The Intersection of Interprofessional Practice and Cultural Responsiveness in School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists

Abstract

Within school systems there is currently a wide disparity between the racial and culturally makeup of educators and professionals providing service and the children actually receiving those services. Speech-language pathologists alone are comprised of almost 90% Caucasians; whereas, 50% of the students they serve in the schools are comrpised of other races. A shared identity can help increase cultural sensitivity and improve service. But what if a shared identity cannot be achieved within practice? The purpose of this porject was to increase our understanding of how school-based speech-language pathologists are implementing cultural responsiveness in their daily practice and the potential impact of interprofessional teamwork in supporting culturally responsive practice. A qualitative research method was used and participants were interviewed via Zoom, following an interview guide. Participant inclusion criteria included: 1) currently certified as an American Speech-Language-Hearing Association speech-language pathologist; and 2) working with an elementary school setting in the Dallas-Fort-Worth metroplex. Interview transcripts of nine speech-language pathologists were examined and content analyses yielded 12 themes and 33 sub-themes. The findings indicated that speech-language pathologists within the schools are currently engaged in a variety of culturally responsive practices. The respondents' responses also supported that both interdisciplinary and interprofessional teamwork can and does enhance culturally responsive practice.