The aim of this study is to identify the expressions of legitimacy work available to professional support staff at contemporary higher education institutions (HEIs) and how these expressions can be understood as strategies in their work. Academics are the given audience for this legitimacy work. Professional support staff are commonly described as…

This paper draws on my experience working as a special needs support staff member in a special school in the UK for young people with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) issues. The purpose of this paper is to share my understanding of practices that enable staff in an SEMH school to attend to the needs of their students. Although I have…

Amidst changing sociocultural and political climates, limited economic resources and shifting educational policies, classroom teachers continue to hold a significant responsibility in educating an increasingly diverse student population. Balancing the requirement to support student variability within perceived everchanging contexts can be…

Educational paraprofessionals have had an increased presence in English state schools since the first decade of the 21st century, but research has been limited in terms of who undertakes paraprofessional roles, what they entail and how such work is perceived by others. This paper compares one such paraprofessional role, the learning mentor, with…

Paraeducators play a marginal yet essential role in fulfilling teaching-related tasks in many international classrooms in China. In order to meet high standards of education, schools often provide professional training to paraeducators. However, in the training process, schools primarily focus on their own needs and rarely consider the personal…

The Special Needs Assistant (SNA) scheme has been in existence in Ireland, in various different iterations, since 1979. This article presents a critical policy analysis of two iterations of the scheme, operational between 1998 and 2014, using a hybrid analytical framework. It highlights the contextual factors influencing those iterations, presents…

Paraprofessionals are important members of special education teams. In particular, the experiences of paraprofessionals who support students with autism spectrum disorder may provide valuable insights and thus merit qualitative research. In this narrative study, the relevant experiences of Turkish paraprofessionals are investigated. Findings…

In 2015, South Korea hosted the World Education Forum as it considered issues of education for all and improving inclusion worldwide. Yet, as is the case in many countries, pupils with special educational needs in South Korea are often included by way of 'special or additional' support as 'compensation' for disability, raising questions about the…

This causal comparative study explored K-12 educators' and school staff's self-reported levels of well-being, perceived stress, and use of coping strategies. An online survey was administered to 686 educators consisting of teachers, school administrators, professional support staff, administrative support staff and other school staff in a…

Paraprofessional support is increasingly implemented in schools as part of inclusive school development in many countries, primarily for students with Special Educational Needs. Educational research has shown growing interest in paraprofessional support in inclusive schools, focusing on the conceptual design and professionalization of this…

Significant international attention has been paid to teachers' attitudes and the variables affecting them, as these are considered crucial for successful inclusive education. This article reports on an investigation of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) teachers' attitudes to the inclusion of children with special educational needs (SEN) in…

This article reports on a small-scale study which explored the perceptions of learning support assistants (LSAs) about how they facilitate learner agency and wellbeing, two key facets of the capability approach. Interviews were conducted with ten LSAs working in an international school to investigate whether LSAs support aspects of this…

Paraprofessional support to enable access to education has developed in differing directions in a range of countries. In Ireland, the role of the special needs assistant has focused on supporting the additional care needs of children with special educational needs to ensure their participation in lessons. The role of the special needs assistant…

This article explores how teacher agency support, students' perseverance and work experience outside of school are related to student agency in the context of Estonia, where Estonian and Russian-speaking students are often educated separately in schools with either Estonian or Russian instructional language. The student-level data (n = 9060) were…

This study examines the displayed communicative competence and agency of a non-speaking student at a compulsory school for children with severe learning disabilities. The use of two different speech-generating devices (a single-message versus a multi-message speech-generating device) and the assignment of participation role (having the role of…