How does a field internship end?

During the end stage of field internship, an international student, together with a mentor and a Czech student, recap its experience and evaluate their work. An international student should give a feedback to his/her mentor – shares what the internship was like for him/her, what insights he/she takes from it and compare what is the same and different in his/her country when working with the target group in the organisation. As a basis for this reflection, the student submits a prepared Reflection of the field internship.

Reflection on the field internship is a written document, which is 1-2 standard pages long and contains the following points:

  1. Reflection of student’s own activities during the internship. The student reflects and analyses his/her professional development and can compare his/her previous competencies with the current situation. The (self)-reflection process occurs by asking questions “to oneself”, or they can be asked by someone else (mentor, Czech student). The student may reflect on the following questions:
    • What have I learned during my internship (knowledge, skills)?
    • What have I realized? What have I changed my mind about?
    • What have I done well?
    • How initiative and active were I during the internship?
    • How has the internship influenced my relationship with the social work profession? v
    • How has the internship influenced my perception of social work in the concerned country?
    • etc.
  2. Reflection of the place of field internship. Students reflect and analyse how they evaluate their internship in relation to the organisation (workplace, employees, atmosphere, work organisation, etc.). For reflecting the place of field internship, students can consider the following questions:
    • What was interesting to me in the workplace?
    • What has stuck in my memory?
    • How did the workplace affect me overall?
    • What recommendations would I offer to the organisation?
    • Have I encountered something in the organisation that I would do differently?

When writing a reflection, it is advisable to use the field log.


Updated: 06. 01. 2020