Underperforming Students: Factors and Decision-Making in Occupational Therapy Programs
The purpose of this study was to better understand factors related to occupational therapy (OT) educators’ decisions to fail underperforming students and to clarify why educators sometimes <em>fail to fail</em> or pass students despite sub-standard performance. Assessing student competen...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Eastern Kentucky University
2017-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Occupational Therapy Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2017.010301 |
| _version_ | 1811334488413700096 |
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| author | Beth Cardell Jeanette Koski Jessica Wahl Wendy Rock Anne Kirby |
| author_facet | Beth Cardell Jeanette Koski Jessica Wahl Wendy Rock Anne Kirby |
| author_sort | Beth Cardell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The purpose of this study was to better understand factors related to occupational therapy (OT) educators’ decisions to fail underperforming students and to clarify why educators sometimes <em>fail to fail</em> or pass students despite sub-standard performance. Assessing student competence is an essential part of ensuring the safety of those receiving occupational therapy services and ensuring the integrity of the OT profession. Educators in academic and fieldwork settings are responsible for confirming that students who graduate from their programs are able to demonstrate skills required for entry into the profession. A total of 323 OT academic and fieldwork educators responded to a researcher developed survey. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regressions. 82% of OT academic educators and 34% of OT fieldwork educators reported failing a student at one time and results revealed common reasons for both groups. In addition, 60% of OT academic educators and 26% of OT fieldwork educators thought there had been a time when they should have failed an underperforming student but did not. Common reasons for <em>failure to fail</em> included lack of proof, vague procedures, giving students the benefit of the doubt, and decreased confidence in handling a failing situation. Recommendations to minimize <em>failure to fail</em> are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T17:09:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-252925c8f6e24aafb97f5665592f4384 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2573-1378 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T17:09:36Z |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | Eastern Kentucky University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Occupational Therapy Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-252925c8f6e24aafb97f5665592f43842022-12-22T02:38:20ZengEastern Kentucky UniversityJournal of Occupational Therapy Education2573-13782017-01-011310.26681/jote.2017.010301Underperforming Students: Factors and Decision-Making in Occupational Therapy ProgramsBeth Cardell0Jeanette Koski1Jessica Wahl2Wendy RockAnne Kirby3University of UtahUniversity of UtahPrimary Children's HospitalUniversity of UtahThe purpose of this study was to better understand factors related to occupational therapy (OT) educators’ decisions to fail underperforming students and to clarify why educators sometimes <em>fail to fail</em> or pass students despite sub-standard performance. Assessing student competence is an essential part of ensuring the safety of those receiving occupational therapy services and ensuring the integrity of the OT profession. Educators in academic and fieldwork settings are responsible for confirming that students who graduate from their programs are able to demonstrate skills required for entry into the profession. A total of 323 OT academic and fieldwork educators responded to a researcher developed survey. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regressions. 82% of OT academic educators and 34% of OT fieldwork educators reported failing a student at one time and results revealed common reasons for both groups. In addition, 60% of OT academic educators and 26% of OT fieldwork educators thought there had been a time when they should have failed an underperforming student but did not. Common reasons for <em>failure to fail</em> included lack of proof, vague procedures, giving students the benefit of the doubt, and decreased confidence in handling a failing situation. Recommendations to minimize <em>failure to fail</em> are discussed.https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2017.010301Failure to failunderperforming studentsfieldworkoccupational therapyeducators |
| spellingShingle | Beth Cardell Jeanette Koski Jessica Wahl Wendy Rock Anne Kirby Underperforming Students: Factors and Decision-Making in Occupational Therapy Programs Journal of Occupational Therapy Education Failure to fail underperforming students fieldwork occupational therapy educators |
| title | Underperforming Students: Factors and Decision-Making in Occupational Therapy Programs |
| title_full | Underperforming Students: Factors and Decision-Making in Occupational Therapy Programs |
| title_fullStr | Underperforming Students: Factors and Decision-Making in Occupational Therapy Programs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Underperforming Students: Factors and Decision-Making in Occupational Therapy Programs |
| title_short | Underperforming Students: Factors and Decision-Making in Occupational Therapy Programs |
| title_sort | underperforming students factors and decision making in occupational therapy programs |
| topic | Failure to fail underperforming students fieldwork occupational therapy educators |
| url | https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2017.010301 |
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