The Internship is a period of guided, professional practice during which the Educational Leadership candidate takes increasing responsibility for the learning of P-12 students while under the guidance of an administrative mentor and the Internship Director of American College of Education. Students will be expected to complete the internship within the nine month time frame as opposed to the 18 month time frame in the full master’s degree program. Please make sure you visit the Academic Calendar for important dates.
This integrative experience provides opportunities for candidates to:
- demonstrate mastery of knowledge and skills in the three unit domains: Instructional Leadership, School Community Leadership, and Administrative Leadership
- work with and learn from administrators in public schools
- develop self-evaluation, self-analysis, and reflection leading to the development of leadership competencies
- witness and experience the link between theory and practice to further develop his or her skills in leading school programs that increase the learning of all students
- demonstrate previously acquired academic and professional knowledge
The integrative experience is designed to address key NCATE/ELCC standards. Specifically: "The internship provides significant opportunities for candidates to synthesize and apply knowledge and practice and develop the skills identified in Standards 1-6 through substantial, sustained, standards-based work in real settings, planned and guided cooperatively by the institution and school district personnel for graduate credit." The primary objectives of the Internship are:
- to provide candidates the opportunity to gain problem-based, collaborative experience in the domains of Instructional Leadership, School Community Leadership, and Administrative Leadership while working in an authentic, supervised environment.
- to provide candidates the opportunity to experience the realities of educational administration by applying previous classroom knowledge to authentic leadership situations.
- to provide candidates practical experience in applying leadership skills, techniques, and theory through working directly with professional administrators.
