Th e Use of Internships in Preparing School Leaders

Abstract

Internships, practica, and fi eld experiences have been touted as important ingredients to preparing eff ective school leaders. Clinical experiences have been incorporated in educational leadership preparation programs for over 50 years (Chance, 1991; Foster & Ward, 1998). Initially borrowed from the fi eld of medicine, internships were intended as a means for practitioners to gain experience near the completion of their formal preparation (Milstein, Bobroff , & Restine, 1991). Th e focus on practical experience has been described in a variety of ways; however, in their description of internships in educational leadership preparation, Fry, Bottoms, and O’Neill (2005) explained,A well-designed internship expands the knowledge and skills of candidates while also gauging their ability to apply new learning in authentic settings as they contend with problems that have real-world consequences. Built right, the internship becomes a sturdy vessel upon which new practitioners can navigate the swift , unpredictable currents that separate classroom theory and on-the-job reality. (p. 3)In reviewing internships in the fi eld of educational leadership preparation, the purpose of this chapter is to examine the literature describing how internships have been implemented and the eff ects these clinical experiences have had on aspiring school leaders. To achieve this purpose, we begin by describing the methodology used to review, code, and summarize empirical and nonempirical research dealing with internships. We then provide contextual background about internships, summarizing their historical development in leadership preparation; the purpose and value of these clinical experiences; and criticisms lodged by practitioners, professional associations, and university professors. Next, we examine the types of clinical experiences educational leadership programs currently are implementing and then describe empirical fi ndings about the eff ects of these experiences on aspiring school leaders. Finally, we conclude by critiquing the existing research literature, exposing weaknesses, and proposing future research to address these shortcomings.