Job Satisfaction Among School Based Speech-Language Pathologists

Date

2019-12

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Abstract

Background: Increased awareness of K-12 student success and liability in education has been a heated topic in educational and government agencies. Consequently, several mandates have been delineated to ensure that school districts implement action plans to better accommodate student achievement. Among these mandates is the provision of highly qualified service providers to deliver free and appropriate education (FAPE) to all students. Research Questions: The purpose of this study identifies common perceptions of speech-language pathologists in public education in various demographic settings throughout Texas to determine which factors increase or decrease the relationship between job stress, satisfaction, and workplace retention. Methods: A descriptive survey research design utilizing causal-comparative techniques and correlational techniques investigated major factors influencing job satisfaction of speech-language pathologists employed within Texas public-schools. The utilization of stratified random sampling permitted the distribution of participants across school district settings. Characteristics of the population include full-time speech-language pathologists with a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP). A total of 521 surveys were distributed electronically to speech-language pathologists, and 44 surveys were not delivered due to delivery failure. A total of 477 speech-language pathologists were provided the electronic survey. Of the 477 participants, 64 completed the survey, providing a completion rate of 13%. Results: The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that impact the overall job satisfaction of speech-language pathologists in the state of Texas. The most significant influences of job satisfaction include caseload average, workload average, quality of services provided to students, annual salary, stress level, and appreciation level. Additionally, it appears overall job satisfaction impacts the intention to retire within a public-school setting. Conclusion: In line with the literature review, decreased job satisfaction may contribute to a reduction in the quality of services provided to students and increased resignation of SLPs (Kalkhoff & Collins, 2012). This study assessed the associations between demographic variables, workload variables, and overall job satisfaction of SLPs. Overall, findings suggest that job satisfaction can lead to the retention of school-based SLPs and impact the critical shortage of SLPs in organizations if the abovementioned factors are not addressed.

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Keywords

Speech-language pathologists, School-Setting, Job satisfaction

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