Practice education in the UK: A comparative cross-sectional investigation of key stakeholders’ perspectives
Citation
Beveridge, J. & Pentland, D. (2019) Practice education in the UK: A comparative cross-sectional investigation of key stakeholders’ perspectives (Abstract). In: RCOT 2019 Annual Conference and Exhibition 17-18 June 2019 Book of Abstracts. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 82(8 suppl.), p. 3.
Abstract
Practice education is a core requirement of occupational therapy
education that is key to the development of the profession’s
future. Changing educational and financial landscapes across
the UK causes challenges to the provision of sufficient high
quality placements. Providing placements requires input from
multiple stakeholders from different, and at times diverging,
contexts. This research was completed to generate up-to-date
information about how key stakeholders view different roles and
responsibilities, consider the value of accreditation programs in
supporting educators, and what changes could be made to the
way practice education is developed and supported. The study
used cross-sectional and action-oriented learning methods to
generate qualitative data about the perspectives of participants.
Online surveys and telephone interviews were completed by
three different populations (professional practice tutors, those
who provide or support the provision of practice education
experiences, and current pre-registration occupational therapy
students). Workshops based on soft systems methodology
(Checkland and Poulter 2006) were completed with mixed
participant groups. A thematic analysis approach outlined by
Nowell et al (2017) was completed, followed by a comparative
analysis to highlight both shared and divergent perspectives
among participants. Key descriptive and thematic results will be
presented, along with the results of the comparative analysis.
The results of this research can be used by those involved in
providing practice education at local, regional and national levels
to help understand the perceptions of stakeholder groups and
engage with these in an informed way to help develop high
quality practice education experiences.
Ethical Approval provided by Queen Margaret University’s
Research Ethics Panel (RCOT_PE_REVIEW_190918_V. 1).