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  7. Reinventing the Gap Year

Reinventing the Gap Year

Team Members

Our team was part of a collaborative project led by the University of Sydney, with the NSW Department of Education, the University of Canberra, the University of Wollongong and the Country Education Foundation, including:

  • The University of Sydney:
    • Dr Samantha McMahon
    • Prof Valerie Harwood
    • Dr Alison Grove-O’Grady
    • Dr Catherine (Kate) Smyth
    • Dr Nada Labib
    • Dr Patrick Brownlee
    • Mrs Amanda Freeborn
    • Ms Tamsyn Richards
    • Ms Elizabeth Roberts
  • The University of Canberra:
    • Assoc Prof Philip Roberts
    • Ms Natalie Downes
    • Ms Laurie Poretti
  • The University of Wollongong:
    • Ms Kylie Austin
    • Ms Jade Andrews
  • The Country Education Foundation
    • Ms Emma Burns

Funding Organisations

  • NSW Department of Education

For many students, a gap year is a necessary, well-reasoned and ultimately helpful event. It is therefore essential that students and their parents be provided with accurate and easily accessible information to make their decision.

This project offered Year 12 students, parents or carers, and students already on gap years access to resources about gap years, provided through a monthly email. The resources were not intended to actively dissuade or encourage regional students to take a gap year. Rather, they provided these students and their parents with information on gap years and university.

The non-branded resources were designed to help regional students and parents consider what they wanted from a gap year and to correct known misconceptions about gap years and university experiences. The resources featured topics such as the financial and social costs of university study and issues associated with indecisions about attending university, what to study and careers.

This project involved interviews and focus groups with high school students, students currently taking gap years, students who have returned to university after gap years, parents, teachers, and careers advisors. These interviews were combined with research about gap years for regional students and used to inform the development of the resources available on the ‘Gap Year’ website. Further interviews were then conducted after the resources were developed to evaluate and improve the resources.

The project team developed a website of information that may help students and their support networks to make well-informed decisions about gap years. Each month, resources about gap years were made available by email to high school students, student support networks, and students on gap years.

For further information on this project, please contact us.