A Survey of Midwestern School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists' Knowledge and Confidence in Providing Literacy Services

Abstract

Purpose: Literacy instruction is within the scope of practice of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and is a documented service provided among school-based SLPs. The purpose of this investigation was to replicate Davis and Murza's (2019) study of Virginia school-based SLPs in another geographic location. This study gathered information regarding Midwestern SLPs' knowledge of disciplinary literacy and confidence providing services to school-aged children and adolescents with literacy goals and aligning their practice to educational standards. Method: Ninety-nine Midwestern school-based SLPs completed a 26-question online survey. The survey was replicated from Davis and Murza's (2019) investigation with a modification to include additional demographic information about participants. Results: The majority of school-based SLPs in this study were not familiar with the term disciplinary literacy but desired continuing education on the topic. A moderate relationship was found between SLPs' confidence in their ability to implement language therapy that impacts students' literacy achievement in both kindergarten through third grade and fourth through fifth grades, and the percentage of students on caseload with Individualized Education Program goals connected to literacy achievement. Conclusions: When compared to Davis and Murza's (2019) study, there are similarities noted, such as Midwestern SLPs are not completely comfortable or confident with implementing literacy intervention. The differences between these two studies exist in the relationship between experience and confidence in supporting literacy achievement. Additional information about the preprofessional coursework offerings, particularly those focused on adolescents, is of interest for future studies to understand the potential impacts on SLPs' confidence levels.