Professional education or technical training?: contemporary education policy and the education of occupational therapists in New Zealand: 1940-1991

Abstract

Current policy developments in post-compulsory education and training have been informed by philosophies of the New Right, particularly corporate managerialism. This economical rationalist model of economics and business management has been highly influential in determining both the administrative structure of education, and the direction of curricula and pedagogical issues concerning the professional preparation of occupational therapists in New Zealand. The history of occupational therapy illustrates the changes in emphasis that have occurred in practice, both as a result of professionalisation and the changing social context. The contradictions for occupational therapy as it professionalises are evident with its traditional ethos of service being assailed not only intraprofessionally as it evolves as a profession, but also from without as the corporate managerialist agenda of the New Right overturns the traditional notions of public service. This study aims to critically examine the tensions between New Right approaches to higher education and the broader, more humanist approaches characteristic of professional educators. Central to the work is a feminist analysis of both current policy initiatives and developments in occupational therapy education and practice. It argues that traditional male, Western and academic models of education and professionalisation may be inappropriate for future occupational therapy practice. It proposes that curricula for the professional education and training of occupational therapists could usefully be extended beyond predominantly biomedical and positivistic models to encompass other ways of viewing the world, such as feminist models of health care and education and teaching/learning approaches informed by critical social theory. In spite of the extensive debate between the proponents of education (or training) that meets the needs of the economy espoused by the present Government, and education for the whole person that allows for the acquisition of more generalist, transferable skills, this work also reappraises the social role of the humanities and the ideals of liberal education in the context of professional and higher education. Alternative models to guide curriculum and encourage the development of reflective practitioners are also proposed. The challenge for occupational therapy education lies in providing opportunities for students to learn both the art and science of occupational therapy and the development of skills and knowledge that allows for socially responsible and critically reflective practice.