Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Mary Ramirez

Abstract

Graduates who do not have an internship show greater difficulty in obtaining gainful employment compared to those who do have an internship. However, simply believing that internships may translate into employment does not explain how students perceive the role of the internship in obtaining employment in the field. The purpose of the study was to investigate the graduates’ perceptions and experiences of how internships might affect journalism majors’ gaining employment in the field within 6 months of graduation. Kolb’s four stages of experiential learning theory was used as the conceptual framework to investigate how journalism-related major graduates described their journalism internship perceptions and experiences that led to employment in the field. A qualitative phenomenographical research design was used to conduct 10 semistructured, interviews using a video platform with participants who had completed at least one journalism internship and had obtained a job in the field of journalism or a related field within 6 months of graduating. Using inductive coding, themes identified were participants perceived internships strengthened skills development and affective behavior development. Subthemes included the perceived development of (a) technical skills, (b) production skills, and (c) interviewing skills. Study findings were that graduates’ journalism skills were solidified beyond learning they experienced in traditional university classrooms, consequently leading to swift employment in competitive positions in the field of journalism. These findings may inform university stakeholders to optimize the use of student internships thereby advancing graduates to the forefront of the journalism field.

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