Education Survey
December 2021

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |Introduction
98 WFOT member organisations were surveyed regarding
occupational therapy education in their country• A questionnaire was circulated by email from WFOT March 26,
2021• Data was collected by online survey•

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |2

Purpose
To inform future planning regarding the education of occupational
therapists, the survey sought information in relation to:• Entry level education standards for occupational therapists• Entry level competency frameworks for occupational therapists• Transitioning occupational therapy education from diploma to degreelevel (where applicable)

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |3

Response
83 responses were received
85% response rate

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |4

Responding Member Organisations•

Argentina•

Bulgaria•

France•Jamaica•

Malta•

Portugal•

Sweden•Armenia•

Canada•Germany

•

Japan

•

Mauritius•

Romania•

Switzerland•

Australia•

Chile•

Ghana•

Jordan•Mexico••Taiwan•Austria•

China•

GuyanaRussia••

Mongolia•

Rwanda•Tanzania•

Bahamas•Colombia•

Haiti

Kazakhstan

•

Kenya

•

Morocco•Saudi Arabia•

Thailand•Bangladesh•

Croatia

•

Korea

•

Netherlands•

Serbia•Tunisia•

Belgium•

Denmark•

Latvia•New Zealand•

Seychelles•

Uganda•Bermuda••Bosnia &Herzegovina••

Botswana••

Brazil•Dominican
Republic
Estonia
Faroe
IslandsFinland••

Hong Kong
Iceland

•

India

•

Indonesia•

Lebanon•

Norway•Singapore•

Ukraine•

Iran•

Lithuania•

Panama•Slovenia•

United Kingdom•

Ireland•

Luxembourg

•

Peru•

South Africa••

Israel•Macau•

Philippines•

Spain

United States ofAmericaItaly•

Malaysia•

Poland•Sri Lanka••

Venezuela•

Zimbabwe

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |5

Memberorganisation
representative, 18

Alternate, 9Role of Respondent (n= 83)

Delegate, 56
World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |6

Entry Level Education

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |No, 13

Are education
programmes funded/
regulated by government
agencies in yourcountry? (n= 83)

Yes, 70

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |8No, 14

Is government
registration/approvalrequired to practice as anoccupational therapist
in your country? (n= 83)

Yes, 69

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |9

What is the minimum required standard of entry-to-practiceeducation to work ? (n= 83)
7059

60

56
4850

4140

3230

20

1014 1411934710

1058702370

DiplomaBachelor

Occupational therapist

Master's

Physiotherapist

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |Doctorate

Other

Speech language pathologist

NANurse10

What level of entry-to-practice education in occupational therapy isoffered by education programmes in your country? (n=83)
NA8Other3

Professional doctorate

1Master’s degree

8Bachelor’s degree

58

Diploma

1401020

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |30405060

70

11What level of post professional education is available tooccupational therapists in your country? (n= 83)
None17PhD

36

Professional doctorate

13Master’s degree

45

Bachelor’s degree16051015World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |20253035404550

12Entry Level Competency Frameworks

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |Is a competency framework used in your country foroccupational therapy? (n=83)

No, 33

Yes, 50

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |14

How is the occupational therapy competency frameworkused in your country? (n=48)
Performance reviews

13

Workforce planning

15

Workplace recruitment

16

Professional development

29

Continuing competency standards

29

Entry-to-practice standards

38

Education programme approvals/accreditation

38

Education curricula development

400510World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |15202530

35

40

45

15

Are there plans to review the occupational therapy
competency framework used in your country? (n=48)

Don't know, 16

Yes, 24

No , 8World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |16

Diploma Level Occupational Therapy Education

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |Germany

PolandChina

Korea
TaiwanBangladesh
Ghana
UgandaCountries/Regionswith diploma level
entry-leveloccupational therapy
programmes (n=15)

Sri Lanka

JapanMalaysia

Kenya
Chile

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |Tanzania

Indonesia

18

Are diploma entry-level occupational therapy programmes in yourcountry approved by WFOT? (n=15)
All diploma programmes
are approved:• Kenya• Sri Lanka• Tanzania• Uganda
Some diploma
programmes
are approved:• Japan• Korea• Germany• Malaysia• Indonesia

46

No diploma programmes
are approved:• Bangladesh• Chile• China• Ghana• Poland• Taiwan

5World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |19

Does your member organisation plan for entry-to-practiceoccupational therapy diploma education programmes to transition toa degree level in your country? (n=14)
Yes, we expect that all diploma education programmes willtransition to a degree level in the next 5 years.

3

Yes, we expect that some diploma education programmes willtransition to a degree level in the next 5 years.

1

Yes, we have plans to transition education programmes fromdiploma level education to a degree level in the next 10 years

2

Yes, we would like to transition diploma level education
programmes to a degree level but have no definite plans

6No, this is not a current goal

20

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |

12

3

4

5

6720

Please rate the support from the following regarding transitioning
diploma occupational therapy education to a degree level(Weighted average scores, 1 - strong opposition, 5 – strong support) (n=14)

Government

3.1

n=13

General public

3.4

n=12

Educational institutions

3.8

n=13

Occupational therapy employers

3.8

n=13

Occupational therapy regulators4n=12

Other health professionals

3.7

n=12

Occupational therapy education programmes

3.9

n=13

Occupational therapists

4n=13

00.5

1

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5
21

What is the expected impact for diploma level occupational therapists
if all education programmes transitioned to a degree level? (n=14)
Occupational therapists with a diploma level education would be reclassified
into a different job category (for example, occupational therapy assistant,technician, support worker)

3Occupational therapists with a diploma level education would have restrictionsin their job opportunities as an occupational therapist (for example, work onlyin certain sectors)

