An Explanation of Cooperative behavior in Internship Course From the viewpoints of High School Teachers and Managers: A Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the reasons of why high school managers and teachers in chemistry are not interested in accepting interns in schools. Qualitative method of phenomenology was used. Data were gathered through an unstructured interview. Participants were selected via purposive sampling method and a total of 20 managers and 15 teachers in Mashhad high schools were fully interviewed. The results are presented as twelve different categories and three axes, including weakness of managers and teachers in knowledge, attitude and skill regarding the new internship program. These categories are: Unawareness of positive outcomes about the new internship program, sticking to habits and traditions, prejudgment about accepting interns based on having some bad memories of past interns, distrust toward interns-mentor and feel job insecurity, avoidance of more responsibility, insufficient skills for organizing and controlling affairs in school or classroom, insufficient skills for using positive outcomes of the new internship program, teachers’ inability for correcting their behavior or knowledge weakness, unsuitable physical environment in some classrooms, insufficient number of appropriate schools for internship, disinclination of parents about having interns in schools and some official and security problems.