Internship Away From Home A Case Study in a State University

Educating citizens that will comprise the labor force is a requisite in establishing a favourable environment towards the attainment of economic and sustainable development across countries. Obviously, citizens must be capacitated to perform indispensable roles in the transformation of communities. Undeniably, higher education institutions (HEIs) in the 21st century have been faced with evolving and more demanding environment, including the challenges of internationalization. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of the student-interns of the College of Teacher Education, University of Northern Philippines (CTE-UNP) who were carefully chosen to pursue their internship in Vietnam and Thailand. A qualitative transcendental phenomenological- case study approach was utilized. Interview was conducted with the four-pioneer student interns of CTE. The data were also substantiated through a narrative analysis derived from the submitted portfolio. It was disclosed that interns who were exposed in a non-English speaking institution tend to experience more socio-cultural challenges as compared to interns in English-speaking institution. Internship abroad would likely contribute to the holistic development of a globally competent future educator amidst the presence of socio-cultural difficulties. Thus, prior to international academic exposure, the students should be provided with opportunities to be familiar with the culture and language of the host foreign country. It is also suggested that a thorough study may be  conducted whether the exposure abroad of the interns could really contribute, both for personal and academic development.

Keywords –ASEAN, Education, Excellence, Internationalization, Internship