4

Occupational therapists with a diploma level education would have formal
restrictions in their scope of practice as an occupational therapist (forexample, restrictions in job duties and responsibilities)

7

Occupational therapists with a diploma level education could continue to work
as an occupational therapist only with upgrading1

Occupational therapists with a diploma level education could continue to work
as an occupational therapist without upgrading

70

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |

123

4

56

7822

Please rate the impact of the following factors for a transition fromdiploma to a degree level of education:(Weighted average score, 1 - strong negative impact, 5 - very strong positive impact) (n=14)
Availability of occupational therapy educators

3.6

n=12

Mentoring for education programmes

3.8

n=12

Funding for occupational therapy education

3.9

n= 12

Government/regulatory standards

4.1

n=13

Salaries for occupational therapists

3.5

n=12Demand for occupational therapy services

4.2

n=12Funding for occupational therapy services

3.7

n=12

Availability of fieldwork/practice placements

4.1

n=12

Availability of upgrading

4.1

n=13

Awareness of competency requirements for occupational therapists

4.2

n=120

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

23

Are occupational therapy education programmes available for occupational
therapists to upgrade their entry level education from a diploma to a degree(in countries offering diploma level education, n=14)?

• Bangladesh• Chile• Japan• Poland• Taiwan• Tanzania• Uganda

No50%

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |Yes50%

•••
•
•••

China
Germany
Ghana
Korea
Indonesia
Malaysia
Sri Lanka

24

Recommended strategies to facilitate transitioning of occupational therapy
education programmes from a diploma to degree level (n=13)
Promote availability of experts and mentoring

1

Develop a competency framework

1

Collaborate with regulators

1

Obtain increased funding for education programmes

2Collaborate with other health professions

2

Advocate for the need for occupational therapists with degree
qualifications

2

Promote availability of educators with higher degrees

4

Collaborate with education programmes and universities

4

Obtain government support and legislation

70

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

825

Recommended assistance from WFOT to facilitate the transition ofeducation programmes from a diploma to degree level (n=13)
Collaborate with education programmes and universities

1

Promote access to educators with higher level education1

No longer approve diploma level education

1

Promote access to upgrading from a diploma to degree

2Promote WFOT approval of Bachelor level education

3Provide mentoring support

3Lobby for government support and legislation

5

Advocate for the need of occupational therapists with degree
qualifications

70

1

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |

2345

6

7826

Transition Strategies to Degree Level Education
Countries/Regions with Diploma Education Programmes

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |27

Recommended strategies to facilitate transitioning of occupational therapy
education programmes from a diploma to degree level (n=13)
Promote availability of experts and mentoring

1

Develop a competency framework

1

Collaborate with regulators

1

Obtain increased funding for education programmes

2Collaborate with other health professions

2

Advocate for the need for occupational therapists with degree
qualifications

2

Promote availability of educators with higher degrees

4

Collaborate with education programmes and universities

4

Obtain government support and legislation

70

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |

123

456

7828

Recommended assistance from WFOT to facilitate the transition ofeducation programmes from a diploma to degree level (n=13)
Collaborate with education programmes and universities

1

Promote access to educators with higher level education1

No longer approve diploma level education

1

Promote access to upgrading from a diploma to degree2Promote WFOT approval of Bachelor level education

3

Provide mentoring support

3

Lobby for government support and legislation

5

Advocate for the need of occupational therapists with degree
qualifications

701

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |234567829

SummaryWorld Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |Demographics
A high response rate was received (85%), with surveys received from 83countries• The majority of respondents were WFOT delegates (68%); 22% wererepresentatives of the member organisation.
•World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |31

Entry level education
Most countries reported the need for government registration/approval towork as an occupational therapist (83%)• Most frequently, the entry-to-practice education requirement for occupational
therapists was a Bachelor’s degree (71%), while 17% of represented countriesrequired a diploma• The entry-to-practice requirements for occupational therapists are roughly
similar to those for physiotherapy; a higher number of represented countries
required advanced degrees for practice in speech language pathology, whereasa higher number of countries accepted a diploma to work as a nurse.
•World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |32

Entry level competency frameworks
Competency frameworks are used in the majority of represented countries(60%); of these countries, approximately 50% plan to review the competencyframework in current use• Competency frameworks are most frequently used for development ofeducation curricula, approval and accreditation processes and entry-topractice standards (approximately 80%); less frequent uses include continuingcompetency standards and professional development (35%); and workforce
recruitment and planning (approximately 29%)
•World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |33

Diploma level education
A minority of represented countries offer diploma entry-leveloccupational therapy education programmes (18%)• Of these countries, only 27% indicated all diploma programmes wereWFOT approved; 40% indicated no diploma level programmes wereapproved• 100% of countries with diploma level education reported awareness ofthat the 2016 WFOT Minimum Standards for the Education ofOccupational Therapists encourage entry-to-practice occupational
therapy education be offered at a minimum level of a Bachelor’s level•

World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |34

Diploma level education (cont’d)
The majority of countries/regions (60%) have one or two diploma levelprogrammes; 27% have more than 21 programmes• Eight countries/regions have no goals/plans to transition diploma
programmes to a degree level, including three with more than 21
programmes and two with diploma level education programmes
approved by WFOT
• Factors highly rated for influencing such a transition included awarenessof competency requirements for occupational therapists and the demandfor occupational therapy services• Upgrading programmes are available in seven countries/regions•World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |35

Strategies to promote transition to degree level education
Most frequently, strategies to facilitate a transition to degree level
education included collaboration with governments, educators, other
health professionals and regulators• Assistance from WFOT was recommended for advocacy, lobbying andmentoring support•World Federation of Occupational Therapists | www.wfot.org |36