Research Proposal

Else DiGiacopo

Professor Goeller

Research in the Disciplines: College!

March 7th, 2017

Research Proposal Final Draft

Working Title: The Gap Year: A New Norm?

Topic:

I will be researching the gap year that has recently been gaining popularity and encouragement as an intermediate step for students between high school and college. The paper will explore the many questions that students must ask themselves before making the decision to take a year off or proceed directly to a university, as well as the various aspects affecting students decisions regarding the matter, whether they are financial, social, or emotional matters, and finally the effects that the gap year had on students who participated in it.

Research Question:

Based on recent trends, will students taking a gap year between high school and university become the norm? And what are the major factors affecting the growing popularity of the gap year? Furthermore, does it work?

Theoretical Frame:

The ongoing and ever-changing debate of the “gap year” has gained a lot of attention recently due to Malia Obama’s decision to take a year off with intentions of broadening her horizons. In fact, in an article by Mike McPhate of the New York Times, it is explained that Malia's decision is proving to spark major discussions regarding a year of growth and development between high school and college, and that some educators and universities (including all 8 Ivy League schools included) are strongly endorsing and even have programs dedicated to this process. Likewise, in his book, Gap Year: How Delaying College Changes People in Ways the World Needs, Joseph O’Shea sheds light on the various ways in which the gap year can have a global effect with many programs in place to help many people in need. It becomes apparent that while many students are looking for personal clarity during their time off, they may be able to change the world in the meantime, being that many gap year programs are centered around community service and charity work.

It is obvious Malia Obama represents a certain case. It goes without saying that she is a famous public figure who does not need to spend her time worrying about how her financial standing ( as well as many other factors) will affect her decision in taking a gap year. That being said, while her case is a great example as well as spark for discussion, I will be focussing more on students who don’t necessarily “have it as easy”. I have found various case studies that delve into to lives of various students, each one unique in its own way. The first, by Helene Snee, analyzes the travel blogs of 39 gap year students along their journeys. Another, by Melinda Coetzee and Suzanne Bester (of South Africa) is a study regarding 3 students who come from predominantly middle-class families and how their decision to take the gap year was made as well as the affects it had on them. Lastly, a study conducted by Allison J. Spenader investigates how 4 US students who travelled to Sweden as a pre-collegiate year off (with no prior knowledge of the target language) adapt and further learn the language and to what extent of proficiency. As you can see by just these three case studies, the gap year is an extremely elaborate topic with many different ins and outs of which I will try to connect in my final research paper.

I am very interested in this topic, especially being a student who very recently took the big step from high school to college and knowing people who chose to take a gap year, as well as many who did not. I wonder if the long-lasting trend of continuing education directly from high school to college will change, and if taking a gap year will become the new norm.

Case, Additional Questions, and Research Plan:

Like I said previously, I will use the case of Malia Obama as a kickstart, being that her fame has brought much attention to the topic. However, I have become aware that although the gap year is becoming more popular and widely accepted, many still view it with trepidation for various reasons; a main one being that the gap year is for affluent students, those who can afford to delay the start of their college experience. In my research, two resources that I think will be helpful regarding this point are the article "The 'Gap Year’ Not Just for Rich Kids Anymore", and also the AmeriCorps program which places young adults in non-profit agencies around the country, one that many students take advantage of when taking a gap year. In fact, in her article, Rebecca Kern explained how AmeriCorps helped focus the lives of two different gap year students.

I would like to further research the number of students from various social backgrounds and financial standings who have chosen to take the gap year (or perhaps those who have wanted to but could not), and for what reasons as well as what were the main motivations and limitations in the decision making process. The recent increase in popularity of the gap year is drawing much attention to the topic and causing great discussion as well as a change in mass attitude regarding the matter, a change that I hope to fully grasp in my final paper.

Works Cited

Coetzee, Melinda, and Suzanne Bester. “The Possible Value of a Gap Year: A Case Study.”         Sabinet, Higher Education South Africa (HESA), Jan. 2009, journals.co.za/content/high/23/3/EJC37535. Accessed 4 Mar. 2017.

Couric, Katie. “The ‘Gap Year’ Not Just for Rich Kids Anymore.” Global Citizen Year, 23 Sept. 2016. Global Citizen, www.globalcitizenyear.org/press/gap-year-not-just-rich-kids-anymore/. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017.

Kern, Rebecca. “AmeriCorps Helps Focus the Futures of Two Gap Year Students.” USNews.com, U.S. News & World Report L.P., 26 May 2010, www.usnews.com/education/articles/2010/05/26/americorps-helps-focus-the-futures-of-two-gap-year-students. Accessed 5 Mar. 2017.

McPhate, Mike. “Malia Obama’s ‘Gap Year’ Is Part of a Growing (and Expensive) Trend.” New York Times, 2 May 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/05/03/us/malia-obamas-gap-year-is-part-of-a-growing-and-expensive-trend.html?_r=0. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017.

O’Shea, Joseph. Gap Year : How Delaying College Changes People in Ways the World Needs. Johns Hopkins UP, 2013. EBSCOhost, site.ebrary.com/lib/rutgers/reader.action?docID=10790488. Accessed 4 Mar. 2017.

Snee, Helene. “Doing Something ‘Worthwhile’: Intersubjectivity and Morality in Gap Year Narratives.” Wiley Online Library, John Wiley & Sons, 2013, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1111/1467-954X.12116/asset/sore12116.pdf?v=1&t=izxlxcsp&s=7f4de72bdc64da5e4228ed41d161ccaeadca3e62. Accessed 3 Mar. 2017.

Spenader, Allison J. “Language Learning and Acculturation: Lessons from High School and Gap-Year Exchange Students.” Wiley Online Library, Foreign Language Annals, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2011.01134.x/epdf. Accessed 4 Mar. 2017.