Kari Renahan, OT Reg (Ont), is PhD Student, School of Rehabilitation Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada;
Erin Knobl, OT Reg (Ont), OTR/L, MSc (OT), MSc (RS), is Research Assistant, School of Rehabilitation Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Am J Occup Ther. 2024 Sep 1;78(5). doi: 10.5014/ajot.2024.050634.
Large educational transitions occur when students enter and exit school or move between grades or divisions within the kindergarten to Grade 12 (K-12) school system. For students with disabilities, the quality of large educational transitions affects academic and postschool outcomes, which is germane to school-based occupational therapists.
To explore the school-based occupational therapy literature to describe the roles of occupational therapists in supporting large educational transitions and to identify relevant terminology.
We searched six databases (CINAHL, EMCare, Embase, ERIC, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO) for peer-reviewed publications in English with no date limitations.
We included articles focused on children and youth with disabilities and school-based occupational therapy services supporting large transitions within K to 12 education. Using directed content analysis, we reported on publication characteristics, occupational therapy roles, and terminology.
We included 46 publications spanning 37 yr that addressed transitions into school (n = 3), within K to 12 grades or divisions (n = 10), or to exit secondary education (n = 33). Occupational therapists assumed many roles in supporting large transitions, some much more frequently than others; 125 transition terms were used across included articles with few terms explicitly defined.
School-based occupational therapists' involvement in educational transitions is extensive, with potential for expansion. Consistency in terminology would support future research and practice. Plain-Language Summary: A large educational transition occurs when students move between a school, grade, or division as part of their K to 12 education. For students with disabilities, the quality of a large educational transition affects their academic and postschool outcomes. This review provides an understanding of how school-based occupational therapists support educational transitions for youth with disabilities. The review found that occupational therapists took on many roles, with the potential for expanding their roles. The review also identified 125 transition terms that were used across the literature review and found that few terms were explicitly defined. Consistency in terminology would support future research and expanded occupational therapy practice in this area.
学生在进入和离开学校、在幼儿园到 12 年级（K-12）的学校系统中升级或分班时，会经历重大的教育过渡。对于残疾学生来说，重大教育过渡的质量会影响他们的学业和毕业后的结果，这与学校中的职业治疗师息息相关。
探索学校职业治疗学文献，描述职业治疗师在支持重大教育过渡方面的角色，并确定相关术语。
我们在六个数据库（CINAHL、EMCare、Embase、ERIC、MEDLINE 和 PsycINFO）中搜索了没有时间限制的英文同行评审出版物。
我们纳入了专注于残疾儿童和青少年以及在 K-12 教育内支持重大过渡的学校职业治疗服务的文章。我们使用定向内容分析报告了出版物特征、职业治疗角色和术语。
我们纳入了 46 篇跨越 37 年的出版物，涉及入学过渡（n=3）、K-12 年级或分班内过渡（n=10）或中学后教育退出过渡（n=33）。职业治疗师在支持重大过渡中扮演了许多角色，有些角色比其他角色更频繁；在纳入的文章中使用了 125 个过渡术语，很少有术语被明确定义。
学校职业治疗师广泛参与教育过渡，具有扩展的潜力。术语的一致性将支持未来的研究和实践。
