Abstract
This exploratory study investigated whether a cooperative learning program influences self-efficacy and perceptions of occupational therapy among 32 first-year occupational therapy students. Pre- and post-intervention data were collected using the General Self-Efficacy Scale and free-text responses to “What is occupational therapy?”, and conceptual changes were visualized through text mining. Total General Self-Efficacy Scale scores and the proactiveness subscale score increased significantly, and the free-text content shifted from a method-focused view centered on “training/tools” to a collaborative support perspective of “thinking together with clients,” as reflected in changes in salient terms and cooccurrence structures; therefore, given the difficulty and high stress of understanding occupational therapy due to its complexity, these findings suggest that a program in which students themselves explore what occupational therapy is and engage in cooperative learning may improve self-efficacy and change perceptions of occupational therapy, indicating the potential effectiveness of the educational intervention; however, this study warrants controlled studies given the single-group pre-post design.
