Internships for Prospective High-School Teachers being Trained in Universities

Abstract

A phase of the teacher education program for prospective high-school teachers, which has been given relatively little attention in the past but which is now being widely studied by educators in institutions which prepare teach ers, is that of the internship. By Internship is meant a period of training on the job, provided usually after the prospective teacher has completed the formal university program of education, similar in purpose to the internships provided for prospective medical doctors. In some schools the internship is considered a definite part of the first year of graduate study and university credit granted for the internship may be applied toward the master's degree. It may be provided and supervised by the teacher-education institution, by the public school system, or by both, but its purpose is basically the same; namely, to prepare the prospective teacher for effective full-time teaching. One of the reasons for the developing interest among educators in the internship for teachers is the lack of articulation which exists between the experiences which are provided prospective teachers in teacher-educating institutions and those encountered in actual service. Four-year programs of teacher preparation are not long enough to include training in all phases of teaching because only a minor portion of the student's undergraduate time can be devoted to actual teaching experiences. Another situation which has stimulated consideration of the internship as a functional part of the pre-service education of teachers is that created by the practice in many cities and larger towns of employing only those teach ers who have had one or two years of experience. This is done in order to insure the system that new staff members will be competent teachers when they undertake their duties. The practice has become so general, however, that the question is raised as to where these first years of experience are to be gained? A further question arises as to who is responsible, the teacher training institution, the city school system, or the small high school, for 664