School internships abroad
Table of contents
A school internship abroad provides teacher training students with the opportunity to gather international experience, gain insights into school practice in other educational systems, expand their foreign language skills, acquire intercultural competence, and design their own lessons in multilingual learning settings. The acquired experiences and competencies help students in dealing competently and confidently with a heterogeneous body of pupils, since about one third of all pupils in Germany today have a migration background. In other words, staying abroad on a school internship has a great learning effect - and is perfectly suited to future teachers.
Organization
Internships abroad are principally self-organized. They can be done either as a mandatory or as a voluntary internship. The school internship can be taken into account in the teaching degree programs as part of the following elements:
- Block Internship A
- Block Internship B
- Vocational internship within the Teacher Training Degree Course for Vocational Schools
- In-company internship within the subject Business-Technology-Household (German abbreviation: WTH)
- Internship abroad while studying a modern foreign language
Recognition
Before you go abroad, please consult your Academic Advisor or the Academic Affairs Office for Teacher Training (Additional areas of study, general questions about recognition) to clarify which content-related and formal requirements courses should fulfill in order to be credited later, and which documents have to be submitted for recognition. Together with the Erasmus coordinator, you will draw up a learning agreement to be signed by TU Dresden and also by the host university.
During your studies abroad, make sure to obtain detailed course descriptions (preferably in English) from the course catalog of the host university, and have the courses and examinations you have completed confirmed in a Transcript of Records. After your return, use these to submit an application for recognition of the exams taken/credits earned abroad to the examination office or to the academic advisor.
Structured programs for school internships abroad
Various structured programs offer a scholarship for the school internship abroad and also take care of the school placement.
- SCHULWÄRTS!
- Foreign Language Assistance Program (Pedagogical Exchange Service)
- Meet Young Germany in Your Classroom (MYG)
- FundaMINT (Klaus Kinkel scholarship, for STEM subjects)
- AIESEC program “Global Teacher - Teaching Internships Abroad”
- Volunteer Service “kulturweit”
- Voluntary Service “weltwärts”
- German-French voluntary service at schools
- mobiklasse.de – Language assistant at French schools
Finding an internship school abroad on your own volition
Would you like to find a suitable school abroad on your own? If so, there are even more opportunities for you. The following school networks are available for school internships:
- the international school network of the ZLSB
- the approx. 140 German schools abroad
- approx. 2,000 schools of the PASCH network, in which German is taught and which are under the specialist supervision of the Goethe Institute or the Central Agency for Schools Abroad.
When choosing a suitable internship position, you should consider the following aspects: Desired destination country, necessary foreign language skills, (variations in) type of school, available school subjects, school vacation times in the destination country. A constantly updated overview of the different education systems in Europe is provided by Eurydice, the European education information network.
Have you found a suitable school? Please inquire independently from your contact persons about the conditions relating to the internship and agree the content and duration of the internship with them.
Further funding opportunities for school internships abroad
- Lehramt.International – Internships abroad for teacher training students and graduates
- ERASMUS+ internship funding
- PROMOS
- International BAföG
Contact Academic Affairs Office for Teacher Training
Do you have any remaining questions about school internships abroad or do you need advice? If so, please contact Ms Berit Schubert in the Academic Affairs Office for Teacher Training. Please go to the Front Desk or use the contact form of the Academic Affairs Office for your email inquiries.