Your Name and Title: Ann Gaudino, Ed.D.
School or Organization Name: Excellence in Education Journal
Co-Presenter Name(s):
Area of the World from Which You Will Present: West Virginia, USA
Language in Which You Will Present: English
Target Audience(s): School and university administrators and faculty
Short Session Description (one line): Key Issues in International Clinical Placements
Full Session Description (as long as you would like):
This session presents a study study examining international clinical experiences in England with graduate education students from The University of Connecticut (UConn) and The University of Virginia (UVA) in the United States of America. Limited research available about international clinical experiences in the field of education focuses primarily to only describe programs and provide authors’ anecdotal evidence about the benefits and challenges of these experiences. This presentation is significant because it provides data about both the anticipated and actual benefits and challenges of an international clinical experience in education.
Focus group interviews were chosen as the method of data collection to best explore and understand the full range of perceptions of the students. Data yielded findings not reported in previous information about international placements: significant differences existed between the benefits and challenges anticipated by the graduate students and the actual benefits and challenges they experienced; and developing skills to self-reflect and reflect with peers and supervisors about their professional practice was a significant actual benefit experienced by all students. Students further reported that they did not anticipate developing reflective skills because it had not been a significant benefit of their undergraduate clinical experiences in the United States. In contrast, literature about teacher and teacher candidate development cites that the ability to reflect on professional practice is one of the most successful means of professional development.
Based on information in the literature and analysis of the focus group discussions, the conclusion outlines implications for policy, practice, and future research to improve clinical experiences in education both locally and internationally. The significance of the benefits of developing reflective skills during clinical experiences is also discussed.
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