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Increasing Self-Efficacy And Engagement In Occupational Therapy Education Through The Use Of An Unfolding Case Study Curricular Design, Michael J. Jensen

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The unfolding case study, which has the case study client evolve over time, has been shown to positively influence both academic and affective performance, though to this point has not been studied in terms of development of self-efficacy in clinical skills or engagement with course content. This study used a quasi-experimental design as well as retrospective data analysis to examine two case study designs (one static or unchanging and one unfolding) within an occupational therapy doctorate program. The study found that occupational therapy students (n = 16) reported a statistically significant difference in the development of clinical skill self-efficacy (p < .05) after engaging in a semester long unfolding case study compared to a semester long static case study. Additionally, the study found that occupational therapy students (n = 47) demonstrated greater engagement with the online curricular content supporting the unfolding case study compared to the static case study (p < .001). The findings of the study suggest that there may be benefits to using an unfolding case study as a curricular design strategy in relation to increased clinical skill self-efficacy and enhanced engagement with course content.