ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
This study seeks to understand students' knowledge and attitudes about a Gap Year programme at a public university in Malaysia. A survey questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 900 students representing all the 9 faculties at the university. The data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) involving descriptive analysis (frequency and percentage). The results showed that the students had limited knowledge about the Gap Year programme. Despite the students’ limited knowledge, their attitudes towards the programme was positive. The findings of the study are expected to add to the existing literatures regarding the Gap Year and provide empirical evidence about the Gap Year programme in the Malaysian context. Additionally, the findings are expected to provide useful insights for the university and the Ministry of Education about the newly launched Gap Year programme. Thus, more effective strategies can be developed, and the ministry's aspiration to produce holistic, balanced and entrepreneurial graduates can be realized.
Abidi, Z. (2004). Taking a gap year?. London, YMCA George Williams College for the Rank Foundation.
Birch, E.R. & Miller, P.W. (2007). The characteristics of gap year students and their tertiary academics outcome, Economic Record, 83 (262), 329-344.
Cremin, C. (2007). Living and really living: The gap year and the commodification of the contigent, Ephemera, 7 (4), 526-542.
Garis panduan Gap Yea.(2017. Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi.
Grose, T. K. (2010). The lure of the gap year: Time of learning and maturing can mean refreshed batteries and prepared students, U.S News and World Report.
Guidi, C. (2018). Experiencing a Gap Year: Perceptions from Students in the United States (Unpublished doctoral dissertation), College of Professional Studies Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts.
Heath, S. (2007). Widening the gap: pre-university gap years and the economy of experience, British Journal of Sociology of Education, 28 (1), 89-103.
Haighler, K. & Nelson, R. (2005). Gap year American Style, Journeys toward learning, serving and self-discovery.
Hulstrand, J. (2010). Time out: The gap year abroad, International Educator, Mar/Apr 2010: 19(2), 50-53
Jones, A. (2004). Review of gap Year Provision, London, UK Departmemt for Education and Skills.
Retrieved from http://www.tussenjaartwijfels.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/AndrewJonesforDfES2003.pdf
King, A. (2011). Minding the gap? Young people's accounts of taking a Gap Year as a form of identity work in higher education, Journal of Youth Studies, 14 (3), 341-357.
Malaysia Education Blueprint (Higher Education 2015-2025). (2015). Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia.
Nieman, M.M. (2013). South African students' perceptions of the role of a gap year in preparing them for higher education, African Education Review, 10 (1), 132-147.
O’Shea, J. (2011). Delaying academy; A gap year education, Teaching in Higher Education, 16(5), 565-577.
Stehlik, T. (2010). Mind the gap: school leaver aspirations and delayed pathways to further and higher education, Journal of Education and Work, 23 (4), 363-376.
Tucker, J. (2012). College students fill gap year with meaning, SF Gate, September.
Torpey, E.M. (2009). Gap year: Time off with plan, Occupational Outlook Quarterly, Fall, 26-33.
US Fed New Service. (2016). Florida State University kicks off inaugural year of gap year fellowship program, Washington D.C.
Wu, M.Y., Pearce, P., Huang, K. & Fang, T. (2015). Gap year in China: views from the participants and implications for the future, Current Issues in Tourism, 18 (2), 158-174.
In-Text Citation: (Hamid, Shokory, & Awang, 2019)
To Cite this Article: Hamid, S. A., Shokory, S. M., & Awang, M. (2019). Students’ Knowledge and Attitudes about the Gap Year Programme: A Study at a Public University in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(2), 826–838.
Copyright: © 2019 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode