Profiles of the Administrative Internship: The Mentor/Intern Partnership in Facilitating Leadership Experiences

This study sought to understand how aspiring administrators and supervising mentors contribute to the intern’s opportunity to lead authentic administrative tasks during the administrative internship. Using case study methodology, we gathered data from six intern/mentor pairs through in-depth interviews, observations, journals, and logs. Several themes contributed to the development of the intern/mentor relationship in three phases: (a) establishing the partnership, (b) cultivating the mentoring relationship, and (c) learning through the leadership experience. Our results informed the development of the Educational Leadership Mentoring Framework, a new conceptual framework that has the potential to enhance the quality of administrative internship experiences.

Administrative Interns as Legitimate Participants in the Community of Practice

In recent years, many programs in Educational Administration have added the requirement of an administrative internship. This paper explores how internship learning differs from classroom learning using a theoretical framework of legitimate peripheral participation. The paper also explores how the internship impacts both the intern and the mentor as well as how reflection opportunities can be built into the internship. The paper concludes with an Intern Transition Model.

Personal Observations of Using Peer Coaching to Improve the Administrative Internship

The administrative internship is an important component of leadership preparation programs. In the present study, conducted in 1991–92 at Valdosta State College, Georgia, program graduates had rated the internship among the least rigorous but most valuable of coursework completed in the M.Ed. degree and fifth-year certification programs. Two faculty members in the Department of Educational Administration proposed to evaluate and recommend revisions in the internship experience to increase its rigor without diminishing value. The process and outcome of their use of peer coaching for both professional development and program improvement are reported in this article.