Internship Overview
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.
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
Internship Objectives
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.
