Exploring Student Reflections Towards an Agricultural Internship
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56103/nactaj.v67i1.52Keywords:
internships, agriculture, reflectionsAbstract
Internships have largely been used as an effective hands-on learning tool, exposing college students to an array of occupational skills and expectations in hopes of creating prepared individuals for the workforce. Developing a better understanding of recent intern perceptions about their lived experience could help to construct a deeper appreciation between the connectedness of the participant’s perception and the internship experience. The purpose of this study was to explore the reflections and attitudes of undergraduate students who completed an agricultural internship to gain useful insights to internship elements concerning internship programming, student learning, and preparation for future career endeavors. This qualitative study employed three data collection methods: descriptive survey, semi-structured one-on-one interviews, and document analysis. Each intern had a unique internship and provided insight into how internships could be more effective. Student interns valued their professional internship experience while acknowledging the personal and professional benefits gained because of completing the experience.
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