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Internship Preparedness: A Look into the Internship Experience at St. John Fisher College
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Fisher, John |
| Copyright Year | 2019 |
| Abstract | In the field of sport management, internships have been shown to be an important factor in the initial placement in the sport industry. Previous work has cited both design elements and the experience itself as being critical to internship success or failure. As the SJFC program requires two distinct required experiences, the purpose of this study was to explore the impact of these experiences on recent graduate’s confidence levels. Through survey data it was uncovered that participants who indicated a higher satisfaction with their final internship were more likely to end up in a career similar that of their last internship. Additionally, qualitative and quantitative data highlighted the design factors, such as learning opportunities and task variety as a very important factor in determining internship effectiveness. Qualitative data confirmed that many different aspects played a role in the effectiveness of the internship, but what it came down to was the experience itself. Sport management program faculty, current and potential students, and internship supervisors would find this information useful due to the insight this study provides. Internship Preparedness 3 Internship Preparedness: A Look into the Internship Experience at St. John Fisher College There is a point in time during every sport management student’s career where they must translate what they learned in the classroom into a real world professional setting. Just because a student excels in the classroom does not necessarily mean they would excel on the job when it truly matters. When it comes down to it, all the education in the world can sometimes not prepare you for a career in the field you are interested in. Generally, students will need to step outside their comfort zone, take a risk, and look for experience outside of the classroom. In the sport management field, there is one common way to do that and it is through internships. Briefly, internships are a way to gain experience outside the classroom. Authors explained, “internships serve to close the gap between learned theory and practical reality and are often the first opportunity for many students to obtain meaningful field experience in their field of study” (Gi-Yong, Diacin, Khojasteh, & Dixon, 2016, p. 30). Therefore, internships are designed to provide a beneficial experience to the students who take them on. However, no two internships are the same. This is where a gap in knowledge lies. Internships are very subjective to the organization that they are experienced with and the students completing the experience. Authors Kerwin, Odio, and Sagas confirm the drawbacks of internships if the design is not conducive to learning (Kerwin, Odio & Sagas, 2014). Sometimes, students can even leave an internship experience feeling more confused about what they want to do with their careers than when they started (Kerwin, Odio & Sagas, 2014). Although internships are subjective to the organization where they are conducted, they still remain a crucial part of sport management curriculum across the country. Based on a recent study, “those who reported satisfaction with the internship experience were more likely to enter Internship Preparedness 4 the field after graduation than those reporting dissatisfaction” (Gi-Yong, Diacin, Khojasteh, & Dixon, 2016). However, determining what factors contributed to that satisfaction or dissatisfaction remains unclear to those who work with interns. Therefore, it becomes important to understand the elements that shape internships in order to provide an overall increase in internship satisfaction. Existing research has demonstrated that many factors shape the internship experiences. Already known to be of importance are internship design, individual factors, and student progression from school into a career. By exploring these concepts in a sport setting, we can begin to understand whether the participants felt like the internships prepared them for the next step of their life. |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1122&context=sport_undergrad&httpsredir=1&referer= |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
