Internship experiences of Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (IEPA) students of University of Cape Coast

Abstract

The study explored the internship experiences of the IEPA students, UCC. This was proposed against the backdrop of a dearth of empirical evidence concerning how the internship experiences of IEPA students have prepared them for their professional endeavours. The study was underpinned by the convergent parallel mixed methods design. The study adopted the census approach to research where all individuals in the target study population were studied. In all, data was collected from 50 IEPA students using a self-administered questionnaire which was complemented by 12 interviews with their internship site supervisors. The data from the questionnaire were analysed using descriptive statistics in the form of frequencies. The interview responses were transcribed and analysed thematically. Among other things, the findings suggest that, majority of IEPA students agreed that their internship experiences have helped to enhance their expertise in performing general administrative duties (e.g. filing, writing minutes, memos and letters), human relations skills, communication skills and teamwork skills. Also, majority of the IEPA students indicated that, they did not see a link between their academic preparation (coursework) and most of the administrative tasks they performed. Against this backdrop, it was concluded that perhaps the IEPA’s curricula was not in line with the needs and aspirations of its clientele. In light of these, it was recommended, among other things, that the IEPA should review its curriculum to include courses that will provide students with the needed knowledge in 21st century educational administration practises