Teaching Internship Management and Pedagogical Readiness in North Cotabato: An Empirical Inquiry Into Policy, Practice, and Stakeholder Perspectives

This study examined how teaching internship policies and management practices are implemented in selected teacher education institutions in North Cotabato and how these practices relate to pre-service teachers’ self-reported pedagogical readiness. It addressed a gap in context-specific evidence on the combined roles of policy implementation, deployment, supervision, and mentoring, while also identifying barriers to interns’ preparation. A convergent mixed methods design was used, integrating survey responses from 453 pre-service teachers, 156 cooperating teachers, and 22 practicum supervisors and mentors with interviews, focus group discussions, and document analysis. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively and through Pearson correlation, while qualitative and documentary evidence was used to identify and contextualize recurring experiences and challenges. Participants described internship management through communication and coordination, supervision and performance monitoring, and policy implementation and intern protection. Pre-service teachers reported high readiness across pedagogical skills, confidence, and classroom preparedness, with mean scores ranging from 3.30 to 3.43. Internship practices were strongly and positively associated with pedagogical readiness (r = .957, p = .001), leading to rejection of the null hypothesis. However, participants identified substantial barriers: lack of confidence and classroom-management difficulties (60% each), time constraints (55.8%), and limited resources (49.4%). Qualitative findings further highlighted restricted teaching opportunities, inconsistent mentorship, gaps between coursework and classroom realities, and administrative constraints. Overall, well-coordinated policies, meaningful teaching experience, and regular, supportive supervision were associated with stronger perceived readiness, although the correlational findings do not establish causation. The results indicate that high self-reported readiness coexists with practical and institutional challenges. Clearer regional guidance, stronger coordination between teacher education institutions and partner schools, improved resource provision, mentor development, and more opportunities for supervised teaching and reflection may help make internship experiences more consistent and responsive to local conditions.