Table of ContentsIntroductionMethodologyDiscussionConclusionBibliographyIntroductionMore and more students are taking their time outside of formal education to go to work or travel around the world. There are no exact figures, but according to various researches, the number of gap year participants continues to increase every year. They step out of their comfort zone and do something else entirely with their lives. But there are many other reasons to take a gap year. And of course, taking a gap year can have its benefits. This report will delve deeper into the effects of a gap year and how it benefits the future. The central research question is: “How does a gap year prepare for the future?” ". Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay To be able to answer this question, other questions must first be answered. Sub-questions related to the central research questions are: · What is involved in taking a gap year? · What are the reasons for taking a gap year? · What are the advantages of taking a gap year? Methodology In order to be able to answer the questions that are posed in the introduction, research must be carried out. This report will only use secondary data, and therefore no primary data. This means that only existing data will be used and no new data has been retrieved for this search. To be able to retrieve secondary data, a documentary search was carried out. This report used sources extracted from online databases, such as Google Scholar and Nexis Uni. There are many different and relevant sources on the effects of a gap year. One of these is "Review of Gap Year Provision" by Dr Andrew Jones from the School of Geography at Birbeck College, University of London and was published by the Department of Education and Skills of the United Kingdom. This report contains lots of information on the benefits of taking a gap year. Another important source is the qualitative study carried out by S. Rabie and AV Naidoo from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. They conducted research with 11 first-year students from Stellenbosch University who took a gap year, then wrote a report on the results of their findings. The information retrieved was mostly qualitative. Some quantitative information was available in the sources used for this article. This article did not use journalistic sources as there was sufficient information available from academic research carried out on gap years. to an experimental period of travel, work or other personal and professional development opportunities. It is usually taken before students begin their postsecondary studies. Piddock (2004) defines a gap year as “taking a year off between school and university to explore the world and career opportunities”. Jones (2004) defines a gap year as "any period between 3 and 24 months that an individual takes 'outside' of formal education, training or the workplace, and during which this time off falls within in the context of a longer career trajectory. .For the purposes of this report, Abdullah's definition is used. Additionally, people who take a gap year will be called “gappers.” What are the reasons for taking a gap year? There are many reasons why peopletake a sabbatical year. In November 2012, the Center for Analysis of Youth Transitions released a report in which they explained their reasons for taking a gap year. These reasons include the ability to travel, the ability to become independent, the ability to earn money, the ability to gain work experience and also the ability to take a break from studies. Jones (2004, p. 37) states that: The most common factors cited in the literature can be summarized as follows: the desire to take a break from formal education or work; acquire a broader life horizon; discover different people, cultures and places; acquire personal life skills; to improve the CV with a view to obtaining entry to university or employment [in the general sense]; make money; make a contribution to society; helping people [altruism]; take on a challenge; for fun and for religious motivations. Rabie and Naidoo (2016) found in their research that the most common motivator for engaging in a gap year was that the participant was facing career uncertainty. 82% of their research participants associate their decision to take a sabbatical with the fact that they do not yet know what to do with their career. They also claim that two of the participants felt family pressure regarding their future as one of the reasons they took a gap year. The most common activities during a gap year are travel, volunteering, and working. Each of these activities may be undertaken for a variety of reasons. Individuals may work to earn enough money to fund their later activities during a gap year, to support their proposed education, or to build a resume for a planned career. Volunteering can take place within a local community to engage in civic activities or can take place abroad, in which case travel and volunteering are combined. To summarize, the most common reasons for taking a gap year are: · The ability to travel; · The ability to become independent; · Earn money; · Acquire professional experience; · Take a break from studies; · Professional uncertainty. above, but it also has many advantages. Many studies and research have been conducted to find out what the real benefits of a gap year are. The benefits of a gap year can be divided into two categories: the benefits to the individual taking a gap year and the benefits it brings to society. First of all, the benefits it brings to society. The first being volunteering. “It is clear that young people working on projects run by voluntary organizations such as Community Service Volunteers will benefit the communities and groups for whom the work is carried out.” However, volunteering is not only a benefit to society. This also has some advantages for the gapper itself. First of all, the gapper will gain a lot of personal experience that can be used later in life. Second, volunteering can be added to the gapper's resume and will rank extremely well. The second benefit to society is the growth in tourism during gap years. Many gappers travel during their gap year or volunteer in another country. In this way, gappers contribute to travel agencies and other related companies. Many international companies offer travel or volunteering opportunities to people in need, and these companies are growing asthe number of people in off-peak periods increases. The first advantage for the