UW-Madison’s Matthew Hora and colleagues published a new paper in the International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning titled, “Problematizing college internships: Exploring issues with access, program design, and developmental outcomes in three U.S. colleges.”
Hora is the director of the Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions, housed within the School of Education’s Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER). He is also an assistant professor of adult and higher education with the Department of Liberal Arts and Applied Studies. Co-authors include: Zi Chen, an assistant researcher with WCER; Pa Her, a PhD student with the School of Education’s Department of Counseling Psychology; and Emily Parrott is a graduate student with the School of Human Ecology.
Their paper aims to provide more comprehensive research on the impacts of internship program formats on student outcomes. The mixed-methods study included survey and focus group data from students across three U.S. colleges. The team found that high degrees of supervisor support, supervisor mentoring, and relationship between internships and academic programs were significant predicators of students’ satisfaction with internships and perceived value for their career development.
Read the full paper here.