Towards Enhancement of the Student Teacher Internship Programme in Rwandan Teacher Training Colleges: A Case of Selected Teacher Training Colleges

The study aimed to critically examine the pre-service teacher internship model in Rwanda Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) to establish whether the components of demonstration school practice, school attachment, and final lesson were effectively aligned to the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) for the production of the 21st-century competent teacher. The study sought to bring to the fore the three Rwandan TTC internship components‘field empirical data and highlight the gaps that may affect the quality of the teacher product in line with the CBC requirements. The research is guided by the Theory of Change (ToC) using a qualitative research method, specifically a case study of four teacher training colleges in Rwanda. A qualitative data-gathering approach was adopted using participatory research, open-ended questionnaires, document analysis, and in-depth interviews. A total of fifty participants were purposefully selected. The participants included thirty year-three student teachers, eight school-based mentors, and twelve TTC tutors. The research revealed that the current TTC internship programme suffers from a lack of coherence and coordination, as well as discrepancies in timing and duration, which have had a detrimental effect on the achievement of quality education. The study concludes that if the existing gaps are left unchecked, they may impede the effective acquisition of the 21st-century skills required for the achievement of the CBC and quality education. The study recommends the adoption of a realigned TTC model to scale up the development of knowledge, skills, competencies, and attitudes required by CBC and the effective achievement of quality education. © 2024 Adonis and Abbey Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.