Becoming reflective practitioners in occupational therapy

Abstract

An emancipatory action research method was used to investigate student learning and my teaching of the paediatric occupational therapy course at the University of the Western Cape. The focus of the study was my teaching practice and the learning experiences of three senior students during community based and school based fieldwork My concern for students' apparent lack of confidence in fieldwork prompted the study. Strategies to facilitate reflective learning and reflective practice were implemented. My developing understanding of the relevance of an emancipatory approach to teaching and research in health and education in South Africa emerged during the writing of the thesis as the students and I grappled with the problems resulting from poverty. The time of the study coincided with a move towards community-based practice. The students' experiences in community fieldwork revealed the challenges of fieldwork Moreover, the effects of socio-political in justices and the result of living in poverty informed the gaining of insight into the relevance of emancipatory action research underpinned by critical social theory.