The objectives of the Auxiliary Educational Career Unit, funded under Title I of the 1965 Elementary Secondary Education Act, were: (1) to upgrade the basic skills of Education Assistants; (2) to administer and to coordinate a training program for staff trainers of paraprofessionals, Educational Assistants, and Associates; (3) to provide…

The goal for the instructional program at Luckie Street Elementary School was to improve instruction in all subject areas at all grade levels. However, reading was identified as the subject area which would be emphasized in grades one through seven, with special help for grades one through three, through the Comprehensive Instructional Program.…

The United States Training and Employment Service General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB), first published in 1947, has been included in a continuing program of research to validate the tests against success in many different occupations. The GATB consists of 12 tests which measure nine aptitudes: General Learning Ability; Verbal Aptitude; Numerical…

This paper is intended to furnish the necessary context and background information for an understanding of the role and functions of the Queensland, Australia Pre-School Correspondence Program. This educational service, the first of its kind in Australia, occurred within the context of a policy to provide one year of free preschool education for…

This study was intended to fill the gap in available data on paraprofessional funding and programming in the public school systems by focusing on the training and utilization of paraprofessionals in school years 1971-72 and 1972-73 in the 1,800 public school systems around the nation which enroll 5,000 pupils or more. A total of 1,148 school…

This guide presents a model curriculum for use in developing programs to meet the needs for paraprofessionals in the helping services. Five options are offered in the curriculum: Counselor Associate, Early Childhood Associate, Recreation Associate, Social Service Associate, and Teacher Associate. The curriculum is structured so that students may…

A study examined the role of paraeducators as liaisons to the local community. Phase 1 of the study involved interviews with four paraeducators and three teachers, each of whom was part of a rural teacher/paraeducator team that used the paraeducator's background in the community to enhance school activities. Phase 2 involved five group sessions…

This conference proceedings compile presentations from a 2000 meeting of the American Montessori International of the United States, focusing on the Montessori view toward freedom and responsibility and addressing other issues of importance in Montessori education. The papers presented at the conference are: (1) "Strategies for You and Your…

A bilingual/bicultural program using parents, paraprofessionals with specific language skills, and educators is described. The methods, culture, theory, and languaqe components of a teacher education program to develop staff for program implementation are detailed. This model for a total program can be adapted to other school districts. (PMJ)

A minimally trained paraprofessional made 6 visits to the homes of mildly mentally retarded and behaviorally disordered rural primary students to teach their parents basic instructional methods in mathematics. After 12 weeks of parent tutoring, the mathematical performance of experimental subjects improved significantly compared to that of matched…

Describes the author's year as a volunteer in the writing workshop in her son's first-grade classroom. Discusses her experiences and reflects on the growth she saw in children as readers and writers. (SR)

An individualized, on-site consultation model was used to instruct four classroom aides in teaching social interaction skills to five young children with social delays and 10 nondelayed peers. Increased levels of social interaction were found during training with triads of students, but generalization did not occur until a token system was…

A survey of 44 students (grades 4-10) with behavior disorders, 14 special educators, and 15 teacher assistants evaluated the social validity of level systems (behavioral management interventions applied to shape students' social, emotional, and academic behaviors to pre-established levels). While students were the most negative group, they…

This study evaluates the Adaptive Social Behavior Inventory (ASBI) for assessing pre-school children's social competence across home and school settings. Data were collected on a multi-ethnic sample of 191 3- to 5-year-old children attending Head Start centers. Parents, teachers, and teacher aides rated children similarly on the three ASBI…

Over the past 20 years, there has been a steady increase in the number of paraprofessional personnel employed in special education, Title 1, and bilingual education programs. Currently, there are approximately 500,000 paraeducators working in the United States. Data indicates that 95 percent of paraeducators are women working for little more than…