Evaluating Impact of an Online Leadership Course for Newly Graduated Occupational Therapists

Abstract

Leadership has been established as a key competency for occupational therapists, however the literature on how occupational therapists conceptualize leadership is limited. Additionally, there is a dearth of literature on best practices to develop occupational therapists’ leadership skills and there is yet to be an evaluation of an online educational approach. This study aimed to understand if an online educational platform contributed to the development of leadership skills among occupational therapists. Participants were newly graduated occupational therapists who participated in a four-week Leadership Skills Development massive open online course (MOOC). This study used a mixed methods quasi-experimental design with two intervention cohorts and time series delay. All participants completed the MindTools Leadership Skills Assessment, the Authentic Leadership Self-Assessment Questionnaire and open-ended self-reflection questions. Analysis of the data was conducted using Rstudio, for the quantitative data, and thematic coding, for the qualitative data. The results showed there was not a significant change in scores on the leadership evaluation tools over time. However, cohort A demonstrated an increase in selfawareness and cohort B showed increases in balanced processing, providing support, and stimulation. Both cohorts showed increases in relational transparency. Participants reported that participating in the MOOC provided education on how to further develop leadership skills. Leadership skill development takes time to develop and further evaluation is required to determine if these skills continue to develop when put into practice.