individual during a slack period is the improvement in their academic results. Most research and interviews "reference the argument that a gap year produces a greater degree of 'maturity' in a young person, enabling them, equipped with a range of skills, to more effectively approach a degree or another formal qualification. According to a study by Claire Crawford and Jonathan Cribb of the UK's Center for Youth Analysis, "people who take a gap year are 1.6 percentage points more likely to achieve a first or second class degree than those who went directly to higher education. .” Students who fall behind can improve their performance in higher education in several ways. These differences are: Gap people have gained experience during their gap year, which is useful for their education, and Gap people are “more motivated to achieve their educational goals” (Jones, 2004, p.59). Another benefit to the individual while away is personal growth. During a gap year, one can develop many life skills that will prove useful later in life. Gappers meet a lot of new people and are exposed to new social situations, and gain a lot of personal development from these experiences. According to Jones (2004), these are the life skills commonly associated with taking a gap year: “greater independence and ability to make decisions; the development of relational skills; problem solving; self-discipline; leadership skills; communication skills [e.g., teamwork]; manage money.” Rabie and Naidoo (2016) state that their research participants reported that they had learned a lot of skills during their gap year and that this had improved their ability to be independent from everything and that they could now manage their time , their finances and their business. responsibilities that follow one another on their path. The skills acquired by gappers can be divided into two categories: soft skills and practical skills. Jones (2004) defines soft skills as the acquisition of relational, communication, managerial and organizational skills. Practical skills have been defined by Jones (2004) as the ability of a person in a slack period to apply the knowledge acquired during the gap year in their daily activities.1. General skills. In the research carried out by Rabie and Naidoo (2016), they state that their participants described being exposed to a variety and a large number of different people during their gap year. These social interactions had a major influence on their interpersonal skills. Through the activities they engaged in and the people they worked with, participants developed their social skills, became adaptable, tolerant, and found themselves compelled to consider others.2. Practical skills. The most notable practical skill learned during the gap year was the participants' ability to manage their finances. For example, when you go hiking, you need to be able to fairly share all the money available for the trip. Other practical skills include learning to cook and learning another language. The next advantage for the lacking individual is the broadening of the horizon. By being exposed to all kinds of new situations, gappers experience new situations andbroaden their knowledge and perspective on life. By interacting with people of different cultures and nationalities, participants identified differences between themselves and others and vicariously gained self-knowledge. which broadened their perspective on their own interests, individual characteristics and personal preferences. Through their exposure to various professional backgrounds and time spent researching different careers in-depth, they have increased. Another benefit a gapper can gain from their gap year is increased confidence. Rabie and Naidoo (2016) found in their interviews with students who had taken a gap year that they had increased their confidence in their individual skills and characteristics. “Therefore, a gap year served as a period of introspection, allowing participants to form a more discerning identity. This allowed the participants to be clear about their interests and preferences, which ultimately allowed them to decide on a career path. Snee (2014) states that: A key element of a successful gap year is the recognition that enjoyment is an intrinsic part of the experience, provided that the orientations towards achieving something worthwhile are also obvious. Thus, gappers who focus solely on pleasure tell a less successful story than those who find balance, aligning with the imperative to be a balanced, socially aware person. To summarize, the benefits that a gap year can bring are: · Volunteering; · Increase in tourism; · Improved educational performance; · Personal growth; · Broadening the horizon; · Increased confidence. DiscussionPerhaps the most interesting finding of this report is that there are no single conclusions. A lot of research has been done on the influence of gap years, and all the results come back to the same thing, which is that taking a gap year can have a lot of positive influences on gap people, but also on society. Of course, only the advantages of taking a gap year have been discussed in this report, and of course, there are some disadvantages as well. However, there don't seem to be many downsides. And of course, this can be experienced differently for each gapper. Not every gap year is as successful as another, but the overall experiences seem pretty positive. Gappers have gained a lot of knowledge that will be useful to them in their future lives. This raises a lot of questions. Is taking a gap year really worth it? Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? Several themes in the findings of this article indicate that the gap year offers a range of opportunities, that it stimulates personal growth, that it helps people on a slack period to explore their interests, to develop new skills. which can be used later in life and develop their sense of identity.ConclusionThis report has been written to answer the question of how taking a gap year can prepare for one's future. A summary of the findings of this report is presented and therefore answers the central research question: How does taking a gap year prepare for the future? First, we needed to define the definition of a gap year. Different definitions have been found, but the definition this report sticks to is that a gap year is a period during which a person on slack can work, travel or take advantage of other personal and professional development opportunities and(62), 843-861.