648 International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, January 2010, Vol 17, No 1 Analysis T he professional practice context of occupational therapy is developing and expanding. The recognition of cultural and other aspects of social diversity is driving the agenda for practitioners, educators and researchers, but the definition of occupational science, as well as the constantly evolving focus of occupational therapy, appear to generate dif- ficulties in the symbiosis between research and its application in practice. Occupational science actu- ally emerged from occupational therapy, when it was recognized that there was a need for ‘the study of the human as an occupational being, including the need for, and capacity to engage in and orches- trate, daily occupations in the environment over the lifespan’ (Yerxa et al, 1989: 6). Occupational therapy is described by its international govern- ing body, the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (2009), as ‘a profession concerned with promoting health and well being through occupa- tion [whose] primary goal … is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life’. Occupational science then, has a far wider remit than occupational therapy, although the profession is able to draw on the former as a knowledge base. The relationship between science and profes- sion contains questions which require some criti- cal exploration. In a conference of educators and students of occupational therapy, Jonsson (2008) was quoted as saying that ‘occupational scientists Will occupational science facilitate or divide the practice of occupational therapy? research, while occupational therapists practice’. This article is the response of the authors to this statement, and our professional position on this issue of professional identity that has been con- cerning the field of occupational therapy for two decades. This article discusses the relationship between occupational therapy and occupational science in the context of the future development of the profession. The origins of the profession and the alliances it established are outlined before exploring some of the challenges currently being expressed within occupational therapy. The article concludes with revisiting the question posed in the title and discussing the potential contributions of an occupational perspective in developing cultur- ally and politically savvy occupational therapists. What is occupational science, and how does it relate to therapy? Occupational science is essentially about studying what people do (Wilcock, 1991), an interest the emerging discipline shares with sociology, cultural studies, anthropology, psychology, history and other disciplines. The study of occupation entails inter- disciplinarity and its scholarship is characterized by diversity (Hocking, 2000). This can either work well, harnessing the strengths of several disciplines to the task, or work incoherently because many of the concepts they appear to share are used incon- sistently. For example, Iwama (2006) has explored Background: Prompted by a study day at last year’s European Network of Occupational Therapists in Higher Education conference, this article explores the relationship between occupational therapy and occupational science in the context of the future development of the profession. Content: The authors consider some of the challenges currently being expressed within occupational therapy, particularly the move to define the profession in terms of its ‘origins in social transformation’, and the difficulties arising from its position in relation to a biomedical hierarchy. Conclusions: The authors conclude that occupational science may have much to offer but this underpinning knowledge base is not without additional challenges for a profession which is concerned with aspects of doing. Key words: n everyday life n everyday life n occupational science n occupational therapy n rehabilitation Submitted 2 September 2009, sent back for revisions 14 September; accepted for publication following double-blind peer review 30 October 2009 Nick Pollard, Dikaios Sakellariou, Anne Lawson-Porter Nick Pollard is Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, Sheffield Hallam University, Faculty of Health and Wellbeing, Sheffield, UK; Dikaios Sakellariou is Lecturer, Department of Occupational Therapy, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK; and Anne Lawson-Porter is Group Head (Education), College of Occupational Therapists, London, UK Correspondence to: N Pollard E-mail: N.Pollard@shu. ac.uk