Thèse de doctorat
| Résumé : | The recent and swift changes (at the philosophical, political and economic level) in the health and social care sectors asks for the assessment of the existence of a match between the competencies acquired in the occupational therapy education and those required at the workplace, in order to ensure the quality of graduates. A key challenge for the educators is how to plan efficient educational programmes which calls for the redefinition of curriculum goals relevant to the quality of practice. We looked for new strategies to address these questions in the form of a group-based research with two main objectives: (1) to identify the core competencies required for the occupational therapy practice at different work settings in Portugal; and (2) to identify the contents of an occupational therapy educational program, suitable to attain the core competencies found. Interviews, discussion with two panels of experts, questionnaires and the Delphi technique have been used involving a total of 120 Occupational Therapists working at different settings including at the two Portuguese occupational therapy schools. The research provides the background on how to base the occupational therapy course content in relationship to the needs of the workplace environment. Above all, this study is a contribution in finding methodologies by working with the practitioners’ experts in order to convert their knowledge and professional demands into educational programs. |
