Learning to Teach: An Exploratory Multiple-Case Study of Internship Growth Within the Secondary Student, Preservice Teacher, and Lead Teacher Triad From a Critical Conceptual Framework

The purpose of my study was to better understand the internship growth of secondary students, preservice teachers, and lead teachers from a critical conceptual framework. Two inter-related questions guided my study: (1) What internship growth do the secondary students, preservice teachers, and lead teachers experience? (2) How do the secondary students, preservice teachers, and lead teachers interact with and relate to one another during internships? The design of the study was an exploratory multiple-case study. Eleven secondary students, preservice teachers, and lead teachers from two different schools within the same school district participated in the study. Data collection included video recordings of class sessions, semi-structured interviews, work samples, field notes, and archival records. Through a lens of: (1) continuity and change, and (2) internalization and externalization, the findings detailed the historical-relational movement of the internship growth as experienced by the participants. This study contributes to the development of a critical understanding and language of internship growth. It calls for stakeholders to take actions to shape and reshape internship experiences in the short-term and K-12 school and teacher education program collaboration and partnerships in the long term