Vocational outcomes among transition-age youth receiving special education services are critically poor and have only incrementally improved since the implementation of the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act. Few studies highlight whether interviewing may be critical to obtaining vocational outcomes such as competitive employment or internships.…

Secondary educators implement an array of work-based learning activities that expose transition-age students to the demands of post-secondary employment. One such strategy, internships, provides students with a formal opportunity to acquire transferable employment skills that lead to meaningful post-secondary employment outcomes. Facilitating…

Background: This research outlines important factors in the development of a for-credit internship program by providing a historical context of internship work dating back to the original case of "Walling v. Portland Terminal" (1947), which outlined acceptable non-paid work of trainees, to more current applications of these labor laws in…

Practical experiential learning opportunities have become an integral component of linking the theory of academia to the practice of industry. Sport industry officials, for example, have identified the internship as the most important element of a sport management program. In meeting the demands of the industry, the internship has become the most…

The author examines a federally funded internship program he organized while serving as the director of the High School for Recording Arts Los Angeles program. The school paid students to operate their own record label. Under the American Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, approved organizations provide paid, for-credit internships to young…

Background: Work-based learning strategies are often used in secondary transition settings to identify a student's strengths and interest related to competitive integrated employment. Transition professionals must not only understand evidence-based practices for creating and supporting work-based learning, they must also understand specific…

This article discusses what we mean by the term "internship," with special attention to requirements for compensation; explains the issues that appertain to unpaid student internships; and urges broad engagement and individual as well as collective action on this issue.