Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
The Role of Teachers' Unions for School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists: Preliminary Findings From Florida. |
| Authors: |
Lugo, Victor A.1 victorlugo@sfsu.edu |
| Source: |
Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools. Jan2025, Vol. 56 Issue 1, p206-224. 19p. |
| Subject Terms: |
*Teacher organizations, *Collective bargaining, *Contracts, *Occupational roles, *Interprofessional relations, *Educators, *Content analysis, *College teacher attitudes, *Professional employee training, *Continuing education, *School health services, Research funding, Negotiation, Responsibility, Labor turnover, Membership, Mentoring, Wages, Social support |
| Geographic Terms: |
Florida |
| Abstract: |
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of teachers' unions for school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and their perceptions of the benefits and barriers to union membership. Method: A 44-item survey was used to solicit information about the perceptions of and participation in teachers' unions of 320 school-based SLPs. Directed content analysis of 70 district collective bargaining agreements was also conducted to explore the presence and content of SLP contract provisions. Results: Results confirm that teachers' unions collectively bargain on behalf of SLPs as they are often recognized as bargaining unit members. SLP provisions pertaining to salary supplements, caseload and workload caps, opportunities for professional development and mentorship, and alternative evaluations were uncovered. However, SLPs' perceptions of teachers' unions and collective bargaining were mixed. Frequently cited benefits of union membership included improved working conditions, legal and professional protections, and collective bargaining. Common barriers were misunderstandings about the role and responsibilities of unions and monetary costs. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that teachers' unions are not a widely used support structure for school-based SLPs. Despite the barriers highlighted by participants, unions can collectively bargain for provisions that could improve the living and working conditions of practitioners, such as salary supplements, caseload caps, and professional development. Although unions could improve outreach to SLPs in the schools, SLPs may benefit from additional training and professional development opportunities to support the degree to which they advocate and engage with their bargaining units. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.27947940 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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Copyright of Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| Database: |
Education Research Complete |
