Institutionalizing Internships: Enhanced Civic Culture via State Capital Internship Programs
By Lauren S. Foley, Western Michigan University, and Marty P. Jordan, Michigan State University
Political science uses public service internships to enhance students’ civic virtues (e.g., political knowledge, trust, efficacy, and engagement). But the scholarship on teaching and learning treats internships as equal. Some students enroll in structured internship programs involving numerous credits, symbiotic coursework, and faculty support. While other students pursue applied practicums independently. Relying on three years of data from two universities’ fieldwork programs, we find that all internships are associated with gains in civic values. But students participating in structured internship programs report more sizable increases in political knowledge, faith in institutions, and belief they can affect change.
The Journal of Political Science Education is an intellectually rigorous, path-breaking, agenda-setting journal that publishes the highest quality scholarship on teaching and pedagogical issues in political science. The journal aims to represent the full range of questions, issues and approaches regarding political science education, including teaching-related issues, methods and techniques, learning/teaching activities and devices, educational assessment in political science, graduate education, and curriculum development.