Empowering future leaders through education

Education breaks down barriers for growth and opportunity. When people have access to quality education, they’re given the chance to gain knowledge and skills and take charge of their own lives. While not everyone in the world has that access, at GVI we believe everyone should. 

By participating in a teaching internship, you’ll gain valuable experience in education, while contributing to lasting change in the education system. Whether you’re working with local teachers to develop curriculum, conducting academic research in a learning environment or supporting a core GVI team to enhance local education practices, your contribution will be felt long after your internship ends.

Our programs are based in communities around the world where education access has been historically limited. You’ll work in collaboration with local teachers and build on the one-on-one support that students receive. Longer internships may also include a work placement at a local school.

Depending on your interests, you can customise your education internship. We offer teaching internships in the following areas:

• career internship
• research internship
• core internship

You’ll find more information on these types of internships in the next tab. 

During your education internship, you could also get involved in after-school programs focused on conversational English teaching for students of all ages. These are all important and transferable skills that will bolster your CV and increase your own employability. 

Why do a teaching internship with GVI?

At GVI you can be sure that you’re working with an organisation that’s committed to upholding ethical best practices on all of our teaching internships, volunteer programs and volunteer activities. This is evident by our badge of ethics.

We also constantly review our ethics and safety policies to ensure your experience is the best it can be. For example, GVI doesn’t support orphanage volunteering in any of our programs. For more information see our stance on orphanage volunteering and our regularly reviewed Child and Vulnerable Adult Protection Policy. 

All staff and participants are required to complete a police background check before arrival on their chosen program, and on-site child protection training is provided once they arrive to volunteer. To protect children from cyber and real-world threats, we ensure that our marketing material follows child protection best practices.

Type of teaching internships

You’re unique and original. Your teaching internship should be too. Whether you’re looking to spend the summer gaining new skills, taking a gap year after high school or university, or just wanting to try something different, there’s a GVI teaching internship for you. We offer three types of education internship programs to fit your goals and interests.

Career internships 

Work closely with GVI partners across various hubs on education projects. These teaching internships can be conducted either locally or virtually, to complete a range of project work that’ll give our education partners more advanced and specialised experience. 

On a career internship you might collaborate with a local teacher to identify a lesson topic, then conduct research into the topic and create a lesson plan. Or you could develop a funding proposal to secure much-needed equipment for a local school or education facility. These internships are excellent ways to gain essential skills for a career in education. 

Research internship 

If you’re academically-minded and interested in conducting research in an educational setting, this might be the internship for you. Complete a thesis or research paper for university centred around teaching and education access through a research internship with GVI.

You could choose to investigate the effects that a good quality, safe learning environment has on the academic performance of local school children. Or maybe you’ll research the benefits of healthy eating and how vegetable gardens can help a community to empower themselves to have a more sustainable, nutrient-rich diet. 

Core internship

Core teaching internships allow you to gain additional experience in development projects. You might:

• lead surveys, program activities or workshops
• help with fundraisers and GVI Charitable Programs activities
• create content for social media and blogs
• organise testimonial content from GVI alumni.

During your core teaching internship, you’ll also complete the GVI Online Community Development specialisation course. This is a great qualification to add to your CV.

Where can I go for a teaching internship with GVI?

GVI operates across the world in Africa, Asia, Australasia and Latin America. To read more about these specific locations, check out one of the links below. We currently have teaching internship programs in the following countries:

• Ghana
• Madagascar
• South Africa
• Cambodia
• Nepal
• Thailand
• Fiji
• Costa Rica
• Peru

The type of teaching experience and training you’ll get will largely depend on your location. Chat with our friendly enrolment team to determine the teaching internship opportunity that best matches your interests and goals. 

For example, you could teach English to Buddhist monks in Laos, or build on women’s professional skills in Nepal, or even obtain a TEFL qualification in Thailand. 

On some of the longer teaching internships, like our teaching internship in Luang Prabang, volunteers join a work placement after three months, giving them more practical teaching experience.

Timeline

GVI offers start dates every two weeks and your internship can last between four and 24 weeks. This makes teaching internships an excellent option for summer break between school years, or for longer periods after graduation.

