Mindset of Paraprofessionals Serving Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Abstract

As schools across the United States move toward more inclusive models and as caseloads for special education teachers increase, special education paraprofessionals are being hired to fill service delivery gaps. Most often, paraprofessionals are asked to provide social and behavioral support to students with disabilities, and much of their time is spent in direct support of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Special education teachers have reported that students with emotional and behavioral disorders are some of the hardest to serve, and those working in this field have the highest rate of burnout. Although there has been increased recognition of the importance of mental health and wellbeing for special education teachers, little attention has been paid to paraprofessionals’ needs. Based on recommendations for special education teachers in the extant literature, 12 survival mindsets to be adopted by paraprofessionals are proposed that may prevent burnout by promoting greater resiliency, emotional wellbeing, and self-awareness.

Paraeducator supervision in pre‐service teacher preparation programs: Results of a national survey

“…Department of Education, 2018). Although paraeducators engage in a wide variety of duties (e.g., clerical, personal care, social/behavioral support, supervision of students), their role has become increasingly instructional over time (Carter, O'Rourke, Sisco, & Pelsue, 2009;Chopra & Uitto, 2015;Fisher & Pleasants, 2012;Garwood, Van Loan, & Werts, 2018;Giangreco & Broer, 2005).…”

“…Recent reports indicate that in 2016, the number of paraeducators serving children with disabilities ages 3–21 (i.e., 488,247) was significantly higher than that of the special education teachers (i.e., 393,732; U.S. Department of Education, 2018). Although paraeducators engage in a wide variety of duties (e.g., clerical, personal care, social/behavioral support, supervision of students), their role has become increasingly instructional over time (Carter, O'Rourke, Sisco, & Pelsue, 2009; Chopra & Uitto, 2015; Fisher & Pleasants, 2012; Garwood, Van Loan, & Werts, 2018; Giangreco & Broer, 2005).…”

A mixed‐method study of paraprofessional roles, professional development, and needs for training in elementary schools

“…Studies that examine the relations between paraprofessionals' level of education and years of experience on classroom support practices warrant further investigation. With stress and burnout common in the paraprofessional population (Garwood et al, 2017; Mason et al, 2020) understanding the factors that may influence paraprofessional job‐related stress is important. Future research should focus on the type and number of students served, as well as the percentage of time (daily, weekly) paraprofessionals spend with individual students and its relation to paraprofessional stress.…”

“…Although paraprofessionals support students with additional needs, a lack of clarity exists regarding their day‐to‐day tasks within the classroom, which suggests these individuals are often hired without information regarding their job‐specific tasks (Mason et al, 2020). Lack of clarity regarding job roles and responsibilities coupled with supporting students with disabilities with complex needs can result in increased paraprofessional job‐related stress and burnout (e.g., Garwood et al, 2017; Mason et al, 2020). Given previous research finding that paraprofessionals lack adequate professional development (PD) training (e.g., Dudek et al, 2018; Hall et al, 2010; Maggin et al, 2012; Reddy et al, 2020; Sobek, 2016), it is important to better understand the roles and responsibilities of paraprofessionals in elementary schools.…”

Screencast-Delivered Professional Development Targeting Teachers’ Self-Efficacy and Beginning-of-the-Year Classroom Management Practices

“…Teaching is a stressful job, and no struggle causes greater stress to general education teachers (Klassen & Chiu, 2010) and special education teachers (Wehby & Kern, 2014) than student misbehaviour. When special educators experience stress over a long period of time, they are at risk for burning out (Garwood, Van Loan, & Werts, 2018;Garwood, Werts, Varghese, & Gosey, 2018). Perhaps this is why some have suggested training teachers in the efficient use of effective behaviour management practices constitutes a public health intervention (Marlow et al, 2015).…”