Date Presented 04/05/19
This study utilized a researcher-developed survey to investigate collaboration among school-based professionals. Participants included 243 OTs and other school professionals, including PTs, SLPs, psychologists, and teachers from across the US. Findings described include the amount and type of collaboration prevalent among school-based professionals as well as factors that contribute to successful collaboration and barriers that limit collaborative practices.
Primary Author and Speaker: Meira Orentlicher
Additional Authors and Speakers: Diana Lashinsky, Sarah Bergstein Teixeira
Contributing Authors: Amy Mograby
PURPOSE: Best practice in schools include collaboration between occupational therapy practitioners (OTs) and other school professionals (Cahill & Lopez-Reyna, 2013). Collaboration results in multitude of benefits, such as personalized treatment for students (Case-Smith, Weaver, & Holland, 2014). The purpose of this study was to investigate the type and degree of collaboration that occurs between OTs and other school professionals and factors that contribute to or limits its success.
DESIGN: This was a descriptive, survey-design study. Participants included 243 school-based professionals from across the US including 136 OT/OTAs, 33 PT/PTAs, 6 SLPs, 46 teachers and 22 other (psychologists, social workers, and other specialists). Participants had to be 18 years of age or older, currently working in schools and English-speaking.
METHOD: An invitation to participate in the study was sent to the mailing list of the organization S’Cool Moves, which includes more than 4000 school-based professionals who attended or expressed interest in the S’Cool Moves program. The email invitation included a link to the survey on Qualtrics. The researcher-developed survey consisted of 27 Likert-scale and open-ended questions that asked about the participants’ perceptions and experiences of collaborating and factors contributing to successful or unsuccessful collaboration in their schools. A total of 326 surveys were taken, of which 243 were complete and included in the analysis. Surveys were analyzed in SPSS 22 utilizing descriptive statistics and Pearson Chi-Square tests.
RESULTS: 96.7% of participants reported that they collaborate some of the time, with 35% collaborating more than 75% of the time using informal communication methods such as email, texts, and “on-the-fly” conversations. 97.8% of participants thought that collaboration is important. Both OTs and PTs reported that they collaborate most with teachers versus with other related service providers (χ
2 =7.088, df=2, p < 0.029), while PTs valued collaboration more than all other professionals (χ
2 =21.952a, df=9, p < 0.009). Experience was significantly related to collaboration. Those with more than 10 years of experience reported collaborating more than those with less experience (χ
2 =9.955a, df=3, p < 0.009). Positive perceptions about collaboration were also significantly related to collaboration; professionals that value collaboration reported collaborating more (χ
2 =64..783, df=9, p < 0.000). Those that collaborate reported more positive outcomes (χ
2 =6.267, df=1, p < 0.012), including less parental complaints (χ
2 =8.500, df=3, p < 0.037), and an increase in team based IEP goals (χ
2 = 12.618, df=3, p < 0.006). Barriers to collaboration included limited time and lack of training in collaboration methods.
CONCLUSION: This study showed a positive trend towards increased collaboration among school professionals in comparison to previous literature. Although participants reported valuing collaboration and better student outcomes resulting from collaboration, persistent barriers continue to impede collaboration in schools. Limitations include small response rate (approximately 6%) and the use of non-standardized survey. Successful collaboration is imperative for the profession of OT in order to provide effective school-based interventions. Educating practitioners on collaboration and collaboration strategies and providing formal time for collaboration could enhance the collaborative process in schools.
References
Case-Smith, J., Weaver, L., & Holland, T. (2014). Effects of a classroom-embedded occupational therapist-teacher handwriting program for first-grade students. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68, 690-698. doi:10.5014/ajot.2014.011585
Cahill, S. M., & Lopez-Reyna, N. (2013). Expanding school-based problem-solving teams to include occupational therapists. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 6(4), 314-325. doi:10.1080/19411243.2013.860763
