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Speak Out August 2013 37
gives me an edge over my peers”. The
benefit of membership for course work
was identified as a particularly salient
selling point for promoting Association
membership to students.
One of the findings that impressed upon
the Branch was that student members
felt a much stronger connection to the
speech pathology community. 86% of
student members agreed or strongly
agreed that they felt connected to the
community as compared to 31% of
student non-members. One student
commented that “being involved in
the speech pathology community,
especially as a student is important for
networking reasons and to learn more
about the profession”, and another
felt that through their membership
they “maintained connection to
the broader community of speech
pathologists”. This was identified as
another important benefit to highlight
when promoting student membership,
while also demonstrating the need to
encourage student attendance at local
Association events to foster the sense
of connection.
Given that the WA Branch is actively
lobbying to improve access to and
equity of speech pathology services for
school-aged children, it was interesting
that only 66% of student respondents
rated political lobbying as an important
function of the Association. This
suggested that students might benefit
from further information about lobbying
and awareness raising activities,
particularly leading into the International
Communication Project 2014. This was
identified as an excellent opportunity
to educate student members and
non-members about the functions of
the Association, while encouraging
students to become actively involved
with Branch activities.
It was pleasing to see that 100%
of student members indicated their
intention to renew their membership
the following year and 92.3% of student
non-members intended to join the
Association following graduation.
For non-members, the joining fee
was the most significant barrier to
student membership, with only one
respondent agreeing that the benefits
of joining were not worth the cost. This
has prompted the Branch to explore
creative ways of promoting the cost-
benefit of membership to students.
When invited to suggest ways the
Association could offer greater benefits
for student members, common
requests included more professional
development events and networking
opportunities. Two students identified
the need for a publication or newsletter
for students, as reflected by the
following comment: “Some sort of
publication or section in Speak Out
specifically designed for students
so that they are informed of what is
happening at other universities and
things others students are doing”. The
student representatives will continue
to work with the SPA Network of
Students (SPANS) to explore forums for
student networking across universities,
including use of social media, while
encouraging student contributions to
Speak Out.
It is important to acknowledge the
small sample size and the fact that
students from only one local university
were surveyed given the constraints of
time and ethics approval. Despite the
limitations, the findings have provided
valuable direction for the Branch and
SPANS, informing the development
of a strategic action plan. The Branch
and student representatives will look
forward to sharing the outcomes
of planned initiatives in the future
and seeing its student membership
numbers and engagement continuing
to grow.
If you would like more information
about the survey, findings or action
plan please contact Jade Cartwright at
Jade Cartwright
WA Vice President
SPA profile – Jennai Beckett
Role within SPA?
Griffith University SPA
student representative.
What do you do in this role?
I share information about SPA to
the GU student cohort and liaise
with the SPA Exec committee.
Role outside SPA?
MSP student.
What do you do in this role?
Study, attend lectures,
participate in clinical placements
and drink far too much caffeine.
What is your greatest
achievement/favourite
thing about your current
roles?
Maintaining a sense of humour
while learning about this
incredibly diverse profession.
What do you see as the
future challenges/directions
for speech pathology and/
or SPA?
I hope that the job market
keeps up with the ageing
population’s growing need for
speech pathology services.