The ‘Lunar Side’ of the Story: Exploring the Sustainability of Curricular Internships in Higher Education
Autor(a) principal: | |
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Data de Publicação: | 2019 |
Outros Autores: | , , , , |
Tipo de documento: | Artigo |
Idioma: | eng |
Título da fonte: | Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
Texto Completo: | http://hdl.handle.net/10316/107400 https://doi.org/10.3390/su11215879 |
Resumo: | Curricular internships are increasingly seen as an e ective strategy capable of contributing to the objectives and targets of the sustainable development paradigm, both in its social, economic and institutional dimensions. This positive outlook is ingrained within the large bulk of existing research, which has been focused on the discussion of positive outputs, such as the enhancement of graduates0 competences (employability) and their work integration (employment). An important, albeit relatively unexplored, feature of the sustainable institutional politics of curricular internship management pertains to the assessment of its associated liabilities and tensions. This article seeks to address this challenge, by analyzing two interrelated dimensions. First, it seeks to understand the internship processes ranging from the planning to the implementation stages. Second, it elicits the associated negative aspects (the ‘lunar side’) of internships, allowing for an assessment of the features where there is room for improvement. Empirically, this article draws on in-depth qualitative research. It presents the results of four focus groups, voicing the perceptions of top management structures and students involving first cycle degrees in the areas of Marketing, Management, and Accounting from four public Portuguese Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)-three polytechnics and one university. Findings confirm the general positive outlook of internships. Perceived negative perspectives report to both internal problems (such as the lack of institutional support and curricular design) and external problems (e.g., the shortage of suitable internship placements), constituting barriers towards sustainable institutional policies and strategies. Adaptive strategies to overcome specific di culties are highlighted (e.g., establishment of advisory committees with local businessmen). Finally, recommendations regarding curricular internship management at HEIs are delineated (e.g., investment in monitoring and evaluation strategies of internships). |
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The ‘Lunar Side’ of the Story: Exploring the Sustainability of Curricular Internships in Higher Educationcurricular internshipshigher educationgraduate employability and employmentinstitutional managementfocus groupcontent analysiscase studyCurricular internships are increasingly seen as an e ective strategy capable of contributing to the objectives and targets of the sustainable development paradigm, both in its social, economic and institutional dimensions. This positive outlook is ingrained within the large bulk of existing research, which has been focused on the discussion of positive outputs, such as the enhancement of graduates0 competences (employability) and their work integration (employment). An important, albeit relatively unexplored, feature of the sustainable institutional politics of curricular internship management pertains to the assessment of its associated liabilities and tensions. This article seeks to address this challenge, by analyzing two interrelated dimensions. First, it seeks to understand the internship processes ranging from the planning to the implementation stages. Second, it elicits the associated negative aspects (the ‘lunar side’) of internships, allowing for an assessment of the features where there is room for improvement. Empirically, this article draws on in-depth qualitative research. It presents the results of four focus groups, voicing the perceptions of top management structures and students involving first cycle degrees in the areas of Marketing, Management, and Accounting from four public Portuguese Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)-three polytechnics and one university. Findings confirm the general positive outlook of internships. Perceived negative perspectives report to both internal problems (such as the lack of institutional support and curricular design) and external problems (e.g., the shortage of suitable internship placements), constituting barriers towards sustainable institutional policies and strategies. Adaptive strategies to overcome specific di culties are highlighted (e.g., establishment of advisory committees with local businessmen). Finally, recommendations regarding curricular internship management at HEIs are delineated (e.g., investment in monitoring and evaluation strategies of internships).MDPI2019info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://hdl.handle.net/10316/107400http://hdl.handle.net/10316/107400https://doi.org/10.3390/su11215879eng2071-1050Lopes, BetinaSilva, PatríciaMelo, Ana I.Brito, ElisabethPaiva Dias, GonçaloCosta, Marcoinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessreponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãoinstacron:RCAAP2023-07-07T11:00:58Zoai:estudogeral.uc.pt:10316/107400Portal AgregadorONGhttps://www.rcaap.pt/oai/openaireopendoar:71602024-03-19T21:23:45.614993Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãofalse |
