Teaching Participation in Occupations to First Year Occupational Therapy Students: An Action Research Study

Introduction:

This article describes the development of a first year occupational therapy module, ‘Participation in Occupations’, and the design and development of a mediating tool, Contexts of Participation: the Critical Thinking Tool, in a British university.

Method:

Using an action research process, the module content, learning and teaching strategy and new conceptual tools were designed to promote an enhanced understanding of the central importance of occupation to occupational therapy and, in particular, the role of participation in occupations in forming and reforming an individual within unique contextual situations. The inclusion of theory from disability studies and the use of a transformative approach to higher education were also investigated.

Findings and discussion:

The study spans 16 cohorts of students and reflects on the findings, which include increased client-centredness and greater appreciation of the complex nature of participation and its role in health and wellbeing.

Problem-Based Learning Students' Perceptions of Knowledge and Professional Identity: Occupational Therapists as ‘Knowers’

Purpose:

The future of occupational therapy is dependent on profession-specific knowledge to underpin its practice. This research explored occupational therapy students' perceptions of knowledge and their professional identity from one problem-based learning programme.

Procedure:

A qualitative methodology using in-depth interviews gathered data from 20 occupational therapy students in their final year of an undergraduate programme. The data were analysed thematically and in relation to theoretical constructs derived from the sociologists of education, Basil Bernstein and Karl Maton.

Findings:

The students viewed occupational therapists as ‘knowers’ rather than as ‘knowledgeable’ therapists. This distinction is embedded in a professional identity grounded in the dispositions of the occupational therapist and the philosophical constructs that support occupational therapy, but not in the specialist knowledge of occupation.

Conclusion:

The students' experiences suggest that the problem-based learning programme provides the transferable skills and philosophical constructs that allow them to practise in a diverse range of contemporary occupational therapy settings. However, simply mirroring current practice restricts professional advancement. The identity of the occupational therapist needs to embrace both a philosophical discourse and the specialist knowledge of occupation.