ROLE EXPECTATIONS AND CHALLENGES OF FIRST YEAR OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE

Abstract

First Year Students in Occupational Therapy enter Higher Education and take on different roles while engaging in occupations of academics, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) and Social participation.  Some of the roles are new and pose challenges to students which in turn influence their academic performance.  Thus a qualitative study was conducted with eighteen first year occupational therapy students at the University of the Free State, with no prior higher education experience, were randomly selected to take part in the study.  Data was collected from documentation and Nominal Group Technique discussions.  Four roles were identified namely: role of a student, role of an independent young adult, role of a friend and role of a member of campus residence.