A Critical Interpretative Review of how Critical Theory has been used in Occupational Science literature

An emancipatory agenda is emerging within occupational science, involving scholars advocating for a more critical, reflexive and socially responsive occupational science (Angell, 2012; Hocking, 2012; Laliberte Rudman, 2013). Although several analysis of the discipline’s genesis and underpinning paradigms have been presented and there has been recognition of an increasing use of critical approaches in the recent occupational science literature (Whiteford & Hocking, 2012), little is known about how critical theory has been taken up in the occupational science literature. This study aims to present a critical interpretative review of the literature in occupational science that implicitly or explicitly employs critical theory in order to provide an overview of how this call for a ‘critical occupational science’ has thus far evolved. Initially, a scoping review of the literature published on-line in the Journal of Occupational Science was conducted in order to select key articles for this critical interpretative review. Then, a critical interpretative synthesis (Dixon-Woods et al., 2006) of the selected literature was conducted in relation to questions regarding; (a) how ‘critical’ has been defined in this literature; (b) how critical theories are being utilized to inform occupational science; and (c) how critical analyses have been put forward into praxis. Within this presentation, in addition to presenting the results of the critical interpretative review which is currently in process, dialogue regarding the implications of these results in relation to the aim of developing as a socially responsive discipline as well as the importance of meeting the challenge of engaging in praxis will be facilitated. Keywords: Occupational Science, Critical Theory, Critical Interpretative Review, Praxi