International internship experiences for pre-service teachers. Potential and challenges for learning

Abstract

In general, international internships for pre-service teachers are naturally assumed to offer positive learning experiences, while research has shown that these expectations are often not met. This paper thus investigates how and if learning takes place in multi-week international internships, what shapes this learning and what enables, limits, or obstructs it. Our study is based on a qualitative-hermeneutical approach with data collected from group discussions and analysed according to the documentary method. The analyses determine two ideal types of interconnections: In the first case, students are guided by a logic of learning from contrasts, in which their perceptions and interpretations are more or less differentiated or distanced, depending on sub-type. In the second case, students are faced with special challenges. Here, again, there are sub-types, which, in this case, differ with regard to the degree of self-efficacy experienced by the students. Finally, this paper will conclude with some considerations on how students can be supported in their internships in order to tap the full potential for learning that lies in going abroad for pre-service teachers.