The effect of internship practices on students' social skills and problem solving skills

The aim of this study is to explore the effects of internship practices in enterprises on the social skills and problem solving skills of adolescents studying in vocational high schools. The study was conducted in the 2023-2024 academic year with students studying in vocational high schools in different programs in Hatay province and teachers working in vocational high schools. The study group consisted of three vocational high schools. Participants consisted of volunteer students and teachers determined by criterion sampling. A total of 22 students and 20 teachers participated in the study. The research was conducted with qualitative research method and data were collected through interview technique. Content analysis technique was used to analyze the data. According to the findings obtained from the study, internship practices improve students' social skills and problem solving skills and the development seen in students differs according to the place of internship. It was found that the internship creates positive emotions such as self-confidence, patience and sense of responsibility in students, but it negatively affects students' adaptation to school. The findings obtained from the study were discussed and interpreted within the scope of the literature and recommendations were made. Key words: vocational high school, social skills, problem solving skills, internship practice.