The purpose of this essay is to study how and why the profession of occupational therapist evolved and what role their association played in 1944-1964. During the first decades of the post-war period, Swedish health care system grew. In particular, rehabilitation health care was developed, in which occupational therapy has a key role. The association of occupational therapists, FAST and later FSA, initially promoted the general development of the area, but after a few years it put more emphasis on the professional perspective itself. Other related professions had developed through the "exclusion" of competing groups in line with sociologist Frank Parkin's theory. However, in this study I find no evidence of FAST/FSA applying that method.  On the basis of empirical sources, such as the Association's meeting minutes, government committee reports, newspaper articles, personal notes, documents from the international organization WFOT's congresses, I describe how FAST/FSA and other key players acted during the studied period. FAST/FSA organized courses, began publishing a member paper, and built a reference library, but also lobbied with the purpose to establish the profession.  After a few years, FSA was expelled from the international organization of occupational therapists, WFOT, whose purpose was to develop the profession internationally by creating a standard of education. Sweden’s education did not meet that standard. After several government committee reports, it was only with a report in 1962 followed by a bill and parliamentary decision in 1964 that education of an acceptable standard was established. Thus, an important prerequisite was in place to regard occupational therapists as a profession in Sweden according to sociologist Magali Sarfatti Larsson's definition.

This thesis traces the shift from liberal to neoliberal education from the nineteenth century to the present day, in order to provide a rich and previously underdeveloped narrative of value in higher education in England. Rather than attempting to justify the value of the humanities within the presiding economic frameworks, or writing a defence against market rationalism, this thesis offers an original contribution through an immersion in historical, financial, and critical debates concerning educational policy. Drawing upon close reading and discursive analysis, this thesis constructs a nuanced map of the intersections of value in the humanities. The discussion encompasses an exploration of policymaking practices, scientific discourse, mediated representations, and public cultural life. The structure of the thesis is as follows. The introductory chapter outlines the overarching methodology by defining the contemporary period of this project (2008-14), establishing relevant scholarship, and drawing out the correspondences between the nineteenth century and the present day. Chapter one establishes a history of the Payment by Results approach in policymaking, first established in the Revised Code of Education (1862) and recently re-introduced in the reforms of the Browne Report (2010). Understanding the predominance of such short-term and quantitative policy is essential for detailing how value is articulated. Chapter two reconsiders the two cultures debate. In contrast to the misrepresentative, yet pervasive, perception that the sciences and the humanities are fundamentally in opposition, I propose a more nuanced history of these disciplines. Chapter three addresses fictional representations of the humanities within literature in order to establish a vantage point from which to assess alternative routes for valuation beyond economic narratives. The final chapter scrutinises the rise of the impact criterion within research assessment and places it within a wider context of market-led cultural policy (1980-90s). This thesis argues that reflecting on Victorian legacies of economism and public accountability enables us to reconsider contemporary valuation culture in higher education. This analytical framework is of benefit to future academic studies interested in the marketisation and valuation of culture, alongside literary studies that focus on the relationship between higher education, the individual, and the state.