Research and Reflection: Potential Impact on the Professional Development of Undergraduate Occupational Therapy Students |
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Authors: | Sanet H J Du Toit Annette C Wilkinson |
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Institution: | (1) Department Occupational Therapy (G44), School for Allied Health Professions, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, PO Box 339, Bloemfontein, 9300, South Africa;(2) Centre for Higher Education Studies and Development, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa |
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Abstract: | In occupational therapy education in South Africa, community service (CS) focuses learning opportunities during fieldwork
placements. CS therefore enabled the researcher to utilise successive small scale research projects to guide learning of students
during fieldwork while simultaneously developing the occupational therapy service at a residential care facility. This community
setting provided a powerful environment through which research, in combination with opportunities for reflection, contributed
to nurturing skills needed by these future health professionals. A technical action research (AR) approach incorporated AR
cycles and opportunities for structured reflection. Therefore situations were created for the students to embrace experiential
learning. Experiential learning in the form of anticipatory reflection, reflection-in-action, reflection on reflection and
retrospective reflection impacted on the quality of the students’ work. Besides encouraging unique leaning opportunities for
students when engaging in research during their fieldwork placement, engagement in AR cycles simultaneously improved service
delivery to residents in the facility. Key benefits of this investigation were that fieldwork education utilising AR cycles
within a CS situation promoted students to identify voids in their theoretical background as well as practice skills; to apply
reflective practice that could contribute to their personal and professional development; and to utilize learning opportunities
optimally. Despite positive gains showed by this study, the role of power relations between the researcher as fieldwork educator
and the students prohibited the AR cycles from being more emancipatory in nature and should be addressed in follow-up studies. |
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Keywords: | |
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