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Thompson, M. N., Perez-Chavez, J., & Fetter, A. (2021). Internship experiences among college students attending an HBC: A longitudinal grounded theory exploration. Journal of Career Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072721992758
Abstract
Jang-Tucci, K., Hora, M.T. & Zhang, J. Gatekeeping at work: a multi-dimensional analysis of student, institutional, and employer characteristics associated with unpaid internships. High Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-024-01254-6
Abstract:
Internships are recognized globally as a high-impact practice that substantially enhances students’ future prospects. However, concerns persist about their legality and potentially exclusionary nature. While prior research indicates participation varies based on key variables, such as gender and major, empirical work remains limited and tends to focus on univariate or single-actor explanations. We employ multi-actor models from management studies to analyze survey data (n=1153) from 13 U.S. institutions, nine of which are minority-serving institutions (MSI). The data reveal that only 30.3% of the students participated in internships, of which 43.4% were unpaid. Linear probability analysis results indicate that contrary to expectations, individual demographic characteristics, such as gender, were not signifcant predictors of internship compensation on their own. Instead, academic,
institutional, and employer characteristics emerged as signifcant predictors. Interaction analysis results highlight the combined efects of race, gender, major, MSI status, and employer characteristics in predicting participation in unpaid internships. Further, the data suggest that gender efects are largely infuenced by academic major afliation, emphasizing that unpaid internships do not uniformly afect all students but are predominant in specifc sub-groups. We conclude by proposing a strategy to eliminate unpaid internships in the interest of transformative social justice work.
Keywords: Work-based learning · Access · Unpaid internships · Minority-serving institutions · Inequality · Student success · Multi-actor frameworks · Linear probability model
Hora M.T., Thompson M., Jang-Tucci K., Pasqualone A., Akram-Turenne T., Wolfgram M., Lee C. (2023). What are the longitudinal impacts of a college internship (during a pandemic)? Findings from the College Internship Study on program participation, quality, equitable access, and student outcomes. Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions. University of Wisconsin–Madison, Division of Continuing Studies.
Abstract: The College Internship Study wrapped up its third and final wave of data collection in the Spring of 2022. This report provides a summary of key findings from the longitudinal analyses across eight institutions that participated in the third and final wave of data collection. As an excerpt of the extensive dataset, this summary addresses the most pressing issues in college internship research and practice, as suggested in the Internship Scorecard (Hora et al., 2020). Developed for assessing the purpose, quality, and equity of internship programs, the Internship Scorecard provides a framework for this report to address three main issues of college internships: (a) access and barriers to internships, (b) internship program features and quality, and (c) effects of internships on post-graduate outcomes. Each of these issues are examined in this report, with special considerations for how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted student experiences in college, life, and work.
Hora, M., Chen, Z., Wolfgram, M., Zhang, J., & John Fischer, J. (2022). 
Designing effective internships: A mixed-methods exploration of the sociocultural aspects of intern satisfaction and development. Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions. University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Summary: Internships are widely promoted high-impact practices that can have positive impacts on students’ academic and post-graduate success, yet how specific features facilitate these outcomes is understudied. Instead, internships are often studied in terms of mere participation, without recognizing that these experiences are
complex pedagogic spaces shaped by professional cultures and decisions about instructional design. In this sequential mixed-methods study we use sociocultural learning theory to interpret data from online surveys (n=435) and focus groups (n=52) with students at five institutions. Stepwise linear regression analyses of demographic and programmatic variables associated with intern satisfaction, developmental value, and career adaptability indicated that first-generation status, gender, race and income level, and supervisor behaviors were significantly associated with satisfaction and development. Analyses of qualitative data revealed that features of positive (clear communication, availability, feedback) and negative (unavailability, inattention to learning) supervision impacted student experiences. These findings reveal that internships should be designed with careful attention to task scaffolding, student autonomy and supervisor assistance, depending on the professional context and situation. These results highlight the need for colleges and employers to design internships as mentored and culturally shaped learning spaces, provide supervisor training, and consider the cultural backgrounds of students when matching them to internships.
Wolfgram, M., Chen, Z., Rodríguez S., J., Ahrens, V., & Hora, M. (2022). Results from the one-year longitudinal follow-up analysis for the College Internship Study at Great Lakes Technical College. Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions. University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Summary: This report includes findings from the second round of data collection (Spring 2021, T2) at Great Lakes Technical College (GLTC). The data collected at T2 of the study include an online survey of 205 students and 18 students’ follow-up interviews who participated in the first round of data collection (Spring 2020 or T1). These data are analyzed to provide faculty, staff, and leadership at GLTC with evidence based insights about the impacts of internship participation on students’ lives and careers.