Self-perception of School Based Speech-language Pathologists Regarding Individual Competency in the Assessment of English Language Learners
Open Access
- Author:
- Eck, Alaina Catherine
- Area of Honors:
- Communication Sciences and Disorders
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Dr. Carol Anne Miller, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Ingrid Maria Blood, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- English Language Learners
Assessment
Self-Perception of Competency
School Based Speech Language Pathology - Abstract:
- Background Growing numbers of English Language Learners (ELLs) enrolled in U.S. schools create new challenges for school district professionals, particularly in their attempts to ensure accurate assessment both in the classroom and to qualify for services such as speech-language pathology. Many of the guidelines outlined by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) to help professionals properly assess ELLs require speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to make decisions based upon their self-perception of competency. Method Based upon the nature of ASHA’s guidelines, our study surveyed a random sample of school-based SLPs and assessed their self-perception related to assessment of ELLs. The survey asked the professionals to identify their self-perception on a Likert scale in ten specific areas of assessment outlined by ASHA. The online survey also collected data about the SLPs’ background and current practices to determine what factors may lead SLPs to have a higher self-perceived competency. Data analysis focused on the relationship between the factors of education, number of ELLs on a SLP’s caseload, years of experience, and bilingual ability compared with overall self-perception as well as within the specific areas of assessment surveyed. Results Both specific educational experiences and the number of ELLs on a SLP’s caseload had a positive relationship with the self-perceived competency of SLPs. Years of experience and bilingual ability did not have a significant relationship with the overall competency reported by SLPs. However, all of the factors investigated had various associations with higher reported self-perceptions in specific areas of assessment, such as recognizing typical language development patterns of emergent bilinguals and establishing evidence based best practice. Implications The results further emphasize the importance of further development in educational opportunities for SLPs regarding the assessment of ELLs. In addition, the positive relationship between the presence of ELLs on a SLP’s caseload and the overall self-perception reported by SLP’s could suggest the importance of having a designated SLP in each school district who has experience and training for working with ELLs. Overall, each of the four factors examined had a positive relationship with various areas of assessment, suggesting a combination of these factors would lead to the best assessment competency.