ScholarWorks > HHS > OT > OJOT > Vol. 13 > Iss. 1 (2025)
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Pola Ham, EdD, OTD, MS, OTR/L, CAPS
Abstract
First-generation students at U.S. universities have lower academic performance than their continuing-generation counterparts. They also have a lower level of academic self-regulation and academic self-efficacy. Bandura’s social cognition theory and Zimmerman’s self-regulation theory were used as theoretical frameworks to guide an intervention program relating to self-efficacy and self-regulation. A pretest and posttest survey measured changes in the participants’ use of the academic self-regulatory strategies and level of confidence in using those strategies. An open-ended questionnaire provided a detailed account of the participants’ lived experiences of the program. The researcher-facilitator designed an academic self-regulation program using Zimmerman’s (1998) self-regulated learning framework to increase the use of academic self-regulatory strategies and confidence in using the strategies among first-generation students in occupational therapy. The results of the survey revealed statistically significant changes in the participants’ use of academic self-regulatory strategies and level of confidence after the intervention. The participants also reported that the program improved their academic goal-setting, self-assessment, self-reflection and implementation of various strategies to improve their learning. Overall, the program improved the participants’ use of academic self-regulatory strategies and confidence in using those strategies. Findings from this study can inform occupational therapy programs about the benefits of an academic self-regulation program on students’ learning, which has implications for their academic performance and overall success in the program.
Recommended Citation
Ham, P. (2025). An Academic Self-Regulation Program for First-Generation Students in Occupational Therapy: A Preexperimental Study. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 13(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.2254
Comments
The author declares that they have no competing financial, professional, or personal interest that might have influenced the performance or presentation of the work described in this manuscript.