Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Dee Dee Washington, PhD

Abstract

All graduates of entry-level Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs must be competent to work with patients across the lifespan and high levels of perceived self-efficacy (SE) may be a predictor of future success. Experiential learning is an effective teaching and learning strategy used within Pediatric PT education (PedPTE). This study examined the extent to which pediatric clinical reasoning labs impact student SE within PedPTE, and to what extent does previous experience or interest in pediatrics have on perceived SE.

The methodology was a sequential explanatory mixed methods research design. Quantitative data collection included 27 second year DPT students, utilizing the Pediatric Communication and Handling Self-Efficacy Scale (PCHSES). Qualitative data collection included 11 participants who completed semi-structured interviews.

Quantitative findings include normally distributed data and statistically significant gains in construct and mean summative PCHSES scores from pre-to-post labs. Qualitative findings show participants with diverse and extensive past pediatric experience had higher baseline SE with minimal change in SE, while participants with less diverse pediatric experience had lower baseline SE, and greater change in SE, from pre-to-post labs.

Implications for PedPT educators and leadership stakeholders include instructional strategy considerations and resource allocations. Limitations of the study include a small sample size and generalization across DPT programs. Future research should consider EL implementation in DPT programs with large cohort sizes and limited resources.

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