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Researching how people are educated for practice has often been seen as problematic. We recommend qualitative approaches that draw on hermeneutic phenomenology and narrative inquiry. It is our intention to outline approaches that we believe can be used in an emerging research agenda. We begin by examining assumptions underlying much workplace research and recent trends, such as social constructionism. There has been a gradual recognition of the importance of the social aspects of practice with the rise in popularity of such ideas as communities of practice, and the recognition of the significance of the work of scholars such as Vygotsky. However, the individual's interaction with the practice environment and their interpretation of their own experience has been somewhat neglected. We argue that there is an important dialogical relationship between the individual and the practice environment, affected by personal histories, workplace cultures and education. We need more research that deeply engages with the individual's perspective on practice. We argue that combining hermeneutic phenomenology and narrative inquiry can allow research to engage with the individual's subjective experience and explore the relationships between individuals and their communities of practice. We also draw on the ideas of the Russian scholar, Mikhail Bakhtin, to further develop the importance of studying the dynamic dialogical relationships that individuals establish with themselves and their practice environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'gap year' is defined as a time between the end of school and the beginning of further studies in which young people engage in a variety of activities, including paid or voluntary work. 'Gapping' is a significant trend globally for young people deferring formal study after completing school, before commencing further or higher education. A sizeable industry has grown up around the gap-year concept with many volunteer placement agencies, websites, guide books and 'time-off consultants' available to help young people plan their gap year, often at significant cost. It is claimed that a gap-year experience will help participants acquire 'soft skills' needed in the modern world of work, develop social values allowing them to better adapt to university life and ultimately become more attractive to employers. Reference to the literature and data from surveys of Australian school and university students addresses the gap-year phenomenon and how can it be defined and theorised. The paper explores reasons why school leavers delay transition into further education and what they do instead, queries whether gapping provides significant development of 'soft skills', and concludes that the gap-year trend has implications for recognising work experience and informal learning in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]