ギャップ イヤー ノ イギ : ジッセンシャ ガ ニンシキスル ギャップ イヤー ケイケン

There have been discussions on introducing gap year as part of international programs among Japanese universities which tried to encourage their students to study abroad and to recruit more international students to their campus. However, the number of research on gap year is limited.Therefore a piece of research was conducted to investigate the nature of gap year. Four individuals who had pursued/were pursuing gap year were interviewed. It is found that they recognized the improvement in communication skills and work related competencies. As gap year is not in the educational nor vocational systems and free from the restrictions, individuals can plan their gap year on their own, which leads to their improvement of autonomy. Because the uncertainty and unexpected problems likely happen during their gap year, participants develop their resilience. Gap year appears to have potential to attract more people to pursue it as its flexibility provides individuals time to think on their own experience