SOC2981 Internship
Course Expectation
ST. JOSEPH'S UNIVERSITY
SOC 2981 INTERNSHIP
Dr. Marybeth Ayella Spring 1996
Office Hours: M & F 12-1; Phone: 660-1683
Wed. 1-3, & by appt. E-mail: mayella
COURSE EXPECTATION
The bulk of this course rests with you -- what you make of your internship
placement. I will meet with interns as you require during the semester. If you
experience any problems during the semester, contact me by visit to my office during
office hours, by phone, or by e-mail. I will anticipate at least one or two visits from
you to let me know how things are going - that is, I want to hear about your
semester, not just problems that arise.
TIME AND ACADEMIC WORK COMMITMENTS
The time and academic work requirements for each 14 week internship are as
follows:
3 credits -----6-8 hours a week (totaling 84-112 hours); 10 page research paper
6 credits ----- 2 days a week (totaling 168-224 hours); 15 page research paper
9 credits ----- 3 days a week (totaling 252-336 hours); 20 page research paper
12 credits ----- 4 days a week (totaling 336-448 hours); 25 page research paper
In addition, all students must keep a journal, in which they record an entry for
each time they work. Please keep a log of the hours you work, and turn this log (with
the hours totalled) in with your journal and paper at the end of the semester. If you
miss a substantial number of hours (for any reason), you will receive an "I" grade,
and you will be required to make up the time after the semester.
Requirements:
There are several requirements in addition to your internship hours: (1) the
taking of some pictures of your placement and some aspects of the work (if possible),
(2) the regular keeping of a journal, and (3) a research paper (due on the last class
day of the semester). In addition, as a part of your journal, each student is required
to hand in (4) a one page, single-spaced, typed, description of your internship when
you turn in your journal and paper. This will be put in a binder, and will be used to
show prospective interns what internship possibilities there are. And finally, each
student will be required (5) to make an appointment in Career Services to use
SigiPlus, to explore possible career choices (I estimate this will take approximately
1- 1 and 1/2 hours.)
Picture Taking:
This is simple: I want you to be able to "show" me where you are working, and
some aspects of your work, if possible. I say "if possible" because some placements
would gladly allow you to take a few pictures, others would not.
You can turn in these pictures with your paper and journal at the end of the
semester. If you cannot take pictures, see if the institution/agency has any
informational brochures with pictures, and submit these.
Keeping a Journal:
I want you to start by regularly writing down your observations of the place
where you are working. Start by describing your placement: who [who works there,
who is served by the agency/hospital], what [what is the service performed?], where
[describe the physical location and set-up], why [what is the goal of this
agency/hospital?]. Then, give your first impressions and feelings about the
placement--including feelings of fear, embarrassment, excitement, etc.
Before you go to your first day of work, I want you to record, in your journal,
your expectations for this internship. What do you expect it will be like to work at
this placement? Be as specific as you can. Then, I want you to specify your
objectives for this internship. What do you want to learn? What do you hope to gain
from this internship?
After your first day of work, immediately record all the observations and
impressions and feelings you can think of. Similarly, at the end of your internship,
record in a "summing up" entry your overall observations, impressions, and feelings
about the internship.
Journal Themes:
Being an Outsider. A common reaction to an internship is a feeling of being
an "outsider" in comparison to those people who regularly work there, or those people
who may be "worked on" there. Notice and record what makes you feel like an
outsider, and how you determine who is an "insider," and what it takes to become an
"insider." Record everything you don't know about the place and the work. This will
be one "theme" of your journal: how you make the transition from "outsider" to
"insider" (of some kind).
The Occupation. What is the "mission" or purpose of these practitioners?
What is it they attempt to do for their clients? How is this occupation perceived, by
you/others, by people in the occupation -- as a high-status or low-status occupation,
as meaningful or non-meaningful? What are the occupational "hazards" or problems
associated with this occupation? How do practitioners cope with these problems?
The answers to these questions may not be immediately apparent to you. You
should read informational material put out about the agency/hospital/whatever. You
may also want to ask these questions of the people with whom you work. If these
fail, you should do some reading about the occupation.
Tips on Journal Keeping
Record your observations regularly. Write down your observations as close as
possible to the time you work, so that your impressions are fresh.
I will be noting how regularly you write in this journal when I am grading your
journal. I will be expecting more journal entries from those working longer hours --
e.g., there should be a difference in the size of the journals of those doing 3-credit and
those doing 6-credit internships.
I will collect these journals to read mid-semester - just before you leave for
spring break, and I will return them, graded, the following week. I will return all
journals to the secretary, Denise Shaw in BL110, for you to pick up.
The Research Paper
Each student will write a sociological research paper on some aspect of either
your field placement or a general topic related in some way to your internship. The
length of the paper will vary, depending on how many credits your internship is. For
example, a student taking a 3 credit internship will write a 10 page research paper,
while a student doing a 12 credit internship will write a 25 page paper. This paper
is not a re-write of the journal you are keeping. When you turn in your journal at
mid- semester, I want you to hand in a one page sheet on which you present your
ideas and a rough outline for the paper you will write.
This paper will be due by 5 P.M. on the last class day of the semester - Friday,
April 26. Late papers will be graded down.
I have placed the following two books on reserve at the library to assist you in
writing your paper:
A Guide to Writing Sociology Papers (2nd edition), The Sociology Writing
Group, University of California, Los Angeles (1911). Part 1, Essentials, is required
reading for all students. This section will help you get started in selecting a topic,
and will provide information on the writing process, including how to use references
correctly. Chapters 7 and 8 deal with library research and ethnographic research --
these will probably be very useful to most of you. Chapters 10 and 11 are also
required reading -- they provide good information on finishing your paper -- the
mechanics of putting it together (typing or word processing it) and submitted it.
The Student Sociologist's Handbook (4th edition), Pauline Bart and Linda
Frankel (1986). Chapter 2, The Sociology Paper, is required reading for all students.
If you are unfamiliar with doing library research, using sociology journals, or finding
government documents, refer to the chapters which deal with each.
Do not wait until the end of the semester to refer to these books, given that
there is only one copy of each. Read the required chapters and look through the
other chapters early in the semester. You may wish to make a photocopy of chapters
you find particularly useful.
What should you write about? Well, if you are working in the District
Attorney's Child Abuse Unit, you may want to investigate the larger topic of child
abuse in the United States. Questions of interest might be: how widespread is child
abuse? who are the offenders? who are the victims? what short-term and long-term
consequences are there for the abused? These are only some of many possible
questions to explore.
If you are working in a hospital, you might want to explore changing patterns
of medical care -- e.g., changes in hospitalization, changes in financing health care,
the rise of HMOs (health maintenance organizations) are some of the many topics
that you might find of interest.
Thus, while the work you do at your placement may be very specific (and you
will be writing about this work in your journal), your paper topic should be much
broader.
One caution: you must refer to and use sociological references (e.g., Gender
and Society, Social Problems, Journal of Health and Social Behavior), not popular
references (Time, Newsweek, People) in researching your paper. Both books on
reserve clearly indicate what are sociological sources, and how to find them.
On-Site Evaluation
And finally, I will be checking with your supervisors about your work at the
agency/hospital at the end of the session. I will be writing to each supervisor at the
end of the semester requesting that letter of evaluation be sent to me.
Grading:
You will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
Work experience in your placement....(40% of grade)
Journal..............................(20% of grade)
Paper................................(40% of grade)
Completion of the SigiPlus career information program will be counted toward your final
grade, in that I will check off students as they do this, but no formal grade will be given. I
will, however, give an "I" grade to those who complete all requirements but this; the I will
be changed upon completion.