Content analysis of the professional journal of the College of Speech Therapists II: coming of age and growing maturity, 1946-65.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Following a content analysis of the first 10 years of the UK professional journal Speech, this study was conducted to survey the published work of the speech (and language) therapy profession in the 20 years following the unification of two separate professional bodies into the College of Speech Therapists. AIM: To understand better the development of the speech (and language) therapy profession in the UK in order to support the development of an online history of the speech and language therapy profession in the UK. METHODS & PROCEDURES The 40 issues of the professional journal of the College of Speech Therapists published between 1946 and 1965 (Speech and later Speech Pathology and Therapy) were examined using content analysis and the content compared with that of the same journal as it appeared from 1935 to the end of the Second World War (1945). OUTCOMES & RESULTS: Many aspects of the journal and its authored papers were retained from the earlier years, for example, the range of authors' professions, their location mainly in the UK, their number of contributions and the length of papers. Changes and developments included the balance of original to republished papers, the description and discussion of new professional issues, and an extended range of client groups/disorders. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS The journal and its articles reflect the growing maturity of the newly unified profession of speech therapy and give an indication both of the expanding depth of knowledge available to speech therapists and of the rapidly increasing breadth of their work over this period.