Paraprofessionals have been employed by school districts to fulfill various roles in the educational process for many years. Currently, there are over 250, 000 paraprofessionals working in special education programs. Teacher educators may be interested in practices regarding the employment of paraprofessionals and may want to take an active role in the development of models for the preparation and management of paraprofessionals. Teacher educators are urged to help develop training standards for professionals who supervise paraprofessionals and for the paraprofessionals themselves, to study the problems of paraprofessional employment, to develop models and policies to guide the profession in appropriate delineation of roles and responsibilities, to promote awareness of the potential use of paraprofessionals as community liaisons, to recognize the potential recruitment of paraprofessionals into teaching and to share their knowledge with the field.
Over 1,000 surveys were distributed to randomly selected paraprofessionals, teachers, related service personnel, and administrators throughout three of the most sparsely populated states (North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming) to study the training and support needs of paraprofessionals in rural settings. The need for additional training is apparent since the paraprofessionals surveyed requested assistance in understanding students with disabilities, their roles as paraprofessionals, task analysis procedures, and the Individual Educational Program (IEP) process. Other findings address the quality of supervision, previous training, and other factors which influence paraprofessionals career decisions. Recommendations center on strategies for providing high-quality, cost effective training that also permits paraprofessionals the opportunity to receive certification as a special education teacher.
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