The relationship between final year occupational therapy students' values and their levels of achievement

Abstract

This study set out to investigate the relationship between individual values of final year occupational therapy students at seven universities as well as the eventual performance of each student during the final evaluation. Using a quantitative research method, a total of 154 final year students were assessed in the early part of their final year by means of the Value Scale - a standardised instrument for the multicultural population in South Africa. The final grade each student obtained was reflected by the mean of the grades obtained in all the subjects for that study year. This grade reflected both theoretical knowledge and the practical application of such knowledge. No positive correlations were found between the six second-order value factors and their achievement percentages for the sample as a whole. However, a negative correlation was obtained in terms of autonomous lifestyle and the students’ levels of achievement (r= -0,169; p - 0,036) for the sample as a whole. This result indicates that the higher the students rated independence of action within their work, as well as creativity, diversity, change of activities and risk incurred in projects proposed, the lower their average grades tended to be. In a profession that sets a high value on creativity and independence, it is specifically those students possessing these values who seem to flounder. It is recommended that the autonomy and creativity of occupational therapy students in the clinical field be researched by means of a qualitative method since the declared values by means of self-report measures in quantitative research may not reveal a student’s operational value system.