Abstract
Speech-language pathology is a profession with a gender disparity wherein the majority of speech-language pathologists are female. This disparity is also reflected in speech-language pathology graduate programs. The American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association has developed many initiatives over the years to address this issue, yet the gender disparity still remains. The purpose of this study was to develop some initial insights into reasons that men enter into the profession of speech-language pathology, and their experiences in graduate programs. In this qualitative case-study approach, interviews were conducted with four male graduate students. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed for major themes. Results suggest that though gender did not directly influence the participants’ reasons for pursuing speech-language pathology as a profession, it did influence, to various degrees, their experiences in graduate programs. This study documented how some male students students in speech-language pathology developed critical strategies, intentional ways of adjusting to, and succeeding in their female-majority educational and social environment. Participants discussed the ways in which gender influenced their social group dynamics, study group dynamics, and clinical interactions with clients. This study bears implications for the ways that we might recruit male students into speech-language pathology, and help them have success in graduate school.
Recommended Citation
Matthews, J. R.,
&
Daniels, D. E.
(2019).
The Gendered Experiences of Male Students in a Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Program: A Multi-Case Study.
Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders, 3(2).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30707/TLCSD3.2Matthews
Included in
Gender and Sexuality Commons, Higher Education and Teaching Commons, Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons
