Teaching Assistants' (TAs') roles in mainstream English primary schools continue to evolve. Research suggests TAs play a vital role in managing behaviour and can have benefits for both teachers and children in relation to supporting positive behaviour in the classroom. However, there is a lack of clarity in what constitutes TAs' role, particularly…

Teaching assistants are not always utilised effectively in mathematics classrooms. Moreover, there is limited research examining instructional models that might more meaningfully incorporate teaching assistants into the teaching and learning of mathematics. To address this gap in the literature, the current study explored three distinct…

As more Teacher Assistants (TAs) take on the responsibility of supporting students with disability and learning difficulties questions arise as to the appropriate qualifications for such work, the adequacy of training, and the policy and practice of schools employing TAs. A qualitative study, informed by multiple perspectives, was conducted in…

This article explores the process by which children attending mainstream UK primary schools can achieve social inclusion. It presents the findings from a systematic literature review, followed by empirical research, exploring the concept of social inclusion with particular regard to the experiences of pupils identified with SEND. The article draws…

A range of sociological work has theorized neoliberal regulative regimes, suggesting the contradictions contained in the enactment of policy and foregrounding the painful effects of these processes on subjectivities produced within performative school cultures. This paper contributes to this body of work by tracing the movement of desire in…

Aim: Tablet technology can play a valuable role in supporting learning for primary school children, but its implementation for children in the early years or for with those with learning delays has received limited focus. The aim of this study was to enhance understanding of the interaction between child, technology, and conditions for…

The Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) programme is an evidence-informed intervention delivered by teaching assistants and supervised by educational psychologists. In this research, semi-structured interviews were conducted to investigate the impact of the ELSA programme on wellbeing from the perspective of pupils. A thematic analysis of…

This article presents a study on plausible correlations between social background and educational values in a group of 700 employees in 80 Danish kindergartens. It investigates whether the pedagogical efforts of the staff are indebted to their living milieus of upbringing. The basic premises of research are developed along Pierre Bourdieu's theory…

Grade 1 learners in South Africa are not receiving the quality education they deserve. Early Childhood Education forms the basis of all education; however, numerous challenges in the South African education system impede the teaching and learning of young children. In this article we investigate Grade 1 teachers' responsibilities in the class and…

This paper presents the findings of a 1-year efficacy trial of Maths Counts (MC), an intensive, individualised programme delivered by trained teaching assistants. The programme was delivered 3 times a week over 10 weeks. The sample included 291 Year 3 to Year 6 pupils (age 7 to 11) from 35 primary schools in England. Pupils were individually…

The human rights issue of inclusion in education has been the focus of numerous legislative and policy documents around the world. The right of a student with additional needs to access their local school and participate in mainstream classrooms has been mandated for numerous years across many nations. Increasing numbers of students with…

This study was conducted on three students with special education needs and their 16 non-disabled classmates in the 2nd year of an elementary school in Cyprus where inclusive education is offered to them and their parents. In the mentioned inclusive education setting, student and parent opinions with regard to the effectiveness of reading…

Aim: This study sought to identify the impact of a maths intervention aimed at enhancing performance, self-concept and self-regulation, while reducing negative emotional responses. Method: A quantitative, between-group repeated-measure experimental design was used to investigate differences between the groups over time. One-hundred-and-forty-four…

The number of teaching assistants (TAs) in schools in the UK has risen in recent years, but there remains a lack of clarity about the roles being undertaken by these support staff. This article reports findings from a study investigating how the TA role is understood both by the pupils being supported and by TAs themselves. Eleven students with…

This paper will consider how teaching assistants' (TAs') roles are changing from the historical 'mum's army' (Bach Kessler & Heron, 2006) of paint-pot washers, as some considered it pre-national curriculum, to the developing conception of the TA as a 'paraprofessional'. Contemporary issues arising from the loosely defined current expectations…