Psychology internship: an evaluation using Communities of Practice and Motivation Theory

This article is an independent evaluation conducted by two undergraduate students, following their participation in the UCLan Research Internship Scheme in the Summer of 2009. A thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) of the experiences of two psychology undergraduate interns was conducted to evaluate participation in the research process and individual motivation. The undergraduate students who took part in the psychology internship programme reflected on their own experiences. The researchers explored themes in personal reflections completed as part of the requirements of the internship and a transcript of a group discussion based on these internship experiences. Emerging themes were analysed from a communities of practice framework (Lave & Wenger, 1991). In addition, data was also interpreted in light of contemporary motivation theories, namely self efficacy, self-determination theory and attribution theory. The interns’ participation in the research community followed the pattern suggested by the communities of practice framework (Wenger, 1998; Lave and Wenger, 1991). Interns were motivated by a desire to become legitimate participants in the research community. Supervisors assisted this process by providing modified forms of participation enabling interns to feel that they were contributing a valuable input to the project. Motivation towards full participation within the community was also supported by the encouragement of other interns. For future practice it is suggested that an ending is provided for interns to support transition, formation of intern support groups is encouraged and effective supervision is provided for interns by involvement from the outset through modified forms of participation.