Perceptions of Speech-Language Pathologists on Childhood Bilingualism

A total of 320 Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) completed a survey stating their perceptions on childhood bilingualism for typically developing children and children with disabilities. Based on the number of significant responses, 292 participants were analyzed utilizing a binary logistic regression to identify whether SLPs thought childhood bilingualism was advantageous or neutral, while incorporating the predictors of bilingual status and bilingual education received. Additionally, a content analysis was conducted on 173 participants who chose to respond to an open-ended question stating their additional perceptions on childhood bilingualism. Results revealed that bilingual status did not predict the probability of an advantageous perception for typically developing children, but it did for children with disabilities; however, SLPs who had received bilingual education had a higher probability of having advantageous perceptions in both populations. Qualitative results revealed the use of appraisals related to multiple themes (i.e., bilingualism, other professionals, SLPs and need for more education)