Teacher aides have become an accepted part of a large number of school districts throughout the United States and can be seen in inner-city, suburban, and rural school districts, as well as in private and parochial schools. Despite the concern and apparent need for teacher aides, many problems have arisen concerning the definition of their duties. Educators have found numerous discrepancies between teachers' and administrators' definitions of responsibilities of teacher aides. Duties pertaining to teacher aides can be subdivided according to instructional and noninstructional tasks. The definition for each subdivision depends on the community, educational attainment of the aides, and the philosophy of the school district involved. (Author/HMD)