Self-Evaluation and Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Educators: Do they Practise what they Preach?

Abstract

In the current climate of lifelong learning and continuing professional development, the importance of self-evaluation is discussed. A cross-sectional survey was carried out to identify the strategies used by fieldwork educators to evaluate their own supervisory skills. It further examined the fieldwork educators' attitude towards, and understanding of, self-evaluation. One hundred self-administered questionnaires were posted to a random sample of Glasgow Caledonian University fieldwork educators. A response rate of 74.5% was obtained. The respondents claimed to use a wide range of self-evaluation techniques, with the majority using between three and five strategies. While the respondents were found, overall, to view self-evaluation positively, only 55.2% of them appeared to understand this concept fully. Statistical analysis of association indicated that those respondents who understood self-evaluation were more likely to have a positive attitude towards it than those who did not fully understand this concept. It is recommended that future fieldwork education update courses should focus on informing fieldwork educators about the concept of self-evaluation and reinforcing its benefits. Fieldwork educators should be encouraged to continue to use self-evaluation and be made aware of the advantages of using a variety of strategies. Conclusion The respondents in this study supported self-evaluation and used a range of strategies to evaluate their own abilities as fieldwork educators. While 44.8% of the respondents lacked a full understanding of self-evaluation, overall the respondents had a positive attitude towards it. More research is needed to confirm and expand on the results of this study. It is recommended that this study be replicated with a larger sample from a cross-section of universities. The chi-square tests of association carried out found the expected frequencies to be quite low in some cases. Had the sample been larger, these tests could, perhaps, have been put to more use. Further studies should also concentrate on fieldwork educators' understanding of other concepts taught to and used by students on placement, and on the relationship between the visiting lecturer and the fieldwork educators.