Gap Year

February 15, 2014

While taking a year off between high school and college is more common in the UK and Australia than in the United States, it is starting to catch on here. O'Shea (director, office of undergraduate research, Florida State Univ.) divides this study into two parts. The first consists of narratives taken from interviews with students placed in Central and South America, the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia; gap year organizations; parents; and from reading more than 400 year-end reports. The second section analyzes these stories and experiences in terms of "meaning-making." Although altruism is considered the main impetus, O'Shea indicates that egotism actually motivates students to live outside their comfort zone. By putting oneself into dissonant and unfamiliar terrains, one learns and acquires self-knowledge. O'Shea ends her investigation with a gap-year program designed to maximize the pedagogical experience. The study focused on participants from middle- and upper-class families as fewer economically disadvantaged students take gap years. VERDICT O'Shea does more than present stories. By situating narratives within a theoretical framework, he makes a strong case for using the gap year as a means to further students' education.--Jacqueline Snider, Iowa City

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