Model of Processes Transforming Occupations: Exploring Societal and Social Influences

Occupational science brings unique insights that enrich the knowledge‐base regarding the development of everyday activities. Grounded in a synthesis of the literature, this paper articulates a contextual model of the processes that bring about the emergence of an occupation and transformations in how it is performed and experienced. Change originates from multiple synergistic forces described by three clusters of propositions. First, at the societal level propositions explain how a community creates occupational opportunities and supports the development of its members. A second cluster of propositions describe how dynamic social transactions and collaborating in an activity contributes to change. The final cluster summarizes how the self‐organizing process that underlies an individual's occupational engagement contributes to development of an occupation. Notes from observations made of toddlers and their teachers illustrate how development of occupation is simultaneously societal, social, and individual.