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Research Article  |   March 2000
Measuring Knowledge of School-Based Occupational Therapy
Mary B. Harris; Sidney T. Alley
Author Affiliations
  • Mary B. Harris, PhD, is Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Administration, College of Education, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131; mharris@unm.edu
  • Sidney T. Alley, OTR, is Staff Occupational Therapist, Albuquerque Public Schools, and Graduate Student, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Article Information
Education of OTs and OTAs / School-Based Practice / General
Research Article   |   March 2000
Measuring Knowledge of School-Based Occupational Therapy
American Journal of Occupational Therapy, March/April 2000, Vol. 54, 189-196. doi:10.5014/ajot.54.2.189
American Journal of Occupational Therapy, March/April 2000, Vol. 54, 189-196. doi:10.5014/ajot.54.2.189
Abstract

Objective. The primary purpose of this study was to develop a measure of Knowledge of Occupational Therapy in School settings (KNOTS) for occupational therapy students. A secondary purpose was to develop a scale of Self-Efficacy in School Settings (SESS) for occupational therapy students.

Method. One hundred forty-five university students enrolled in either occupational therapy classes or education classes completed a questionnaire consisting (in part) of the 60-item KNOTS scale and the SESS scale. Analyses of internal reliability, group comparisons, and correlations were computed on the scores.

Results. The reliabilities of the KNOTS (.85) and SESS (.94) were reasonably high. Occupational therapy students performed significantly better than did education students, and senior occupational therapy students scored significantly higher than did juniors on the KNOTS. SESS scores were positively but not significantly correlated with KNOTS scores.

Conclusion. If further investigation provides additional evidence for the reliability and validity of the KNOTS and SESS, both measures have a number of potential practical applications.