Assistance to pupils with physical disabilities in regular schools: promoting inclusion or creating dependency?

Teaching Assistants in Inclusive Classrooms: A Systematic Analysis of the International Research

“…Teaching assistants (TAs), also referred to as paraprofessionals, teacher aides, and paraeducators are increasingly being employed to support the inclusion of students with disabilities into general education classrooms in many developed countries throughout the world (Butt, 2016;Douglas, Chapin, & Nolan, 2016;Egilson & Traustadottir, 2009;Keating & O'Connor, 2012;Radford, Bosanquet, Webster, & Blatchford, 2015). With the goal of providing teachers with more opportunities to interact with students with disabilities and to collaborate with other professionals (Giangreco, 2013), TAs perform a range of non-instructional roles (Harris & Aprile, 2015) and appropriately trained and supervised TAs may deliver complementary instructional services designed to supplement rather than replace the instruction provided by teachers (Giangreco, 2013;Salend, 2016).…”

Teacher Assistant in the Inclusive School Environment

“…On the contrary, assistants working with pupils with health disabilities aim all their activities at a direct support of pupils with health disabilities. These assistants often overtake the role of primary educators of pupils with health disabilities (Abbott et al, 2011;Balshaw, 2010;Egilson & Traustadottir, 2009;Symes & Humphrey, 2011Šándorová, 2011; Webster et al, 2005).…”

“…It is important to point out increased risk of stigmatization and social isolation in pupils with special educational needs to whom is given the teacher assistant's support. This negative impact of the assistance for pupils with physical disabilities is mentioned by Egilson and Traustadottir (2009). These Icelandic researchers recognized that assistants make a significant contribution to encouraging participation and learning process of pupils with health disabilities, however, at the same time they pointed out the fact that the permanent assistant's presence can cause the limited use of pupils' strengths and create an unhealthy dependence.…”

Teachers’ Aides Working in Secondary School Settings: Preparedness and Professional Learning

“…However, despite the DET role description TAs can be given this responsibility through misunderstanding or misuse in the classroom. Similarly, concerns about the role and duties of the TA, the extent and in what circumstances they should be used, and what degree and type of training they should receive have also been reported by other researchers Egilson & Traustadottir, 2009;French, 2003;Giangreco & Broer, 2005;Gibson, Paatsch, & Toe, (n.d., in print); Webster et al, 2010;Whitburn, 2013). TAs are required to perform a variety of tasks when working in a school supporting students with disabilities, however, little is known about the frequency with which TAs perform common student related tasks, their level of preparedness to perform those tasks, and if their own views on their need for training in those tasks.…”

“…While researchers have argued that the role of the TA needs to be defined, the impact of the expectations of a range of stakeholders, including the students with disabilities, parents, teaching staff and the school community, makes this a complex task (French, 2003;The Senate, 2002). In the secondary school setting each group of stakeholders has a purpose for the employment of TAs, whether it be the parents to provide social support and/or academic support; the students for social, physical and/or academic support; the teachers for academic support; or the school community for inclusive education support (Brown & Devecchi, 2013;Chopra, 2009;Chopra & French, 2004;Egilson & Traustadottir, 2009;French, 2003;Logan, 2006). study of school support staff (the DISS project) in the UK who questioned the current model of TA deployment and the finding that TAs can have a negative impact on students' academic progress.…”