National perspectives guiding occupational therapy education transformation: Highlights from the pandemic
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Abstract
Background. Globally, all educational programmes were disrupted by the COVID‐19 pandemic. This necessitated the exploration of how higher education institutions responded during this crisis to facilitate preparedness for similar emergencies in the future.
Objective. To explore how occupational therapy educational programmes in South Africa (SA) responded to the pandemic and examine the influences of external factors such as national and higher education institution policies, professional associations and professional boards.
Method. An exploratory qualitative design was used. Data were gathered through interviews with purposively selected participants, specifically the heads of departments or their proxies, along with representatives from the professional board and professional association (n=9), and analysed thematically.
Results. Four major themes emerged from the study, namely: (i) adaptation of occupations to an online instructional environment; (ii) prioritising the person; (iii) environmental systems: interuniversity collaboration and stakeholder engagement; and (iv) emerging pathways for occupational therapy education. These themes synthesise the transformation of occupational therapy education and highlight future implications.
Conclusion. Occupational therapy education in SA must constantly adapt to contextual changes, such as the COVID‐19 pandemic and technological advances.
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