We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Working with culturally and linguistically diverse students and their families: perceptions and practices of school speech-language therapists in the United States.
- Authors
Maul, Christine A.
- Abstract
Background Speech and language therapists (SLTs) working in schools worldwide strive to deliver evidence-based services to diverse populations of students. Many suggestions have been made in the international professional literature regarding culturally competent delivery of speech and language services, but there has been limited qualitative investigation of practices school SLTs find to be most useful when modifying their approaches to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. Aims To examine perceptions of nine school SLTs regarding modifications of usual practices when interacting with CLD students and their families; to compare reported practices with those suggested in professional literature; to draw clinical implications regarding the results; and to suggest future research to build a more extensive evidence base for culturally competent service delivery. Methods & Procedures For this qualitative research study, nine school SLTs in a diverse region of the USA were recruited to participate in a semi-structured interview designed to answer the question: What dominant themes, if any, can be found in SLTs' descriptions of how they modify their approaches, if at all, when interacting with CLD students and their family members? Outcomes & Results Analysis of data revealed the following themes: (1) language-a barrier and a bridge, (2) communicating through interpreters, (3) respect for cultural differences, and (4) positive experiences interacting with CLD family members. Conclusions & Implications Participants reported making many modifications to their usual approaches that have been recommended as best practices in the international literature. However, some practices the SLTs reported to be effective were not emphasized or were not addressed at all in the literature. Practical implications of results are drawn and future research is suggested.
- Subjects
UNITED States; CALIFORNIA; SPEECH therapists; SPEECH therapy methodology; MULTICULTURALISM; MULTILINGUALISM; COMMUNICATION in education; STUDENTS' families; PRIMARY education; ATTITUDE (Psychology); COMMUNICATION; FAMILIES; INTERVIEWING; LANGUAGE &; languages; RESEARCH methodology; PEDIATRICS; SENSORY perception; CULTURAL pluralism; STUDENTS; QUALITATIVE research; HEALTH facility translating services; CULTURAL competence; DESCRIPTIVE statistics
- Publication
International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 2015, Vol 50, Issue 6, p750
- ISSN
1368-2822
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/1460-6984.12176