Roles of Occupational Therapists Working in Special Education Support Centers: A Mixed Method Design Using Text Mining and Qualitative Research

Objective: The study objectives were to explore the job experiences of occupational therapists working in special education support centers (SESCs) and establish the role of occupational therapists within these centers. Methods: A focus group interview was conducted with five occupational therapists employed in SESCs. Therapists’ average clinical experience was 11 years, and the average working experience in an SESC was 11 years. The group engaged in open discussions about their roles within the centers. All discussions were recorded using Clover Notes, transcribed into text scripts, and subsequently reviewed. A phenomenological analysis was conducted following Giorgi’s research procedures, with five researchers collaboratively analyzing significant meaning units. Python was used for the text mining analysis. Results: The study findings identified 18 significant meaning units and 7 components related to the roles performed by occupational therapists in SESC. From these, three primary tasks were derived: therapeutic support, diagnostic evaluations of students, and administrative tasks. Conclusion: The findings of this study define the job roles of occupational therapists working in SESCs and provide foundational data for developing practice guidelines for the profession.