Description
Students will do an internship at an organization outside of Leiden University, where they will perform tasks fitting the daily practice of a scientifically educated pedagoog. The internship is in an area that fits the student’s substantive profile. For instance, if the student has chosen a non-clinical profile, the internship may be at a school, an organization for school research, or an organization for family support or foster care. If the student has chosen a clinical profile, the internship will be at a clinical facility, such as the LUBEC. In any case, the organization where the student does the internship will have connections to or experience with scientific research. Internships outside the Netherlands are possible, once they are approved by the Internship Bureau (Jacquy Bouwer).
If the student opts for the NVO professional registration Basis Orthopedagoog or Basis Pedagoog (and has already met the requirements for this registration in their Bachelor program), the Research Master Internship contributes to this qualification.
Course objectives
To become good researchers in the field of education and child studies, students need to be able to look at the field from the perspective of a professional within that field. As researchers, they will need to connect their research perspective to that of a professional pedagoog to perform research that is sensitive to the context and will be useful to that context. The primary objective of this course is for students to engage in the practice of a pedagoog and to get to know this practice from within. Additionally, they will use the experience they gained in practice to design (not perform) a useful and attainable research project in a context similar to that of their internship.
After following this course, students will be able to:
perform tasks assigned by a supervisor in the professional practice of education and child studies (in accordance with the NVO professional code);
critically reflect on their work in the professional context;
work together with colleagues in that professional context;
reflect on their own role in the team;
take the perspective of a professional in the practical field, and use that perspective to design an attainable and useful research project within that field;
recognize possible practical obstacles that may occur when performing research in a context similar to that of the internship;
describe ethical considerations for research design in that professional context;
describe potential practical implications of the research project for the professional context, for instance in terms of improvement of a process or policy;
describe potential theoretical implications of the research project, taking account of the context in which it was performed.
If the student already has practical work experience in the field of education and child studies at an academic level which meets the practice-related learning objectives of the Research Master’s Internship (see above), the student can request an exemption to the rule that the internship cannot be exclusively research-focused. To qualify for an exemption, they need to show that they have at least 20 EC (560 hours) of recent experience working in the field of education and child studies at an academic level. Note that an exemption only applies to the practical focus of the internship, not to the extent (which will still be 20 EC).
Mode of instruction
Students will be supervised by a professional from the internship organization (internship supervisor) who has experience or affiliation with scientific research. Within the university, students will be supervised by the internship tutors.
The internship tutors organize group meetings with all Research Master’s students (regardless of their Profile). These meetings are meant to guide students through the internship process, and to share experiences with each other. The schedule of the meetings will be announced at the start of the internship. Attending the meetings is obligatory.
Assessment
At the end of the internship period, the internship tutor will determine your final grade. This grade is based on:
1. the assessment of the professional conduct within the organization. This will be assessed by the internship tutor based on a standard form with rubrics, after consulting the internship supervisor;
2. the quality of the interim assignments and the participation in the group meetings;
3. the quality of the internship report; and
4. the quality of the research proposal.
All parts should be assessed as at least satisfactory; addendum 1, 3, and 4 need to be at a passing level (6.0 or higher). An assessment form is available for each type of final product.
Brightspace
Additional information can be found on the Brightspace site of the course Research Master Education and Child Studies (folder: Internship).
Reading list
There is no reading list for this course. More detailed information about the internship is available in the Internship Prospectus (see Brightspace). Depending on the context of their internship, students will need to read scientific literature to support their work. In addition, they will need to read scientific papers as a background to their assignment.
Registration
Students are expected to find an internship position themselves. Once you have been accepted by an organization and your internship position has been officially approved by the coordinator of the Internship Bureau, Jacquy Bouwer, please fill in the details about your internship position in the questionnaire (See Brightspace; Folder Internship).
Contact information
The internship tutors are Marja Oudega and Siuman Chung.
Please discuss the choices regarding your internship with your mentor. For practical support turn to Jacquy Bouwer from the Internship Bureau.