What is the relationship between characteristics of the fieldwork setting (practice setting, population served, choice in fieldwork site) and OT students' degree of perceived self-efficacy?
What is the relationship between the meaningfulness of fieldwork and the experience of supervision, and OT students' degree of perceived self-efficacy?
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between perceived self-efficacy, as measured by the Student Confidence Questionnaire (Derdall et al., 2002), and demographic survey variables for OT students on Level II fieldwork in the United States.
A primary fieldwork goal delineated in the ACOTE standards (2012) is developing competent practitioners (C.1.11), and self-efficacy is related to competence and performance (Bandura, 1997; Brady-Amoon & Fuertes, 2011; Brown et al., 2011; Richardson et al., 2012).
Self-efficacy is related to capability and success as a student (and later employee) and is an implicit aim of fieldwork (Crist, 2011; Lew et al., 2007).
Students' self-efficacy is also important because difficulty accepting and responding to feedback is a documented problem that leads to OT fieldwork failure (Dale, 2001; James & Musselman, 2005).
A fieldwork goal delineated in the ACOTE standards (2012) is providing supervision and role modeling that is responsive to the setting and the students' abilities (C.1.16), hence it will be important to examine the relationship between the experience of supervision and student self-efficacy.
Another fieldwork goal delineated in the ACOTE standards (2012) is developing self-reflective practitioners (C.1.11).
An additional fieldwork goal delineated in the ACOTE standards (2012) is to develop professionalism and responsibility as a practitioner (C.1.11).
According to James and Musselman (2005), inadequate academic preparation was most frequently cited by fieldwork educators as a factor contributing to OT students failing Level II fieldwork.
A goal delineated in the ACOTE standards (2012) is to provide fieldwork experiences in traditional and/or emerging settings (C.1.12), as practice changes in response to health legislation and society's needs.
