The influence of student internship work experience on their self-improvement and professionalism in Sport Management

Abstract

One of the major reasons provided for advocating for student internship has been the promise that it improves students in terms of practical orientation while at the same time providing for the acquisition of professionalism required in a specific field of expertise. Scant research attention has been given on this matter in the context of Sport Management in South Africa. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to fill this void by examining the influence of students’ internship work experience on their professionalism and the mediating role of students’ self-improvement in this relationship from a mentor perspective. Three hypotheses were formulated and data from a sample 144 mentors were collected to empirically test these hypotheses. The results showed that students’ internship work experience positively influence both their self-improvement and professionalism in a significant way. Implications of the findings are discussed and future research direction suggested.