Date Presented 03/27/20
Collaboration between teachers and OTs improves student performance and promotes positive student outcomes in school-based OT (Kennedy and Stewart, 2012). Collaboration with OTs was valued by 85.1% of respondents, and 62% of respondents considered OT’s goal in the schools to be focused on fine motor skills. This survey shows that general education teachers value collaboration with OTs but do not fully understand the role of OT, which may limit the effectiveness of collaboration.
Primary Author and Speaker: Erin Bradley
Contributing Authors: Elizabeth Hassett, Antonio Mazza, Gifty Abraham
PURPOSE: Collaboration between teachers and occupational therapists (OTs) improves student performance and promotes positive student outcomes in school-based occupational therapy (Laverdure, Cosbey, Gaylord, & LeCompte, 2017; Kennedy & Stewart, 2012; Benson, 2013; Boshoff & Stewart, 2013). According to the literature, teachers and OTs value collaboration, however collaboration is not frequently implemented in the schools due to perceived barriers such as lack of time, limited resources, and unclear roles. The purpose of the current study was to determine how general education teachers view the effectiveness of collaboration with OTs in the school system. In addition, this study examined the knowledge general education teachers have about the roles and responsibilities of occupational therapists in a school setting.
DESIGN: Researchers developed a survey that examined general education teachers’ perceptions collaborating with OTs in the school system. Participants in this study included general education teachers in preschool to 8th grade classrooms.
METHODS: An online self-report survey was distributed using personal networks and by contacting state and national teacher organizations. The four sections of this survey included demographics, OT knowledge, perspectives on collaborating with an OT, and current methods used to collaborate with other professionals including OTs. The responses were analyzed with descriptive statistics.
RESULTS: Perspectives on collaboration with OTs: 85.1% of respondents reported to value collaboration with OTs (n=40/47). 89.4% of respondents felt that occupational therapy services were effective (n=42/47), and 85.1% felt it was easy to understand what the OT was trying to convey to them (n=40/47). Email (91.2%, n=62/68) and in person conversation (83.8%, n=57/68) were the most common forms of communication reported by the respondents of this study when collaborating in the school setting. 95% of respondents felt that their preferred modes of communication were effective (N=47). 68.1% of respondents reported lack of time (n=32/47) as the biggest barrier to collaborating with an OT. Majority of respondents (91.5%) collaborated with the OT between 0-30 minutes throughout the course of the day (n= 43/47).
General education teachers’ reported knowledge of OT’s roles: 68 respondents provided information regarding OT knowledge. 62% of respondents considered occupational therapy’s goal in the schools to be focused on fine motor skills (n=42/68). Only 35.3% (n=24/68) of respondents reported that OTs role was to improve student performance in different areas of schoolwork.
CONCLUSION: This survey shows that general education teachers value collaboration with OTs, but do not fully understand the role of OT which may limit the effectiveness of collaboration. Further research as well as future program development may be helpful to increase role clarity and educate general education teachers on the role of OTs in the school setting. Occupational therapists need to better explain their role in the school setting to increase effective collaboration with general education teachers.
This project was approved by the Midwestern University Institutional Review Board, EXEMPT
References
Benson, J. (2013) School-based occupational therapy practice: Perceptions and realities of current practice and the role of occupation. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, and Early Intervention: Official Publication Of The American Occupational Therapy Association, 2(6), 165-178. https://doi.org/10.1080/19411243.2013.811348
Kennedy, S., & Stewart, H. (2011). Collaboration between occupational therapists and teachers:Definitions, implementation and efficacy. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal,58(3), 209-214. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1630.2011.00934.
Villeneuve, M. A., & Shulha, L. M. (2012). Learning together for effective collaboration in school-based occupational therapy practice. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy,79(5), 293-302. https://doi.org/10.2182/CJOT.2012.79.5.5
