Change in Views of Competence Brought about by Internship Experience in the Early Grades

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of student internship experiences in terms of student learning and growth, focusing on changes in students’ views of competence that can impact how they engage with their learning behaviors and experiences, and examining how these changes occur through a case study of a particular class. A survey was administered to first- and second-year undergraduates who participated in three- to four-week internships, yielding data from 81 students enrolled in four-year courses. The data were analyzed to examine how students’ views of competence changed after their internship experiences. More specifically, free-form responses were collected regarding students’ views of competence linked to three key concepts—(1) communication skills, (2) skills for problem-solving and (3) leadership—as well as (4) competence they would need after employment and (5) competence that university students lack. Quantitative text analysis of the data was performed using KH Coder. The results indicated that there were definite changes in students’ views of competence following the internship experience. For example, changes were observed in students’ responses regarding (2), which changed from vague and abstract descriptions of skills to descriptions of skills to take the specific actions that comprise the problem-solving process.The analysis of (4) and (5) similarly revealed that students had changed in terms of their approach to knowledge, and had become aware of their lack of skills to collaborate with diverse others, with students describing new views of competence that would influence how they would engage with learning and their experience moving forward. In summary, although the sample size was limited, the findings suggest that student internship experiences in the early grades may be effective in terms of providing opportunities for students to gain an awareness of the cyclic process of renewing their views of competence.