Unpacking Irish primary teachers’ perceptions of speech and language therapists’ scope of practice in literacy assessment and intervention

Literacy success is strongly linked to language competence, yet many primary teachers lack the linguistic knowledge necessary for effective literacy instruction. Interprofessional collaboration with speech and language therapists offers a promising model to address this gap, particularly as literacy increasingly falls within speech and language therapists’ scope of practice. However, teachers’ readiness for, and perspectives on, such partnerships vary internationally, and Irish teachers’ views remain largely unexplored. This study investigated Irish primary teachers’ perceptions of the speech and language therapist role in literacy development. An online, cross-sectional survey was completed by 39 qualified Irish teachers, most of whom were special education teachers (56.4%). The survey examined referral patterns, self-reported confidence in teaching literacy dimensions, and perceptions of the appropriate scope of speech and language therapist involvement in literacy assessment and intervention. Teachers most frequently referred students to speech and language therapists for speech (82%) or general language difficulties (67%), with only one-third making referrals for literacy concerns. Teachers strongly endorsed speech and language therapist involvement in oral language (95% highly/moderately appropriate) and phonological awareness, but reported minimal or no role for speech and language therapists in print-based skills such as word reading (59% ‘no role’) and spelling (67% ‘no role’). Conversely, teachers identified their own expertise as valuable to speech and language therapists in areas such as reading fluency (69%) and spelling (59%). These findings indicate that Irish primary teachers perceive the speech and language therapist role in literacy primarily in terms of foundational speech and language skills, limiting opportunities for equitable collaboration. The study highlights structured literacy as a clear domain for reciprocal professional learning and argues for joint, interprofessional education to establish shared frameworks, overcome professional barriers, and align practice with national policy supporting school-based therapy services.