Implementation and Perceptions of Classroom-Based Service Delivery: A Survey of Public School Clinicians

Abstract

Purpose The choice of service delivery model is important for public school clinicians. Despite a theoretical emphasis on inclusive classroom-based services, data from a recent American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Schools Survey indicated that the pullout model is still the more frequently used approach ( American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2016 ). In the current study, public school clinicians' use and perceptions of inclusion were examined to better understand potential influences on its implementation. Method Three hundred forty-four school-based clinicians completed an online survey about their training in and implementation of inclusion services, along with their perceptions of positive and potentially challenging aspects of this model. Descriptive data were examined, and the relationships of use and perceptions to issues such as caseload size, training, school setting, teacher factors, and administrative support were analyzed. Additionally, qualitative analysis was used to examine responses to 3 open-ended questions. Results Over half of the respondents served 1%–25% of their caseload through an inclusion model, and it was most frequently utilized to address language and social skills. Teacher collaboration and planning time were the 2 most frequently reported keys to inclusion success and were also 2 of the most frequently reported challenges to implementation. Conclusions The majority of the respondents reported many positive aspects of inclusion, yet they also reported many of the same challenging perceptions and roadblocks that existed when speech-language pathologists were surveyed over 20 years ago. Based on the results of this study, training in the inclusion model, teacher “buy-in,” planning time, and administrative support are relevant to successful use of classroom-based intervention.