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Teacher assistants in Canadian inclusive classrooms : an investigation into their deployment, preparedness, and impact

University of British Columbia

Current trends in Canada and the world reflect a gradual increase in the utilization of Teacher Assistants (TAs; otherwise known as education assistants, learning support assistants, or paraprofessionals, hereafter TAs) in inclusive classrooms to support students with special educational needs. Due to the increased number of TAs in schools, teachers will likely encounter and work with TAs in their own classrooms and likewise, students are likely to be supported by them. Seemingly, the purpose of TAs is to provide support for students with special educational needs thereby increasing their academic achievement and social inclusion. However, research internationally has found that TA support is not always fulfilling this purpose; instead, increased TA support can lead to lower academic achievement and social exclusion for these students. Studies internationally have identified a number of factors as contributing to ineffective TA support. However, research on TA support in Canada is sparse. The current study employed an online survey within British Columbia completed by 329 TAs and 48 teachers to gain a better understanding of the roles of TAs from the perspective of teachers and TAs including, how prepared they are for their work, and the impact they are perceived to be making on student outcomes. Findings suggested that the TA’s role is ever changing and diverse, but most of their time is spent working one-to-one with students with special educational needs. They report that they are well-trained initially and have much experience, but lack ongoing professional development opportunities in areas such as instruction and decision-making about student work. Issues were raised throughout the study such as the lack of collaboration and communication between TAs and teachers and little respect, appreciation, and recognition for TAs. This research is one of the first in Canada on this topic and has provided insights into changes that can be made to how TAs are deployed and prepared in order to maximize their impact on student outcomes.

Text

2018-10-18

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/67629

School Psychology

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/