Learning together for effective collaboration in school-based occupational therapy practice

School-based occupational therapy (SBOT) practice takes place within a complex system that includes service recipients, service providers, and program decision makers across health and education sectors. Despite the promotion of collaborative consultation at a policy level, there is little practical guidance about how to coordinate multi-agency service and interprofessional collaboration among these stakeholders.

This paper reports on a process used to engage program administrators in an examination of SBOT collaborative consultation practice in one region of Ontario to provide an evidence-informed foundation for decision making about implementation of these services.

Within an appreciative inquiry framework (Cooperrider, Whitney, & Stavros, 2008), Developmental Work Research methods (Engeström, 2000) were used to facilitate shared learning for improved SBOT collaborative consultation. Program administrators participated alongside program providers and service recipients in a series of facilitated workshops to develop principles that will guide future planning and decision making about the delivery of SBOT services.

Facilitated discussion among stakeholders led to the articulation of 12 principles for effective collaborative practice. Program administrators used their shared understanding to propose a new model for delivering SBOT services.

Horizontal and vertical learning across agency and professional boundaries led to the development of powerful solutions for program improvement.