Efficiency of Professional Training Experience in Political Science, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Political Science and Law, Burapha University

Abstract

               This research aimed to 1) study the efficiency of professional internship, 2) study the problems and obstacles in professional internship, and 3) propose guidelines for improving the efficiency of professional internship. The research used a mixed methodos consisting of 1) quantitative research; The sample consisted of 118 employees in the organizations where students underwent professional internship and data were collected using a questionnaire developed by the researcher. Data were analyzed using means and standard deviations. 2) qualitative research; key informants included 5 students from the Faculty of Political Science and Law who interned in government agencies, 5 supervising lecturers, and employees in 6 organizations where students underwent professional internship. Data were collected using in-depth interviews and analyzed using content analysis.

               The research results found that overall, the efficiency of the internship in 4 areas was at a high level (= 4.02). When considering each area, it was found that personal characteristics were ranked first  ( = 4.26), followed by ethics (= 4.00), skills ( = 3.98), and knowledge (= 3.84), respectively. The results of the study of problems and obstacles in the internship found that 1) The internship period was too short. 2) The period for coordinating with agencies to request permission for the internship was short; students should prepare to contact them from year 4, semester 1. 3) The nature of the work assigned during the internship period did not match the curriculum. Most of it was clerical work, but it provided some understanding of the clerical systems of government agencies. The guidelines for developing the efficiency of the internship performance are: 1) There should be internship guidance and practices from year 2, semester 2. 2) There should be guidance on selecting an internship location for students from year 3, semester 2. 3) There should be a curriculum for developing personality. and leadership 4) Internship guidance should be provided by officials from each type of training source.