Current Factors Contributing to Professionalism in Speech and Language Pathology

Kim, Soo-Jin; You, Young-Jun

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Commun Sci Disord. 2011;16(3): 397-407.

Soo-Jin Kim^` , and Young-Jun You^`

김수진(Soo-Jin Kim)| 유영준(Young-Jun You)

ABSTRACT

Background & Objectives
The profession of speech and language pathology is currently evolving as a valuable public service in Korea. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of professionalism in speech and language pathology. A descriptive and comparative design was used to examine the differences in professionalism depending on gender, educational degrees, years of experience, salary, and status in the organization.
Methods
A total of 213 speech and language pathologists participated in the survey through the mail. An inventory scale was used to measure professionalism on two main dimensions (practical skills and organizational membership levels).
Results
A series of statistical analyses revealed that professionalism varied depending on years of experience, higher educational degrees, and service as an officer in the organization (p＜.001). Discussion & Conclusions: The results of this study highlight the factors contributing to professionalism in the field of speech and language pathology. This study provides an initial look at professionalism in the field of speech and language pathology, while making suggestions for future studies.