Knowing that paraprofessionals can be prepared to work effectively with students is an important finding, yet, how do teachers prepare paraprofessionals to work most effectively with students with disabilities? Teachers who supervise paraprofessionals must use basic communication skills, which is the first step in both the preparation of and the…

This paper describes the development of an online training model for teachers and teaching assistants working with students with special educational needs. Originally developed as part of a government funded initiative in the UK, the model has been successfully applied in other contexts, most notably in New South Wales, Australia where it has had…

Disabled students' entry to the (compulsory) education system in New Zealand is often conditional upon the presence of untrained teacher aides, who are frequently regarded as the "solution to inclusion". This widespread practice has occurred within a research and policy void, despite the growing body of international research literature…

Paraprofessionals, sometimes referred to as teachers' aides, often referred to as simply "paras," are a critical component of special education programs. They can play an important role in music classrooms as well. Their responsibilities may include providing instructional support in small groups or to individual students, modifying teaching…

This paper draws on a wider literature review, completed by the author in 2007, about the effectiveness of teachers' aides (TAs). It discusses the effects of the proximity of TAs on the students with disabilities to whom they are assigned. It also reports on studies where TAs have been trained to support the students to interact with their peers…

During the past 10 years in Australia teacher aides have been employed in mainstream schools as support personnel in special education intervention programmes, and their numbers are increasing. At the same time workplace reform in relation to inclusive education is impacting on their employment and deployment in schools to support students with…

Paraeducators are now recognized as important members of the learning and teaching team alongside teachers and other professional educators in schools. Other commonly used titles for paraeducators are Paraprofessional, Instructional Assistant, Educational Assistant, Teaching Assistant, Instructional Aide, and Aide. This article provides useful…

Generally speaking, teacher assistants provide needed support to teachers by carrying out a range of non-professional tasks in classrooms and schools. The growing use of teacher assistants in Canadian public schools is an issue that is embedded in a complex mix of related issues, policies and trends--class size in conjunction with class…

In Queensland, inclusive education reform is on the political agenda, following the report of the Ministerial Taskforce on Inclusive Education (students with disabilities) in 2004. The Government's responses to the initiatives outlined in the taskforce report emphasise a commitment to social justice and equity so that all students can be included…

Project SPECIAL (Special Paraprofessionals Educating Children in Active Learning) trains handicapped college students to work as assistants in schools for special needs students. The project is intended to provide models for handicapped students, upgrade the quality of special education aides, and encourage human service agencies to hire the…

Cathy, Kelly, and Lisa are early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers in inclusive, classroom-based programs. Each of them worked with paraprofessionals, primarily their assistant teachers, during their first year as ECSE teachers, and that experience resulted in difficulties of varying degrees. For Cathy, those difficulties were most…

The paper provides guidelines for establishing and operating teacher aide programs in special education. Chapter I considers legal aspects of using paraprofessionals with emphasis on the stance of the Nebraska Professional Practices Commission. A second chapter outlines the roles and duties of teachers and aides, offers sample job descriptions for…

This brief report summarizes results of two British national conferences to allow classroom learning supporters to provide their perspectives of inclusion of students with disabilities in mainstream classrooms. The report focuses on the participating learning supporters' recommendations for developing their work and their suggested next steps. The…

This project was conducted to identify unique competencies required by special education aides (teacher aides) and other caregivers of young children with special needs. Through a literature review, six nationally or state published competency lists were found, along with other lists published by various community colleges. The lists were analyzed…

In response to the shortage of qualified bilingual special education personnel to work with Limited English Proficient (LEP) special needs students, a program was developed in Vista Unified School District in North San Diego County, California, which involves training bilingual paraprofessionals to serve in special education settings. The…