Double standards and first principles: framing teaching assistant support for pupils with special educational needs

Abstract

Teaching assistants (TAs) are part of a growing international trend toward paraprofessionals working in public services. There has been controversy over TAs' deployment and appropriate role when supporting the learning of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools. Such debates have been transformed by findings from a large study of school support staff in the UK (the DISS project). The findings from this study show that TA support has a negative impact on pupils' academic progress, especially pupils with SEN. The findings render the current system of support for SEN highly questionable: TAs have inadvertently become the primary educators of pupils with SEN. This paper sets out the likely explanations for the negative effects in terms of three 'frames' -deployment, practice and preparedness -and then uses these frames to identify specific implications for pupils with SEN. We offer suggestions on how to make the most productive use of TA support. IntroductionTeaching assistants 1 (TAs) are part of a growing international trend toward paraprofessionals working in different professional areas, often in public services (e.g., health and social care). There has been controversy over TAs' deployment and their appropriate role in supporting learning. But recent findings from the largest ever study of TAs (the Deployment and Impact of Support Staff (DISS) project), presented in this paper, have called into question current ways in which TAs are deployed. Other findings from the DISS project presented in this paper show that the implications of TA support are greatest for pupils with special educational needs (SEN) included in mainstream schools.In this paper, we will use three 'frames' -deployment, practice and preparedness -to organise the presentation of findings from the DISS project and to explore the implications they have on the use of TAs to support pupils with SEN. We will see how the current system of support for pupils with SEN (in the UK at least) is highly questionable. We argue that the effects of this system, in terms of the impact on pupil outcomes, is best understood in the context of wider, interlinking factors, concerning the decisions made about, rather than by, TAs. *Corresponding author. Email: r.webster@ioe.ac.uk. 320 R. Webster et al.We first summarise the context in which the DISS project was carried out, and then describe the distinctive research design. We provide the impetus for the main body of the paper by presenting key findings on the impact of TA support on pupils' learning. We then move on to the findings on TA deployment, practice and preparedness, which help to explain the impact results and expose the current system of support for pupils with SEN as inappropriate. We will consider the implications for pupils with SEN and how we might reconceptualise the work of TAs in relation to the support they provide for these pupils. Background to the DISS projectThe rise in support staff In 2009, more than half of the school workforce in England and Wales were paraprofessio...

Multiprofessionalität in der inklusiven Schule: Eine empirische Studie zur Kooperation von Lehrkräften und Schulbegleiter/innen (Göttinger Schulbegleitungsstudie GötS)

“…Studien, in denen Assistenzpersonal nur ein Punkt von mehreren ist (Azad, Locke, Downey, Xie & Mandell, 2015;Butt & Lowe, 2012;Giangreco & Broer, 2005;Köpfer, 2013aKöpfer, , 2013bStivers & Cramer, 2015;Takala, 2007), von denen aber ein Gewinn für die Untersuchung der Kooperation mit Schulbegleitung erwartet werden kann. Außerdem werden Befunde einer österreichischen Befragung von Schulassistent/innen (Bacher, Pfaffenberger & Pöschko, 2007) einbezogen und die einer Längsschnittstudie aus England, die die bislang umfangreichste Studie zu Einsatz und Wirkung von Assistenzpersonal darstellt (Blatchford et al, 2009a(Blatchford et al, , 2009bWebster et al, 2010Webster et al, , 2011 Azad et al, 2015;Bacher et al, 2007;Giangreco, 2013;Köpfer, 2013aKöpfer, , 2013bPrammer-Semmler & Prammer, 2014;Takala, 2007). Teilweise wird in der Literatur unterschieden zwischen klassenbezogenen Assistenzkräften und solchen, die nur für ein einzelnes Kind oder eine/n Jugendliche/n zuständig sind (one-to-one-assistant oder personal assistant).…”

“…Ebenso wie Schulbegleiter/innen benötigen Assistenzkräfte in der Regel keine formale Qualifikation, die einer Ausbildung oder einem Studium im pädagogischen Bereich nahekäme (Bacher et al, 2007;Butt & Lowe, 2012;Webster et al, 2010), allenfalls wird ein Kurzlehrgang (z. B. in Finnland, Takala, 2007) vorausgesetzt oder optionale Qualifizierungsprogramme angeboten (Bacher et al, 2007;Giangreco et al, 2010).…”

Teacher Assistant in the Inclusive School Environment

“…Teachers and assistants have mentioned difficulties at the beginning of cooperation associated with a lack of teachers' experience in the environment of secondary schools and insufficient communication between teachers and assistants (Bartoňová & Pipeková, 2008;Giangreco & Doyle, 2007;Keating & O'Connor, 2012;Kratochvílová, 2013;Němec & Štěpařová, 2008;Webster et al, 2010).…”

“…In this context, Webster, Blatchford, Bassett, Brown, Martin and Russell (2010) deal with a significant aspect of the teacher assistant's work with pupils in the interpretation of the Deployment and Impact of Support Staff project carried out in British schools. As one of the most interesting results of the research may be determined findings related to the impact of teacher assistants' work on the academic progress of pupils (in language, mathematics and natural sciences).…”

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.…”