Preparing Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologists: The Development of an Innovative Master's Degree Program

• Published in: Teacher education and special education 2000-10, Vol.23 (4), p.290-302
• Main Authors: Wrigbt-Harp, Wilbelmina, Muñoz, Emma
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bilingual Special Education; Communication Disorders; Graduate Study; Higher Education; Masters Programs; Spanish Speaking; Speech Language Pathology; University of the District of Columbia
• ISSN: 0888-4064; 1944-4931
• DOI: 10.1177/088840640002300406

As the population of Hispanic children in the United States continues to grow, so does the demand for bilingual speech-language pathologists. However, to date the demand has far exceeded the supply of qualified personnel. Consequently, there currently exists a significant shortage of Bilingual speech-language pathologists in the nation to meet the communication needs of the rapidly growing population of Hispanic children (Council of Graduate Programs in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, 1995; Kayser, 1995; Rimac and Dominguez, 1995; ASHA, 1995). The end result is that Hispanic children and youth are not being adequately served in the nations' public schools. The dropout rate of Hispanic children is evidence of this fact. Thirty-four percent of Hispanics drop out of school by the eighth grade as compared to 11. 6 percent of the overall population (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1991). In response to the growing demand for bilingual speech-language pathologists and its impact on the delivery of quality services to Hispanic bilingual children and youth, an intensive two-year master's degree program with a specialization in bilingualism was developed at the University of the District of Columbia. This graduate degree program is designed to prepare bilingual speecb-language pathologists to meet the communication needs of a diverse population of Hispanic children in the Washington metropolitan area. In the first part of this article, we describe the design of the program, including the curriculum, clinical practicum, recruitment, and retention activities. In the second part of the article, we discuss the recruitment of students, our selection process, and the challenges we faced during the implementation of the program, which is now in its second semester.