CURRENT ISSUE

The Examination of Unemployment Anxiety Levels Among Speech and Language Therapy Students

Süheylanur Sal İşleyen Kutay Şıklar Asena Durna Elif Safalı Elif Öz
Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the unemployment anxiety levels among first- and fourth-year students in universities offering education related to speech and language therapy (SLT) in Türkiye and whether this anxiety varied according to variables such as gender, the status of pursuing a second university degree, the existence of unemployed individuals in the family, work experience, pursuing a minor or double major, and family income level.

Method: First- and fourth-year students enrolled in SLT departments across universities in Türkiye participated in the study (N = 120). Research data were collected online via Google Forms after providing participants with information about the research. Data collection tools included personal information form and the revised version of Pre-service Teacher Unemployment Anxiety Scale to be used for students enrolled in the programmes belonging to the Faculty of Health Sciences (Ilıman et al., 2019; Korkmazer, 2020). Frequencies, means, and percentages were provided to summarize the data. Furthermore, independent sample t-tests and one-way analysis of variance were conducted to investigate differences in participants' perceptions of unemployment anxiety based on gender, class level, pursuing a second university degree, the existence of unemployed individuals in the family, work experience, pursuing a minor or double major, and family income level.
Results: There was a statistically significant difference in participants' perceptions of unemployment anxiety between class groups, but no statistically significant differences were found in perceptions of unemployment anxiety according to variables such as gender, pursuing a second university degree, the number of unemployed individuals in the family, work experience, pursuing a minor or double major, and family income level. First-year students exhibited higher unemployment anxiety than fourth-year students.
Conclusion: First-year students may experience more anxiety than fourth-year students due to many factors such as job opportunities until graduation. The fact that the SLT profession and therefore departments are new compared to other professions and the number of language and speech therapists is lower in the year when fourth-year students graduate may affect the higher anxiety levels of first-year students. Additionally, 4th grade students may be able to foresee the near future as graduation approaches and therefore feel less anxious. On the other hand, undergraduate students at the department of SLT must succeed in certain internships and practices. The fact that fourth-year students gain experience with certain internships and practices may explain the lower levels of anxiety. It is recommended that future studies compare the unemployment anxiety levels of graduate and undergraduate students. Furthermore, a number of additional variables that may affect the unemployment anxiety levels such as the number of graduates, grade point average, and foreign language proficiency could be examined. Finally, conducting similar studies at regular intervals is recommended to address the ongoing needs in the field.

Keywords

unemployment anxiety, unemployment, speech and language therapy, undergraduate students

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