Minding the gap? Young people's accounts of taking a Gap Year as a form of identity work in higher education

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), PII 92. pp. 341-357.

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Abstract

A Gap Year is a break in an educational career, principally taken between leaving school and beginning university. Previous research on the Gap Year has suggested it is a form of social class positioning or forum for undertaking transitions in identity during young adulthood. This paper extends this research into the context of higher education itself. The paper illustrates, by a detailed analysis of interview data, that significant identity work is undertaken by young people in their accounts of their Gap Year. It demonstrates that this identity work, involving talk of confidence, maturity and/or independence, is related to two forms of distinction: a life course distinction and a social distinction. The paper discusses the significance of this identity work for our understandings of the Gap Year, its place in young people's transitions to adulthood and for future research.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions :	Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences > Department of Sociology
Authors :	Name Email ORCID King, A
Date :	1 January 2011
DOI :	10.1080/13676261.2010.522563
Uncontrolled Keywords :	Social Sciences, Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary, Social Sciences - Other Topics, higher education, identity, transition, young adulthood, TRANSITION, ADULTHOOD, UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE
Related URLs :	Publisher
Additional Information :	This is an electronic version of an article published as 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 Available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cjys20/14/3
Depositing User :	Symplectic Elements
Date Deposited :	10 Jul 2013 11:10
Last Modified :	31 Oct 2017 15:07
URI:	http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/id/eprint/774137

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