gap year and the commotion model helps to identify definite components of a gap year that are of concern from a policy perspective'.
Focusing upon the history of gap year, there is no significant data; however, it was called Backpacker in ancient times. Some research has come double barreled with the industry's need to bind the practice of a gap year to certain commercial values; centrally those of 'structure'. Despite the lack of research, the gap year industry makes many references to the 'known' and 'recognized' value of gap year programs (Martin Andrew 2010). The reason young people love to contribute in a gap year depend on the circumstances and the impact of school, universities, family, peers and friends. The most known factors to start a gap year discussed are: Longing to take a pause from formal education; Gain an extensive horizon on life; Understanding different culture, people and places; Expansion of personal life skills.
Gap year and Self-development
The gap year style proposes students a chance to explore both their own self and others. A chance to contribute to the 'future of others' while also travelling different places, they can also discover alternative identities. The results of taking a gap year tend to be positive. 'According to exponents, a gap year prepares young adults for the self-direction and maturity that may enhance the most of further education or work'. Following a gap year, young people are reported to reflect higher performance outcomes, career choice realization, enriched employability, and an increased variety of life skills (Jones, 2004). The gap year can be seen as an educational process in which skills and critical reflection contribute to an individual’s development (Simpson, 2005). It has been suggested that participation in a gap year enhances an individual’s economic, social, and cultural capital, which then has advantages in competitive education and labor markets. It is also studied that the “economy of experience” (e.g., a gap year) is taking on inconsistent importance relative to an individual’s academic credentials). Thus, it is proposed that the ability to mobilize and capitalize upon the resources necessary for advancing in a pre-university gap year also establishes an important benefit that young people are able to gain over others, not only at the university entrance level, but also at the point of employment. The purpose of the gap year is to
hearten students’ personal exploration and development proceeding to their ongoing more concentrated educational or vocational assurance. It enhances their self-directedness against risk factors, mindfulness and fear of missing etc. Gap year is a contributing cause to increase Learning through civilizations, learning to enhance personality, Global citizenship, New experiences, Financial crisis management, Exploration of world, Learning different aspects of history, Becoming a better social animal, Tourism, Confidence, maturity and/or independence and gaining entry to university. The focus of this is the gap year increases self-actualization, learning, employment and better living with travelling.
Gap year and Employment benefits
At the time of graduation students possess no skills for employment, no college teaches them. They find difficulty in getting a job, and even if they do get a job, employers rate them as new internee (unable to work). This is the reason that over half of the graduates are found unemployed or underemployed (Bennett, 2012). So the students who are uninterested, underprepared, undecided, or simply sleepwalking need to get some experience and for them college is not the answer. It is an investment choice considered in a person’s life. With the current economic rise, college education cannot guarantee a middle class lifestyle in the United States; now it has become a risky venture just like any other investment. Students, underprepared for the academic work or lacking interest in academia may not be suited for a four year university degree program. They may be more successful in any trade, diploma or a certificate program. Gap year helps them to earn money, some experience, and follow employment. They can know their potential and chose the best profession.
Gap year and Self-actualization
Studies show that gap year increase self-actualization or authorship. It increases one’s ability to realize its own potentials. They unfold the personal experience and organize the ways that can be replaced and incorporated into more complex mental processes. With a gap year, young people begin to Crossroads and start putting their faith on their internally-defined values, customs and beliefs. This changes their behavior towards other too. They start looking towards the world with a broader spectrum. In a research article, Tenser (2015), found that gap year students develop traits like; academic performance responsibility, appreciated learning behavior, more authentic relationship with peers, friends and family, resistance against fear of missing out, strong decision making. These encounters led to the sequences of differentiation and incorporation that were so essential in the students’ development.
Conclusion
Gap year is a successful program to initiate better development that increases self-actualization, and personality development traits. It increases global citizenship. It enhances learning through experiences, broadens the mind to learn different aspects, increase understanding, broadens views, decrease risk factors, mediate relationships, increase performance both academically and employment wise. Gap year is also a source of revenue generator for many companies’ colleges and universities.
It decreases unemployment and stabilizes a person. It helps young people to acknowledge their potential and abilities at their best level and use them accordingly. It is a lifesaving procedure through which one can work according to his potential, abilities and will. It helps one to live freely anywhere without a boundary.
Works Cited
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Martin, Andrew. (2010). Should Students Have a Gap Year? Motivation and Performance Factors Relevant to Time Out After Completing School. Journal of Educational Psychology. 102. 561-576. 10.1037/a0019321.
Inkson, Kerr, and Barbara A. Myers. '“The big OE”: self-directed travel and career development.' Career development international 8.4 (2003): 170-181.
Heath, Sue. 'Widening the gap: Pre‐university gap years and the ‘economy of experience’.' British journal of sociology of education 28.1 (2007): 89-103.
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King, Andrew. 'Minding the gap? Young people's accounts of taking a Gap Year as a form of identity work in higher education.' Journal of Youth Studies 14.3 (2011): 341-357
Lyons, Kevin, et al. 'Gap year volunteer tourism: Myths of global citizenship?.' Annals of tourism research 39.1 (2012): 361-378.
Lyons, Kevin, et al. 'Gap year volunteer tourism: Myths of global citizenship?.' Annals of tourism research 39.1 (2012): 361-378.
Martin, Andrew J. 'Should students have a gap year? Motivation and performance factors relevant to time out after completing school.' Journal of Educational Psychology 102.3 (2010): 561.
O’Reilly, Camille Caprioglio. 'From drifter to gap year tourist: Mainstreaming backpacker travel.' Annals of tourism research33.4 (2006): 998-1017.
Simpson, Kate. 'Broad horizons?: Geographies and pedagogies of the gap year.' (2005).
Söderman, Nadia, and Suzanne Snead. 'Opening the gap: The motivation of gap year travellers to volunteer in Latin America.' Journeys of discovery in volunteer tourism: International case study perspectives (2008): 118-129.
Tenser, Lori I. Stepping off the conveyor belt: Gap year effects on the first-year college experience. Diss. Boston College, 2015.
Wellons, Sophia. 'Give Me a Break: A Study of the Gap Year.' (2013).
