South African physiotherapists' perspectives on the competencies needed to work in special schools for learners with special needs.
Machuene C Manamela, Carina A Eksteen, Bhekiwe Mtshali and 1 others
PMID 34917832WHAT IT FOUND
Physiotherapists in South African special schools felt prepared clinically but less prepared for education policy, curriculum, legal duties, and school-based service planning.
Training and departmental support were seen as uneven.
Key findings
0122 of the 48 eligible physiotherapists returned completed questionnaires.
0219 of 22 respondents said their undergraduate training did not adequately prepare them to work in a school setting.
0385% rated clinical knowledge good to very good, while 32% to 55% rated education-system knowledge poor to fair.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only 22 of 48 eligible physiotherapists completed the questionnaire, so the views may not represent all provinces. Three provinces had no physiotherapists in special schools, and permission was obtained from only three of eight provincial coordinators, so coverage was uneven. The findings are self-rated knowledge and skills, not observed practice or learner outcomes. The questionnaire was adapted from a foreign framework, and the pilot participants were the same focus group participants. The study did not report learner outcomes or test whether the identified competencies improved care.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these self-rated gaps as proof that a new competency framework will improve learner outcomes. The study reports physiotherapists' perspectives and survey responses, not tested interventions or patient results.