Speech-Language Therapist and Teacher Knowledge of Early Literacy Skills - Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Instruction Comparison

Oct 15, 2026

Study compares speech-language therapists (SLTs) and general education teachers in perceived ability to deliver early reading and writing instruction, and in their knowledge of early reading and writing skills. Twenty-eight SLTs and 25 teachers complete self-assessments of instruction skill and an objective knowledge measure. SLTs rate their current instructional skill lower than teachers, while group knowledge differences are not significant. Findings support continued professional development tailored to SLTs’ and teachers’ differing perceptions, and motivate further research on specific knowledge strengths and weaknesses.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Purpose and research questions

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Background and rationale

Reading disabilities and spoken-language deficits

RTI/MTSS framework and roles of professionals

Knowledge gaps in pre-service training

Study focus

Perceived skills and objective knowledge across team members

SLT knowledge, perceived skill, and practices

Speech-language therapist and teacher knowledge of early literacy skills Hannah Krimm University of Georgia, USA Child Language Teaching and Therapy 2022, Vol. 38(3) 276–287 © The Author(s) 2022 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/02656590221101175](DOI: 10.1177/02656590221101175)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/02656590221101175)[journals.sagepub.com/home/clt](journals.sagepub.com/home/clt) Abstract Purpose: The purposes of this study were: (a) to compare speech-language therapists’ (SLTs’) and general education teachers’ perceived skill for providing early reading and writing instruction and (b) to compare SLTs’ and teachers’ knowledge of early reading and writing skills. Method: SLTs (n = 28) and general education teachers (n = 25) participated in this study. Participants completed a self-assessment of their own skill level for providing early reading and writing instruction and an objective measure of their knowledge of early reading and writing skills. Results: There was a signiﬁcant difference between groups in self-assessment of current skill for delivering early reading and writing instruction; SLTs rated their own current skill as lower than teachers rated their own current skill. There was not a signiﬁcant difference in knowledge of early reading and writing skills between SLTs and teachers. Conclusions: SLTs and teachers can beneﬁt from continued professional development related to providing evidence-based reading and writing instruction. Because of their different perceptions of their own skills, professional development may need to be approached differently for SLTs and teachers. Future research will examine speciﬁc areas of knowledge strength and weakness for SLTs and teachers. Keywords professional education, educator knowledge, language impairment, speech-language pathology, reading Among the two thirds of American children who fail to achieve reading and writing proﬁciency are children with reading disabilities (U. S. Department of Education, 2015) . Many children with reading disabilities experience early spoken language deﬁcits (e.g. Catts, 1991) . Given that spoken language skills lay the foundation for reading and writing acquisition, speech-language therapists (SLTs) must work collaboratively with multiple professionals such as general education Corresponding author: Hannah Krimm, Department of Communication Sciences and Special Education, University of Georgia, Aderhold Hall, 110 Carlton St., Athens, GA 30602, USA. Email: [hannah.krimm@uga.edu](hannah.krimm@uga.edu) teachers and special education teachers to support reading acquisition in these children (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2010; Every Student Succeeds Act, 2016) . Often, interprofessional collaboration in schools occurs within the response-to-intervention (RTI) approach to instruction and intervention (also called multi-tiered systems of support; MTSS) . RTI was designed to prevent reading disabilities in at-risk children through (a) universal screening to identify at-risk children, (b) continuous progress monitoring to ensure adequate growth, and (c) “tiers” of increasingly intense instruction and intervention (Vaughn and Fuchs, 2003) . The speciﬁcs of implementation vary considerably across contexts (Fletcher and Vaughn, 2009), but “tier 1” typically is high-quality general classroom instruction, “tier 2” typically is small-group standardized intervention, and “tier 3” typically is specialized intervention delivered through special education (Vaughn and Fuchs, 2003) . Within the RTI model, multiple professionals such as general education teachers, special education teachers, and SLTs share responsibility for providing high-quality evidence-based reading and writing instruction and intervention. The speciﬁc responsibilities of each professional vary depending on school context, but successful implementati

FAQs

What was the study’s main purpose?

To compare SLTs’ and general education teachers’ perceived skill for early reading and writing instruction and to compare their knowledge of early reading and writing skills.

How did SLTs and teachers differ in perceived instructional skill?

SLTs rated their own current skill as lower than teachers rated their own current skill for delivering early reading and writing instruction.

Were there differences in knowledge of early reading and writing skills between SLTs and teachers?

No significant differences in objective knowledge were found between SLTs and teachers.

Oct 15, 2026

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