Abstract
Currently, in many parts of the United States, there are dire shortages of SLPs working in school-based settings (ASHA 2024; Edgar & Rosa-Lugo, 2007). While the perceptions of school-based SLPs have been explored (Edgar & Rosa-Lugo 2007; Marante & Farquharson, 2021), there has been little work on the perceptions of students that lead toward their choice of career path. The current study aimed to gather information on SLP student perceptions to determine: 1) How do graduate students perceive working in a school setting as an SLP compared to other employment settings? 2) How do student perceptions and career intentions change after completing a school-based practicum placement? 3) What factors might influence students’ likelihood of choosing school-based careers? This study used both quantitative and qualitative methods with surveys as the primary data collection method to examine perceptions of school-based work settings in students pursuing a master’s degree in SLP. Our results suggested that overall, SLP students’ perceptions of working in schools were more positive than negative, both before and after completing school-based rotations. Despite these largely positive perceptions of school-based work settings, data from our graduating classes of 2024 and 2025 indicate that 31% and 22% respectively have taken jobs in schools after graduation. Taken together, these findings suggest that positive perceptions may be necessary but insufficient by themselves to drive SLP students to choose work in school-based settings.
Recommended Citation
Scoggins, J.,
Jordan, M.,
&
Adlof, S. M.
(2026).
Understanding Career Path Decisions: Student Perceptions of Working in School-Based SLP Settings.
Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders, 10(1).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61403/2689-6443.1458
