ERIC Number: ED660604
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 49
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Speech-Language Pathologist Self-Efficacy and Job Satisfaction: Resources in Special Education Eligibility Decisions
Grantee Submission
Purpose: Situated within the conservation of resources theory, this study sought to understand how resources such as self-efficacy, job satisfaction, caseload size, and geographic location influence the number of data sources used by school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to determine eligibility. Method: Using a cross-sectional descriptive design, 665 school-based SLPs from the United States reported professional demographics, workload, and assessment/eligibility characteristics, as well as levels of job satisfaction and self-efficacy. Multiple regression was used to examine the effects of self-efficacy, job satisfaction, caseload size, and geographic location on the number of data sources used in eligibility decision-making and to examine the effects of caseload size and job satisfaction resources on SLP self-efficacy. Results: SLPs, on average, reported using 7.98 data sources to support eligibility determinations. Standardized tests, conversation samples, and review of records were most used, and literacy assessments were used least. Results of multiple regression models indicate that SLPs with higher self-efficacy scores reported using significantly more data sources and that SLPs with higher job satisfaction indicated significantly higher self-efficacy. Conclusions: This study affirms self-efficacy as a strong resource for school-based SLPs and that it is, in fact, related to the number of data sources used in eligibility decisions. Limited literacy assessment was reported, despite the SLP's critical role in an educational setting. Job satisfaction as a predictor of self-efficacy and self-efficacy, in turn, as a predictor of data sources underscore the need for SLPs to advocate for work conditions that support their work. [This is the advance online version of a paper that will be published in "Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools."]
Descriptors: Speech Language Pathology, Self Efficacy, Decision Making, Job Satisfaction, Geographic Location, Allied Health Personnel, Special Education, Work Environment, Eligibility, Evaluation Methods, School Personnel, Social Cognition, Stress Management, Elementary Secondary Education, National Surveys, Masters Degrees, Participant Characteristics, Clinical Experience
Related Records: EJ1446713
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Schools and Staffing Survey (NCES)
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305B200020