Self-Evaluation of Speech and Language Therapists on their Competence in Cooperation with Parents in Slovenia and North Macedonia

Abstract

Based on the analysis of the available literature, the competence of cooperation with parents can be defined as a construct of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enables speech and language therapists to collaborate successfully with parents of children in therapy. This study aims to examine how speech and language therapists from Slovenia and North Macedonia assess their knowledge and skills necessary for cooperation with parents and what their attitudes are in general regarding the involvement of parents in speech and language therapy. For the purpose of the study, a questionnaire was developed to measure the competence of cooperation between speech and language therapists and parents in a sample of 110 speech and language therapists, including 62 speech and language therapists from Slovenia and 48 from North Macedonia. The results show that there were differences between Slovenian and North Macedonian speech and language therapists in self-assessed attitudes towards parental involvement but no differences in the domain of knowledge and skills. The interaction of country and years of work experience is significant for the knowledge domain. Attitudes about cooperation with parents are not affected by years of work experience, area of work, or additional professional training; only the country where the SLTs work has an impact. The competence of collaboration between speech and language therapists and parents varies between the two countries, but there is space for improvement in each domain. The findings of this study may provide a starting point for further research on the competence of cooperation between speech and language therapists and parents.

Keywords

• cooperation with parents
• professional characteristics
• speech and language therapists
• knowledge
• skills
• attitudes