A New Canadian Agenda for Occupational Therapy Education Research

Background: Research on education is essential to train and educate future occupational therapists. While there may be institutional or geographical initiatives, there is no national set of priorities. Purpose: This study sought to develop a research agenda that outlines key priorities for Research on Education in occupational therapy in Canada. Methods: This study used a modified Delphi approach to identify researchers’ and educators’ priorities for occupational therapy research on education in Canada. Data were collected through two survey rounds and one in-person discussion. Findings: Education researchers identified teaching and learning, curriculum development, student preparedness and equity, and diversity as key research priorities. Included in these categories were a desire for research on the role of technology, hybrid and distributed campus models, integration of classroom and fieldwork learning, and professional identity formation. Approaches to new evidence creation include critically evaluating innovation and developing national evidence-informed frameworks to guide future research. Conclusions: This study highlights the need for a coordinated national research agenda in occupational therapy education. This acts as a call to action for clinicians, educators, researchers, administrators, funders, associations, and regulatory bodies to promote Canadian research on education efforts that are aligned with these priorities.