Internship Program for Preservice Teachers of Economics and Business: An Exploratory Study

This study aims to explore internship programs for preservice teachers of economics and business at Universitas Negeri Medan. Students’ perceptions were explored to assess their success in completing an internship program called the Program Lapangan Persekolahan (Field School Program). They collect information using a questionnaire based on learning outcomes mandated in the internship program. The questionnaire consists of 13 questions to explore their experience completing the internship program. This study involved 196 preservice teachers consisting of programs of economics education (n=49), accounting education (n=52), business education (n=44), and office administration education (n=51). Data analysis uses principal component analysis, which reduces all items and rotates them into new factors. The findings show that two new factors were formed, “observing the school environment” and “duration of the internship program .”It is crucial for lecturers to be well-prepared to guide students during internship programs. Students participating in such programs showed relatively equal abilities based on their scientific study program. The internship program helps develop students’ abilities to become professional teachers, and university leaders can engage stakeholders to maximize its benefits. Scholars can explore the professional abilities of future teachers through experiments and instructional design, leading to enhanced competencies in preservice teachers.