Social Occupational Therapy, pandemic, and interculturalities: thematic workshops in the context of international student mobility

Abstract

Abstract Introduction The Covid-19 pandemic triggered profound changes in people’ ways of life, with significant impact on the forms of socialization and teaching-learning practices. Objective To present the experience of creating and developing intercultural thematic workshops. They were part of a set of welcoming actions and teaching of Portuguese to international students linked to the Student Program of the Graduation Agreement (PEC-G) of Federal University of Sao Paulo (Unifesp), coordinated by teacher of languages—Portuguese as a Foreign Language (PLA)—and social occupational therapy. Method The critical interpretation of the experience, its ordering and reconstruction were guided by the perspective of the systematization of experiences (SE) proposed by Oscar Jara Holliday. The fieldwork involved two perspectives: analysis of field diaries with records of occupational therapy interns between April and October 2020 and a conversation circle with foreign students. Results Four interdependent axes of analysis were thematized, presenting perceptions and reinterpretations of the initial moments of the pandemic and its effects in Brazil, specifically in the contexts of migration and higher education. Conclusion This study provides interdisciplinary, intercultural, and multilingual reflections on social occupational therapy actions in the context of mobility for the purposes of study and internationalization of higher education, as well as analysis technologies developed in times of social distancing and weakening of support networks.