A curriculum plan for the professional education of occupational therapists in Nigeria.

Abstract

This study was concerned with the planning of a curriculum for training occupational therapists in Nigeria. In doing so, both theoretical and practical matters were considered. First, the thesis identifies the need for occupational therapists in Nigeria, and, based on a literature review, theoretical perspectives and issues about curriculum, and about professional education are gathered and discussed. Secondly, the research for the study was conducted through different practical means. The first part of the research was directed at all the occupational therapists in Nigeria seeking facts and opinions on the occupational therapy situation in the country. A mail questionnaire composed of structured and open-ended questions was used. The second study attempted to find out international perspectives on the training of occupational therapists through a mail questionnaire using open-ended questions, directed at the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Associations in several countries, and all occupational therapy training schools in the United Kingdom. This was followed by a third piece of research in which a case study of the policies and practices of two occupational therapy training programmes in Scotland was carried out, using interviews. ii The findings in these investigations and the issues and arguments derived from the literature on curriculum theory and professional education were considered against the background of Nigeria. The discussion was used to develop principles and to suggest a curriculum for the training of occupational therapists in Nigeria. The study offered some suggestions for future monitoring of the programme and areas of future research in Nigeria