Whichever teaching internship you choose and however much time you can commit, our teaching internships abroad offer you a chance to make an impact while gaining real-world experience in education. 

From early childhood education to women’s education

There’s no one-size-fits all teaching internship. In our locations around the world, the local communities have their own goals and aspirations for improving their education systems. We work with our community partners to develop education internships that will deliver the greatest sustainable impact. 

You might contribute to lesson planning, classroom management and one-on-one teaching for creche, kindergarten or junior-school students. This type of teaching internship will see you involved in planning, designing and delivering classroom lessons to students of various ages. You’ll learn how to creatively use games and play to facilitate learning. Curriculum might include English, arts and crafts, maths, and literacy. 

Or you could facilitate educational programming for older students and adults. For example, some of our interns work with after-school groups for high school students or facilitate workshops with local women. This type of teaching internship can contribute to valuable skills development in older students, opening up doors for educational and career opportunities. 

If you’re interested in teaching English abroad, there are plenty of opportunities for this type of education internship with GVI. English proficiency is very important in many countries around the world, in particular where local communities rely on tourism income. You can gain English teaching experience and even earn a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification on one of our education internships.

Commonly asked questions about teaching internships abroad

Before you join GVI on an education internship abroad, you probably have some questions! Our enrollment team is always available to provide answers. In the meantime, here are some of the most common international teaching internship questions and answers. 

Are teaching internships abroad ethical? 

GVI is committed to maintaining strong ethical practice across our programs. All staff and participants are required to complete a police background check before arrival on their chosen program. On-site child protection training is also compulsory. 

We also prioritise sustainability on our programs. Because volunteers are temporary participants in our programs, we have to be careful to avoid disruptions in education. By partnering with and supporting local educators, we’re able to ensure continuity in education programs.

We’ve also developed ten ethical principles and five human empowerment principles that form the backbone of our ethical commitments. Interns are also required to interact with local communities in a way that respects and builds on their ownership of sustainable development projects. Improvements to our policies are made alongside trained GVI ethics officers as well as outside experts. 

How long are the teaching internships at GVI?

Teaching internships can last anywhere from four to 24 weeks, depending on the amount of time you have to commit to the program. You could even combine two or more locations to experience education in a global setting. Our longer-term teaching internships include training on base and the option to take on a work placement.

What kind of support and training is offered on a GVI teaching internship?

When you participate in a GVI education internship abroad, you’ll have access to experts in the teaching field in the form of both our field staff and local community educators. You’ll also receive training based on your internship location, as well as special courses to support your own professional development. 

GVI’s teaching internship support and training includes: 

• pre-program training including an expectation group call, our GVI around the world presentation, and GVI Online leadership and specialisation courses endorsed by the University of Richmond
• comprehensive feedback and reference from your remote internship supervisor
• hands-on field experience in the educational sector
• training on sustainable development
• learning and practising teaching methods, lesson planning and classroom management 
• gaining experience working with local communities
• being trained in health and safety or first aid 
• potential teaching placements and preferential access to GVI employment opportunities.

Will I get paid to teach?

GVI offers unpaid teaching internships. The program fees you pay will cover your accommodation, meals, training, equipment and in-country transport to and from projects. These fees are essential to ensure that we are able to work with and support local organisations and provide sustainable community development. These fees also cover the coursework and practical training that will help you achieve qualifications like a Community Development certificate from the University of Richmond, and a TEFL qualification.

To find out more on this topic, check out the article: Why pay to volunteer abroad. 

Who will I be working with during my teaching internship abroad?

You’ll work with some amazing people from around the world, as well as local educators and community leaders. Volunteers, interns and GVI staff come from all around the world and, as a result, have different backgrounds and cultural beliefs. It’s likely that you’ll leave your internship with new life-long friends. 

What happens during school holidays when schools are closed?

As you look to plan your teaching internship, discuss your timeline with one of GVI’s friendly enrolment managers. They’ll be able to provide insight into local school holidays and closures. Some of our bases participate in holiday programming for children and community members during this time. For example, in Cape Town, South Africa, we run a library program during school holidays.