From 1970 to 2010, the number of non-teaching staff in the United States (those employed by school systems but not serving as classroom teachers) grew by 130 percent. Today, non-teachers comprise a robust half of the public-school workforce (totaling roughly three million individuals), and their salaries and benefits absorb one-quarter of current…

This is the first phase in a continuing study of the role of paraprofessionals in New York State, exclusive of New York City, with 667 school districts being asked for information on the types of services, qualifications, age, training, work hours, financial support, and general acceptance. Ninety-four percent of the questionnaires were completed,…

Described is the federally funded Career Opportunities Program (COP), which trains paraprofessionals to provide special education services to handicapped children. Benefits of the program are said to include more individualized learning and improved student self concept as well as possible career employment for COP participants. Cited are programs…

The selected bibliography on teacher aides and nonprofessional personnel who work with handicapped children contains an explanation of indexing and approximately 100 abstracts to be drawn from the computer file of abstracts representing the Council for Exceptional Children Information Center's complete holdings as of August, 1972. Abstracts are…

This special report examines the increasing use of paraprofessionals and has chapters on the following topics: 1) "How It All Began," with the introduction of more adults into the classroom and the development of a nationwide 'Career Opportunities Program' (COP); 2) "Paraprofessionals on the Job," including profiles of an inner-city and a suburban…

This handbook provides teachers and school administrators with a guide for the selection, preparation, and assignment of teacher aides; sets forth practical information for teacher aides; and presents preparation programs. Four major areas concern an introduction, selection of teacher aides, preparation programs, and assignment of teacher aides.…

This book is a guide for educators or administrators responsible for implementing a teacher aide program. Eleven chapters are devoted to answering questions grouped under major areas of concern. These chapters include the teacher aide concept, goals and benefits of teacher aide programs, the question of volunteer or paid aides, legal status and…

Briefly reports some findings of a survey of elementary principals involved in the California Early Childhood Education experiment. (IRT)

This report focuses on the differences in work relations between teachers and teacher aides and between social workers and social service aides, using data obtained from in-depth interviews, classroom observations, and meetings at two Head Start centers. Center One, which is church sponsored, has two classrooms and 60 children, with two teachers,…

A project in which six nonprofessional personnel were used for supplementary instructional services in elementary schools was examined in terms of the roles, selection, training, supervision, special assets and evaluation of the nonprofessionals. (GW)

Author discusses attitudes and problems he encountered when a parental assistance program was initiated in his school. (RB)

Higher junior college enrollments present problems for English teachers. Not only is it required for most students, but there are few, if any, automated aids for composition instruction or theme grading. This scarcity can be met most logically by use of paraprofessional aides, able to do more than handle materials, machinery, or clerical work.…

References selected from Exceptional Child Education Abstracts and pertaining to teacher aides and nonprofessional personnel (in schools, institutions, or elsewhere), particularly as related to handicapped children, are listed in the annotated bibliography, which is one in a series of over 50 similar listings concerning exceptional children. For…

Written for personnel in early childhood education who are planning training programs for nonprofessionals, the paper outlines a program for training instructional aides who will be actively involved in the teaching process, unlike volunteers or teacher aides. Some major problems and general guidelines for training and employing nonprofessionals…