Teacher Confidence and Practices When Referring Students From Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations for Speech and Language Services: A Case Study

Purpose: The purpose of this case study was to investigate teacher behaviors and attitudes toward referring culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students for speech and language services. Method: A 20-item survey was developed to investigate three primary variables: (a) teacher training in educating CLD populations, (b) teacher beliefs and practices when referring students from CLD populations for speech and language services, and (c) perceived stigma in referring students from CLD backgrounds for speech and language services. Twenty-two educators from a high-performing private school participated in this case study. Results: Although 20 of the 22 respondents reported that they had received some instruction in multicultural issues in education, only seven participants reported that they were confident in referring CLD children for services. Six questions addressed cultural bias and yielded 132 responses. Of those 132 responses, 60 were neutral, which reflects 45% of the data. Conclusion: This case study provides us with descriptive information regarding teachers' confidence in their own referral skills. The methodology used in this study could be used to inform the development of future surveys that intend to focus on this area.