PURPOSE This study explored the relation between therapy group size and language outcomes for children receiving school-based language therapy through an implementation science lens. METHOD Data for the current study were gathered as part of the Speech-Language Therapy Experiences in Public Schools study. Participants included 273 English-speaking kindergarten through second-grade children with language impairment receiving business-as-usual therapy on the caseloads of 75 speech-language pathologists. Data were collected over an academic year, including weekly therapy logs, speech-language pathology questionnaires, and pre- and post-language measures. RESULTS Descriptive analysis revealed that children primarily experienced small-group therapy sessions (two to four children); however, there was considerable variability in group size. Hierarchical general linear modeling indicated that caseload size did not explain group size variability. However, the number of student cancellations was positively associated with receipt of large-group sessions. Notably, a significant negative association was found between receipt of large-group sessions (i.e., five to 10 children) and language outcomes. Children who received more than the average number of sessions in large groups (i.e., more than 5% of total sessions) experienced 0.18 SD less language gain over the academic year compared to the mean (0.54 SD). No other group size configurations (i.e., individual, small group, and extra large) yielded significant associations with language outcomes. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that young children receiving language-based therapy in large groups make substantially fewer language gains over an academic year. These results have considerable implications for educational policy and clinical practice, which are discussed through an implementation science frame.

中文翻译：

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团体规模：学校语言治疗的积极成分。


目的本研究通过实施科学的视角探讨了治疗小组规模与接受学校语言治疗的儿童的语言结果之间的关系。方法 当前研究的数据是作为公立学校言语治疗经验研究的一部分收集的。参与者包括 273 名从幼儿园到二年级的英语语言障碍儿童，他们接受了 75 名言语病理学家的常规治疗。数据收集了一个学年的时间，包括每周的治疗日志、言语病理学问卷以及语言前和语言后的测量。结果 描述性分析显示，儿童主要接受小组治疗（两到四名儿童）；然而，群体规模存在相当大的差异。分层一般线性模型表明，病例数量并不能解释群体规模的变异性。然而，学生取消的数量与大型团体课程的接受呈正相关。值得注意的是，接受大型团体课程（即 5 至 10 名儿童）与语言结果之间存在显着的负相关。与平均水平 (0.54 SD) 相比，在大团体中接受超过平均课程次数（即超过总课程 5%）的儿童在学年中的语言增益减少了 0.18 SD。没有其他小组规模配置（即个人、小组和超大小组）与语言结果产生显着关联。结论 研究结果表明，在大群体中接受基于语言的治疗的幼儿在一个学年中获得的语​​言收益要少得多。 这些结果对教育政策和临床实践具有相当大的影响，并通过实施科学框架进行讨论。