Speech-language pathologist and educator collaboration in literacy instruction: Establishing a shared definition through principle-based concept analysis

In this study, our purpose was to establish a shared definition of collaboration for use by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and educators during literacy instruction for school-age students. To help build our definition, we conducted a principle-based concept analysis of peer reviewed publications in the context of school-based SLP-educator literacy instruction. Using a systematic search strategy and article selection process, we identified 13 articles for analysis to inform our definition. Our analysis identified several characteristics of SLP and educator collaboration for literacy instruction. However, authors were quite varied in how they defined, described, and used the term collaboration. Joint planning and delivery of literacy instruction and attributing actions to a specific professional were the only consistently reported characteristics. The only regularly reported precondition for collaboration to occur was having discipline-specific knowledge to contribute. Outcomes primarily focused on student benefits. The most prominent feature differentiating collaboration from bordering concepts was that collaboration involves the joint actions of two or more professionals working together. Given this variability, our analysis indicates that collaboration is an emerging concept in the education and speech-language pathology literature. We offer a definition of collaboration that reflects a shared disciplinary understanding of the concept by making all the characteristics of collaboration explicit. Our definition will support application of collaboration by SLPs and educators for literacy instruction in their unique settings. Our definition will support researchers’ systematic investigation of collaboration to strengthen the knowledge base that informs practice and serve to advance concept maturity.