Perceptions and Experiences of B.ED. Students About Internship and Sessional Work

Abstract

The two-year B.Ed. programme has three components, i.e. theory, practicum and internship. Sessional work and internship programme in teacher education are of great significance because they ensure the preparation of prospective teachers in a professional manner. The study dealt with the perceptions, experiences and challenges of the pupil teachers during their internship and sessional work. The sample for the study was chosen from the college where the author was working and consisted of 80 student-teachers selected through random sampling. Data was collected using an openended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The results showed that studentteachers viewed the internship programme as a real opportunity to refine and improve their teaching skills in an actual school setting. Student-teachers were also of the view that the concerned supervisor played an important role in enhancing their teaching skills. The results of the interviews showed that hands-on experiences and longer duration of field experience helped the students in understanding the classroom teaching process in a better manner. The challenges perceived by student-teachers were mainly in the area of classroom management, long distance of practice school from home, a large number of lesson plans, conducting constructivist approach-based lessons at the school level, administration, scoring and interpretation of psychological tests, data collection for action research, preparing presentations for sessional work, etc. Some measures were also suggested by student- teachers for making the internship programme and sessional work more fruitful.