Internship
The institution of the compulsory Practical Training of postgraduate students has been in place since the establishment of the MSc “Special Education and Education” (Government Gazette 2983/τ. B΄/19.07.2019). It is an integral and compulsory part of the Postgraduate Studies Programme “Special Education and Education”. The aim of the Internship is to familiarize the postgraduate student with the school reality and to successfully address the problems and issues related to pedagogical and teaching theory and practice concerning disability/special educational needs and inclusion, from different perspectives: the perspective of the simple observer, the systematic researcher and the shareholder.
The Practicum aims to:
- the contact of the graduate student with school life and the problematic of the pedagogical and teaching process as a dynamic phenomenon
- the systematic application of methods and techniques of observation of teaching with special emphasis on the dynamic interaction between special educators and students with disabilities-special educational needs
- their practice in the planning and general processes of organising teaching
- the practice of postgraduate students in the conduct and evaluation of teaching and teaching interventions.
A description of the mandatory Internship is presented in the Guide to the Postgraduate Studies Programme for the academic year 2022-2023 (see pp. 8, 9) and in the relevant Internship Regulations (A 14).
At the beginning of the third semester, the postgraduate students declare School Units of Special Education and Education, the school units in which Integration Departments operate, the school units in which Parallel Support Departments operate as well as Diagnostic Assessment Assessment Counselling Centres. The Director communicates via a relevant form with the Director of the SMEE or the Head of the CEDASY, based on the legislation in force (see relevant form). The student is provided with the relevant forms (Internship Diary, Teaching-Intervention Plan) and participates weekly in the practical part of the Internship, and at the same time attends, in the afternoons, the relevant theoretical part of the Internship I and II. The faculty member responsible for the internships shall determine together with the postgraduate students how the internships are to be conducted and shall regulate the details of the implementation of the whole programme. It is also the link between the MTF and the competent bodies of the school structure (supervisors, coordinators of educational work, principals, teaching staff of schools, Supervisor of the Structure) and makes every effort to promote cooperation between the MTF and the above bodies.
The obligations of the postgraduate students of the MSc include the continuous participation in the practical exercises and the timely delivery to the responsible lecturer of the relevant diaries, daily teaching plans, teaching observation plans or any other form of work assigned to them.
The Practical Training is compulsory and is carried out during the third (3rd) and fourth (4th) semesters with attendance by the postgraduate students of teaching sessions and teaching in the collaborating School Units of Special Education and Education of Primary and Secondary Education as well as in Special Education and Education Facilities. It is equivalent to two semester courses of ten (10) European Credit Transfer Credits (ECTS) (2 x 10 = 20 ECTS) and the total duration that takes place in the S.M.E.A.E. and in the corresponding structures is a minimum of 300 hours (Government Gazette 3777/v. B΄/13.08.2021). The results are considered highly satisfactory based on the relevant assessments of the respective subjects (Practical Exercise I, Practical Exercise II).
In the fourth semester, the postgraduate students teach fully, i.e. the entire course, for 2 weeks in collaboration with the classroom teachers in the respective types of schools (Special School, EEEEK, etc.). Their teaching is graded by the teacher of the subject “Practical Training II” (see A14. Practical Training Regulations).