Articulating an Occupational Perspective

Abstract

Within the field of occupational science the term occupational perspective is widely used to guide research. However, when the term is used it is often not defined. To address the need for a common understanding that will enhance clarity and make theoretical understandings explicit, a scoping review of the definitional literature was conducted. It was determined that definitional clarity was necessary. This paper proposes a new definition: an occupational perspective is a way of looking at or thinking about human doing. The proposed definition is based on how the term has been defined within the literature and addresses the gaps in previous definitions.

Keywords:

• Occupational perspective
• Literature review
• Occupational science
• Terminology