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Background: Early childhood teachers (ECTs) play a significant role in equipping children with oral language and emergent literacy skills ahead of school entry. They are well positioned to play a vital role in ensuring preschool children receive a high‐quality preschool curriculum to prepare them for later literacy learning. Aims: The purpose of this study was to explore early career ECTs' views and confidence regarding their role in providing preschoolers with oral language and emergent literacy support and to examine their perceptions of their preservice preparation. Methods & Procedures: Nine Australian early career ECTs were recruited via purposive sampling for an in‐depth, semi‐structured interview. Data were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis approach. Outcomes & Results: Participants attached strong significance to their role in facilitating children's oral language growth and emergent literacy skills and reported a range of practices to support children's learning. However, they rarely referred to using established language facilitation strategies or using dialogic book reading prompts. Further, emergent literacy concepts such as phonological awareness and print awareness were not routinely described as features of participants' classroom activities. Participants did not consistently make a clear conceptual distinction between the constructs of oral language and emergent literacy and often used these terms interchangeably. Notably, participants indicated that they did not feel confident in their ability to identify preschool children who were not meeting developmental language milestones and reported that they felt poorly equipped to do so by their preservice training. Conclusions & Implications: ECTs' strong willingness to support preschool children's oral language and emergent literacy skills may be hindered by gaps in their knowledge; these may contribute to important and missed opportunities for identifying and supporting preschoolers' oral language and emergent literacy growth. What this paper adds: What is already known on this subject?: High‐quality learning experiences in preschool are important for maximising preschoolers' oral language and emergent literacy growth. Early childhood teachers can play an important role in facilitating this development and preparing children for later literacy learning. What this paper adds to existing knowledge?: The study findings provide insight into ECTs' perceptions of their role and support in developing children's oral language and emergent literacy skills. The results indicated ECTs did not feel confident with their knowledge of children's language milestones or identifying children with language difficulties. Participants reported that their preservice training left them underprepared in the area of oral language. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: ECTs demonstrated a strong willingness to support preschoolers' oral language and emergent literacy skills. However, their self‐reported knowledge gaps and low confidence may have implications for the early detection of children who are not reaching language developmental milestones in a timely way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social media is increasingly used by young people, including those with communication disability. To date, though, little is known about how speech–language therapists (SLTs) support the social media use of young people with communication disability. Aims: To explore what services SLTs provide to facilitate the social media use of young people with communication disability, including what these services look like, and the factors that impact SLTs' professional practices. Methods & Procedures: A sequential mixed methods approach was employed including an online survey and in‐depth semi‐structured interviews. Participants were qualified practising SLTs in Australia with a caseload that included clients aged 12–16 years. Quantitative data were analysed with SPSS. A thematic analysis of qualitative data was conducted with NVivo. Outcomes & Results: Survey responses from 61 SLTs were analysed. Interviews were conducted with 16 participants. Survey data indicated that SLTs do not systematically assess or treat young people's use of social media as part of their professional practice. Interview data revealed that where SLTs do support young people's use of social media, they transfer knowledge and practices typically used in offline contexts to underpin their work supporting clients' use of social media. In terms of factors that affect SLTs' practices, three major themes were identified: client/family factors, SLT factors, and societal factors. Conclusions & Implications: While young people with communication disability may desire digital participation in social media spaces, SLTs' current professional practices do not routinely address this need. Professional practice guidelines would support SLTs' practices in this area. Future research should seek the opinions of young people with communication disability regarding their use of social media, and the role of SLTs in facilitating this. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: Young people with communication disability use social media, but digital inequality means that they may not do so to the same extent as their typically developing peers. Services targeting a young person's social media use is within the SLT scope of practice. Whether or not SLTs routinely address the social media use of young people with communication disability as part of their professional practice is unknown. What this study adds to existing knowledge: This study found that SLTs in Australia do not systematically provide professional services targeting young people's use of social media. When services do address a young person's use of social media, knowledge and practices typically used by SLTs in offline contexts are adapted to support their work targeting online social media contexts. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: This study indicates that SLTs should consider a range of factors when deciding whether to address a young person's social media use. Adapting existing offline professional practices to online environments could support SLTs' work in providing services targeting social media use. Professional practice guidelines would support SLTs' work facilitating the social media use of young people with communication disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]