The characteristics of 'gap-year' students and their tertiary academic outcomes

This study examines the determinants of taking a ‘gap-year’ (the decision to take a year off study between completing high school and commencing university) and the subsequent impact of this decision on marks at university. It finds that the main factors influencing students’ decisions on university...

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Main Authors: Birch, E., Miller, Paul
Format: Journal Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia 2007
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/45690
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author Birch, E.
Miller, Paul
author_facet Birch, E.
Miller, Paul
author_sort Birch, E.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This study examines the determinants of taking a ‘gap-year’ (the decision to take a year off study between completing high school and commencing university) and the subsequent impact of this decision on marks at university. It finds that the main factors influencing students’ decisions on university deferment are their previous academic achievements, age and location. Students who defer university are found to have higher marks than students who commence university directly after completing high school. This mark advantage is more pronounced among low-performing students, particularly male students, who are in the lower-half of the university marks distribution.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T09:26:46Z
publishDate 2007
publisher Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-456902017-09-13T14:23:35Z The characteristics of 'gap-year' students and their tertiary academic outcomes Birch, E. Miller, Paul This study examines the determinants of taking a ‘gap-year’ (the decision to take a year off study between completing high school and commencing university) and the subsequent impact of this decision on marks at university. It finds that the main factors influencing students’ decisions on university deferment are their previous academic achievements, age and location. Students who defer university are found to have higher marks than students who commence university directly after completing high school. This mark advantage is more pronounced among low-performing students, particularly male students, who are in the lower-half of the university marks distribution. 2007 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/45690 10.1111/j.1475-4932.2007.00418.x Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia restricted
spellingShingle Birch, E.
Miller, Paul
The characteristics of 'gap-year' students and their tertiary academic outcomes
title The characteristics of 'gap-year' students and their tertiary academic outcomes
title_full The characteristics of 'gap-year' students and their tertiary academic outcomes
title_fullStr The characteristics of 'gap-year' students and their tertiary academic outcomes
title_full_unstemmed The characteristics of 'gap-year' students and their tertiary academic outcomes
title_short The characteristics of 'gap-year' students and their tertiary academic outcomes
title_sort characteristics of 'gap-year' students and their tertiary academic outcomes
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/45690