Education Commons^™

Transitioning From Professional Practice To Teaching During Covid-19: A Participatory Research Study, Yvonne Thomas, Ciara Hensey, Claire Squires, Anna Collier, Heidi Cathcart, Lindsey Coup

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The transition from expert occupational therapy practice to academic educator is stressful and complex, involving the development of a new professional identity. In 2020-21 COVID-19 created a new challenge for recently employed academics, who were in this transition process. This study utilized participatory research to explore the impact of COVID-19 on six new occupational therapy lecturers who were employed immediately before and during the pandemic. The participatory research approach simultaneously engaged participants in research processes and aimed to promote researcher development. Three focus groups were conducted to explore participants experiences before, during and after COVID-19 restrictions. Focus groups transcripts were …