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Introduction: This article describes and analyses the learning journey of Zinhle, a first-generation university student from an impoverished rural village who studied occupational therapy at a relatively elite South African university. Using educational theory on learning, identity and reflexivity, the article describes Zinhle’s multiple transitions as she experienced academic failure and success. Method: Qualitative longitudinal analysis was used in a single case study to analyse four interviews conducted with Zinhle over the course of her undergraduate years. Each semi-structured interview was spaced a year apart to allow Zinhle to reflect on her experiences of the previous academic year. Data were analysed inductively by the two researchers. Ethical approval was obtained prior to the study. Results: The data illustrated her high levels of agency and reflexivity in responding to failure and in repositioning herself by re-evaluating how to engage with the new discipline, make use of resources and develop new learning strategies. The data revealed that this process entailed uncovering the norms and values of the discipline of occupational therapy which she experienced as tacit, as well as unlearning the de-contextualised, rote-learning practices that had characterised her schooling. Shifts in her subject position were indicative of her view of herself as a “rural girl” as well as an agent for change in her community. Conclusion: Zinhle’s impoverished home and school circumstances both hindered and enhanced her learning as an occupational therapy student. Her mode of advanced reflexivity enabled her to succeed and to adopt a position as an agent for change. The data also revealed that some impediments in teaching and learning structures hindered Zinhle’s learning journey. The data raise the question of how the discipline might engage with and adapt the structural aspects of the curriculum and environment that hinder epistemological access and retention of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

This paper explores the experiences of three occupational therapy students from middle-class backgrounds who encountered academic challenges during their first year. In contrast to notions of academic risk being linked to constructs of working class status or being first generation university entrants, the three students in the case study came from middle class backgrounds, had parents and siblings who held tertiary qualifications and had attended 'good' schools. This study forms part of a larger, longitudinal research project that explores students' learning by tracing their progress over the course of the undergraduate years. Bourdieu's analytical constructs of habitus, field and capital were used to analyse data obtained from individual interviews, a focus group interview, questionnaires and examples of students' written work. The challenges experienced are reported in three themes -challenges in academic literacy; in balancing social life with academic demands; and in negotiating diversity and complexity in a new social world.

This paper explores the experiences of three occupational therapy students from middle-class backgrounds who encountered academic challenges during their first year. In contrast to notions of academic risk being linked to constructs of working class status or being first generation university entrants, the three students in the case study came from middle class backgrounds, had parents and siblings who held tertiary qualifications and had attended ‘good’ schools. This study forms part of a larger, longitudinal research project that explores students’ learning by tracing their progress over the course of the undergraduate years. Bourdieu’s analytical constructs of habitus, field and capital were used to analyse data obtained from individual interviews, a focus group interview, questionnaires and examples of students’ written work. The challenges experienced are reported in three themes - challenges in academic literacy; in balancing social life with academic demands; and in negotiating diversity and complexity in a new social world.

When musicians acquire injuries that interfere with their ability to play their instruments, it is not only the affected body part and physical symptoms that affect them. My own experiences following a wrist injury, that prevented me from playing the piano during my student years, prompted this study. I had hoped to become a concert pianist. These hopes were dashed when I realized that my wrist injuries were interfering with my ability to play the piano and resulted in emotional and psychological stress. As a result I had to re-evaluate my career choice. In this qualitative study, I investigated the broader experience affecting the occupational and emotional health of musicians. For this purpose, I used the qualitative method of a focus group and reflection on my own experience. A recognized theoretical model, the Model of Human Occupation, underpinned by the theory of human occupation was used as a framework. The data was gathered through the use of a focus group discussion of three participants, including myself. The discussion was audio-recorded and transcribed. The analysis was done by coding the data for categories and searching for themes. I adopted a reflective stance by including an autobiographical account of my own experience. The results revealed that the injuries suffered by the three participants had a vast impact on their occupational well-being as well as their psychological and emotional health. Two themes emerged from analysis of the data: My injury affected my occupation and I was forced to adapt to an alternative occupation.