Embodying occupational justice and narratives: A theatre-pedagogy session in occupational therapy education

Abstract

This study explores how a theatre-pedagogy session supported first-year occupational therapy students in engaging with the foundational concepts of occupational justice and occupational narratives. The session was embedded in a core undergraduate course and aimed to provide a relational, embodied alternative to theoretical instruction. The session followed a four-phase structure - activation, deconstruction, reconstruction, and reflection - and was grounded in embodied participation, symbolic interaction, and collective meaning-making. Post-session interviews were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings suggest that participants began to interpret occupational justice and occupational narratives not through theoretical abstraction, but through lived, emotional, and relational experience. Themes such as narrative expression, positional tension, and socio-cultural awareness emerged as central. While understandings remained tentative, they marked an entry point into the personal and social dimensions of professional learning. The study illustrates how theatre pedagogy can support the development of reflexivity and critical awareness in early stages of professional education, contributing to wider conversations around the role of arts-based methods in socially responsive and justice-oriented occupational therapy