What Type of Internship Would I Do With an Education Leadership Degree?

Choosing the right Education Leadership Internship for you is not only important for your degree completion, but also for the fulfillment of your professional and personal goals. Internships provide real opportunities to develop leadership skills and to gain experience in leading and motivating others. Knowledge is power. Knowing what types of internships are possible will help you plan ahead and line up an ideal Education Leadership Internship. There are several types of internships you can choose from.

K-12 School Principal Internships

Schools are in need of good leaders. The Principal Internship helps students gain the necessary skills and strategies for leading schools toward improvement and greater gains in student achievement. The internship provides first-hand experience leading teachers, staff, students, and parents, and communities in educational initiatives. The Southern Regional Education Board, The Principal Internship: How Can we get it Right?, talks about the quality of experiences and knowledge students completing a principal internship should gain.

Higher Education Internships

Internships can be completed in higher education institutions under a supervising educational leader at the college or university. Usually your program of study has already established connections with cooperating university and college departments. It is best to work directly with your program director or advisor to set these internships up.

Community Education Agency Internships

There are many non-profit and regional education agencies you could complete your internship with. For an example of a community education agency internship go to TX Post. These types of internships prepare interns to support educational research efforts and program and policy development and implementation. The intern will also gain valuable experience in planning and leading community events. There are opportunities to work directly with statewide evaluation programs.

Government Internships

The Federal Government offers Federal internships for students to gain experiences in educational leadership at the Federal level. The Internship Program provides college students with paid opportunities to work in agencies and explore Federal careers while completing their programs of study. The Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program offers a premier leadership development program for advanced masters or professional degree candidates.

Private School Leadership Internships

These internships uniquely prepare students with skills and experiences required to lead, improve, promote, and grow private schools as an administrative leader. Interns learn valuable skills in building schools and competing with other schools for student enrollment.

Public Policy Research Institution Internships

These internships prepare students to develop leadership skills and experiences in community service, education, and policy development. Interns gain rich experiences in public policy initiatives.

Whatever internship you decide on will prepare you well for your future educational leadership role. The Journal of Educational Administration shares a study conducted on alumni perspectives of the valuable skills and experiences they gained during their Educational Leadership internship at Emerald Insight. The findings of this study validated the importance of the educational leadership internship. Participants were grateful for the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge, skills, and attitudes from experienced leaders in the field. Through your chosen Education Leadership Internship, you will have the same opportunity to become effective leaders in your future position in leadership.