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
The ‘Lunar Side’ of the Story: Exploring the Sustainability of Curricular Internships in Higher Education |
title |
The ‘Lunar Side’ of the Story: Exploring the Sustainability of Curricular Internships in Higher Education |
spellingShingle |
The ‘Lunar Side’ of the Story: Exploring the Sustainability of Curricular Internships in Higher Education Lopes, Betina curricular internships higher education graduate employability and employment institutional management focus group content analysis case study |
title_short |
The ‘Lunar Side’ of the Story: Exploring the Sustainability of Curricular Internships in Higher Education |
title_full |
The ‘Lunar Side’ of the Story: Exploring the Sustainability of Curricular Internships in Higher Education |
title_fullStr |
The ‘Lunar Side’ of the Story: Exploring the Sustainability of Curricular Internships in Higher Education |
title_full_unstemmed |
The ‘Lunar Side’ of the Story: Exploring the Sustainability of Curricular Internships in Higher Education |
title_sort |
The ‘Lunar Side’ of the Story: Exploring the Sustainability of Curricular Internships in Higher Education |
author |
Lopes, Betina |
author_facet |
Lopes, Betina Silva, Patrícia Melo, Ana I. Brito, Elisabeth Paiva Dias, Gonçalo Costa, Marco |
author_role |
author |
author2 |
Silva, Patrícia Melo, Ana I. Brito, Elisabeth Paiva Dias, Gonçalo Costa, Marco |
author2_role |
author author author author author |
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv |
Lopes, Betina Silva, Patrícia Melo, Ana I. Brito, Elisabeth Paiva Dias, Gonçalo Costa, Marco |
dc.subject.por.fl_str_mv |
curricular internships higher education graduate employability and employment institutional management focus group content analysis case study |
topic |
curricular internships higher education graduate employability and employment institutional management focus group content analysis case study |
description |
Curricular internships are increasingly seen as an e ective strategy capable of contributing to the objectives and targets of the sustainable development paradigm, both in its social, economic and institutional dimensions. This positive outlook is ingrained within the large bulk of existing research, which has been focused on the discussion of positive outputs, such as the enhancement of graduates0 competences (employability) and their work integration (employment). An important, albeit relatively unexplored, feature of the sustainable institutional politics of curricular internship management pertains to the assessment of its associated liabilities and tensions. This article seeks to address this challenge, by analyzing two interrelated dimensions. First, it seeks to understand the internship processes ranging from the planning to the implementation stages. Second, it elicits the associated negative aspects (the ‘lunar side’) of internships, allowing for an assessment of the features where there is room for improvement. Empirically, this article draws on in-depth qualitative research. It presents the results of four focus groups, voicing the perceptions of top management structures and students involving first cycle degrees in the areas of Marketing, Management, and Accounting from four public Portuguese Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)-three polytechnics and one university. Findings confirm the general positive outlook of internships. Perceived negative perspectives report to both internal problems (such as the lack of institutional support and curricular design) and external problems (e.g., the shortage of suitable internship placements), constituting barriers towards sustainable institutional policies and strategies. Adaptive strategies to overcome specific di culties are highlighted (e.g., establishment of advisory committees with local businessmen). Finally, recommendations regarding curricular internship management at HEIs are delineated (e.g., investment in monitoring and evaluation strategies of internships). |
publishDate |
2019 |
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2019 |
dc.type.status.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
dc.type.driver.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
format |
article |
status_str |
publishedVersion |
dc.identifier.uri.fl_str_mv |
http://hdl.handle.net/10316/107400 http://hdl.handle.net/10316/107400 https://doi.org/10.3390/su11215879 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10316/107400 https://doi.org/10.3390/su11215879 |
dc.language.iso.fl_str_mv |
eng |
language |
eng |
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv |
2071-1050 |
dc.rights.driver.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
eu_rights_str_mv |
openAccess |
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
MDPI |
publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
MDPI |
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Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação |
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RCAAP |
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RCAAP |
reponame_str |
Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
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Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
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Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação |
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