An Evaluation of the University of Education, Winneba Student Internship Programme

In recent years, school-based mentoring for student teaching interns through School-University partnerships has become an increasingly important aspect of the process by which teacher trainees learn how to teach. However, sustainable partnerships require careful consideration and thoughtful research if they are to be effective and efficient in the long-term. This paper reports on the evaluation of the University of Education, Winneba, (UEW) Student Internship Programme (SIP) based on a ‘school-university partnership' approach. The data were collected through questionnaires completed by 226 mentors and 443 mentees (i.e. student teaching interns) throughout the ten regions of Ghana; and also through semi-structured interviews in a sample of 24 schools in the Ashanti, Greater Accra and Central regions involving 120 mentors, 250 mentees, 24 Heads of schools and 40 UEW lecturers. The evaluation revealed that: (1) all stakeholders believe that the internship programme is a more effective method of preparing teachers than the traditional teaching practice; (2) the internship is contributing towards a change in the culture of schools and in the role perception and professionalism of teachers; (3) the programme is impacting positively on the professional development of practising teachers in the partnership schools. Suggestions for future modifications to the programme are also offered. African Journal of Educational Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Vol. 3 2005: pp. 83-87