‘New Partnerships for Learning’: teachers and teaching assistants working together in schools – the way forward

Wilson, Elizabeth K.; Bedford, Dorothy

doi:10.1080/02607470801979574

Cited by 21 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…In breaking down the division between 'ELTA' and 'teacher' through the multiplication of identity possibilities, hybridity as the entanglement of subjectivities (Kramsch 2009) within this in-between space could also address demarcation difficulties that emerge from reports of uncertainty and conflict over the roles and responsibilities of teachers and teaching assistants (Butt and Lowe 2012;Giangreco and Doyle 2007;Wilson and Bedford 2008).…”

Section: Legitimation Of Identity: a Multidimensional Viewmentioning

confidence: 98%

‘I’m teaching, but I’m not really a teacher’. Teaching assistants and the construction of professional identities in Hong Kong schools

Trent

2014

Educational Research

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To cite this article: John Trent (2014) 'I'm teaching, but I'm not really a teacher'. Teaching assistants and the construction of professional identities in Hong Kong schools, Educational Research, 56:1, 28-47, Background: In the past decade, educational settings worldwide have experienced a significant increase in the number of school-based teaching assistants (TAs). The deployment of these TAs has been accompanied by reports of confusion and uncertainty about their roles and responsibilities within schools. While the need to reframe the role and purpose of TAs is recognised, it remains unclear how this can be best achieved. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to explore the ways in which one group of TAs deployed in Hong Kong schools construct their professional identities, to understand the constraints and enablements to these processes, and to consider how different stakeholders might be able to best support this identity work. Sample: The primary participants in this study are nine English language teacher assistants employed at different schools across Hong Kong. Other participants include full-time English language teachers who have experience of working with one of these TAs, as well as students who attend English language classes in which these TAs participate. Design and methods: A qualitative multiple case study approach is adopted. In-depth interviews with TAs, teachers and students are used to gain a contextualised interpretation of the primary participants' experiences of constructing professional identities within schools. A multilevel, multidimensional theoretical framework, which considers identity construction as both a discursive and experiential accomplishment, is then used to understand the constraints and enablements TAs experience in constructing these identities. Findings: Results indicate that TAs face challenges in constructing their professional identities at institutional, interpersonal and intrapersonal levels within Hong Kong schools. In addition, the TAs believe that exercising agency to contest their positionings within schools is often insufficient to place them on a trajectory towards become a teacher. The results also suggest that the identity conflicts TAs experience can lead some to question their decision to pursue a teaching career. Conclusions: These results imply that in order to attract and retain TAs, educational authorities need to, first, problematise identity positions such as 'TA' and 'teacher' and then reconceptualise these identities in ways that allow for a multiplication of the identity positions potentially available to all stakeholders involved in teaching within Hong Kong schools.

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Section: Legitimation Of Identity: a Multidimensional Viewmentioning

confidence: 98%

‘I’m teaching, but I’m not really a teacher’. Teaching assistants and the construction of professional identities in Hong Kong schools

Trent

2014

Educational Research

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“…With reference to Creemers and Kyriakides' (2008) dynamic model of educational effectiveness, the classroom-level factor 'learning environment' could be modified to include TA-to-pupil interactions. All models of educational effectiveness must also extend to acknowledge teachers' 'managerial' role (Fraser and Meadows 2008;Wilson and Bedford 2008). Again, one of the classroom-level factors Creemers and Kyriakides include in their model concerns the 'management of time': the ways in which teachers maximise teaching time and pupil engagement.…”

Section: The Wpr Model and Education Effectivenessmentioning

confidence: 98%

The wider pedagogical role of teaching assistants

Webster¹,

Blatchford²,

Bassett³

et al. 2011

School Leadership & Management

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Teaching assistants (TAs) comprise a quarter of the school workforce in England and Wales. There has been controversy over TAs' deployment and appropriate role regarding supporting learning and these debates have been transformed by findings from the largest study of school support staff (the DISS project), which show that TA support has a negative impact on pupils' academic progress. This article conceptualises the most likely explanations for the negative effects of TA support in the form of the wider pedagogical role model, the components of which enable us to understand the effects of TA support in terms of the decisions made about TAs, rather than by them. IntroductionTeaching assistants 1 (TAs) are part of a growing international trend toward paraprofessionals working in different professional areas (e.g., health and law). There is ambiguity about the role of TAs in supporting learning, and recent findings from the largest study of TAs (the Deployment and Impact of Support Staff [DISS] project), presented in this article, question the current and widespread models of TA deployment. The rationale behind increasing the number of TAs in classrooms over the last decade seems fairly sound: TAs improve adult-to-pupil ratios. Yet findings from the DISS study presented here, show that TA deployment, together with other situational factors connected with their employment and preparation, can have a negative impact on the academic progress of pupils in mainstream schools.In this article, we use these situational factors to provide the basis for an organisational framework that structures and describes key facets of TAs' work. We put forward a 'wider pedagogical role' (WPR) model to enable us to interpret the results on TAs' impact on pupils' academic progress within the wider context of the factors within which TAs work, and which, we argue, maximise or inhibit their effectiveness. In the discussion at the end we will consider how the WPR model can be used to reconceptualise the work and role of TAs, and inform models of educational effectiveness.

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“…The benefits of training for classroom support staff has been noted in the research (Black-Hawkins, Florian, and Rouse 2007;Wilson and Bedford 2008;Alborz et al 2009;Blatchford et al 2011;NatSIP 2012). Studies, however, also confirm it is a role that support staff have felt underprepared for (Blatchford et al 2009;Radford, Blatchford, and Webster 2011), with concerns ranging from over-reliance by the class teacher (DSCF 2009); negative impact on academic outcomes ; interference with peer interaction (Giangreco and Doyle 2007); and unnecessary dependency (Rose and Forlin 2010).…”

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confidence: 88%

The shifting role of the special needs assistant in Irish classrooms: a time for change?

Keating¹,

O’Connor²

2012

European Journal of Special Needs Education

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The education of pupils with special educational needs in Ireland has generally been influenced by national and international inclusion policy and legislation so that the majority of these children now take their place alongside peers in mainstream classrooms. In Ireland, a support network comprising the teacher and additional classroom assistance now characterises much inclusive school provision. Such support is often provided via learning support teachers, resource teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs), the latter group being the focus of this article. Whilst the professional credentials of this post have evolved in other jurisdictions, the position of the SNA in Ireland has remained largely unchanged, with a job specification that continues to emphasise its caring, nonteaching nature. This article will consider the juxtaposition of the statutory functions of SNAs with their reported role(s) in Irish classrooms. Using quantitative and qualitative data, it will explore the professional profile of the SNA, identify current perceptions on the nature of this post and consider its collaborative potential within an inclusive education system.

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‘New Partnerships for Learning’: teachers and teaching assistants working together in schools – the way forward

Cited by 21 publications

References 8 publications

‘I’m teaching, but I’m not really a teacher’. Teaching assistants and the construction of professional identities in Hong Kong schools

‘I’m teaching, but I’m not really a teacher’. Teaching assistants and the construction of professional identities in Hong Kong schools

The wider pedagogical role of teaching assistants

The shifting role of the special needs assistant in Irish classrooms: a time for change?

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