Teacher Internships as Professional Development in Career & Technical Education

Abstract

In-service teacher training more commonly referred to as Professional Development (PD) is a critical part of education especially in career and technical education (CTE). CTE programs have rapidly changing technological foundations (Panella, 2007;Cho & Imel, 2003) and CTE teachers’ primary focus is to prepare students for entry-level positions in their occupational areas. As such, CTE teachers must ensure that their own technical knowledge and skills remain current in order to adequately prepare students for these technically enhanced work environments. This becomes even more critical now that theCarl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006(Perkins IV) links funding to student outcomes. Students must now demonstrate proficiency on technical assessments covering industry-recognized standards.