title: Service learning: the process of doing and becoming an occupational therapist.
abstract: ABSTRACT The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of entry-level occupational therapy students participating in a service-learning experience designed to provide preventive occupation-based social skills groups to low-income urban youth attending after-school care. Reflective journals and focus groups were used to study how the students made sense of their experience. Qualitative data analysis resulted in six major themes revealing the process of professional growth over the eight-weeks. Professional reasoning progressed from mechanical procedural reasoning to flexible forms of conditioning reasoning. Findings emphasize the critical role of active participation in real-life contexts on learning how to become an occupational therapist. Study findings provide a discussion about the possibilities of preparing future occupational therapy practitioners to address society's occupational needs in emerging practice areas.
authors.affiliation: Susan Bazyk, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, is an associate professor in the Occupational Therapy Program and the director of the Master of Science in Health Sciences Program in the Department of Health Sciences at Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bazyk
authors.forename: Marylou
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Glorioso
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: Jen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haines
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Percaciante