Due to the increasing number of students in need of special education services and the shortages of licensed special education personnel, paraeducators have become critical in the education of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and other disabilities in school settings. As a result, the training of paraeducators has become a major…

Community college early childhood education programs prepare students for a career path that enjoys plenty of demand, although that's at least in part due to low wages that make hiring and retaining good workers a challenge. That challenge has become more acute during the COVID-19 pandemic, given the literally hands-on nature of the work. Demand…

According to data from U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics in 2018, it is estimated that there are 1,308,100 paraeducators employed in public schools in the United States. Despite the prevalence of paraeducators, these employees receive limited opportunity for training. In addition, there is little guidance from the Department of Education or…

Limited research has been conducted examining the relationship between paraprofessionals and teacher supervisors. This study examined 175 paraprofessionals of students with or at risk of disruptive behavior disorders who reported relationships with classroom teachers in 59 U.S. elementary schools. Overall, paraprofessionals rated their…

Afterschool programs play a significant role in the lives of minoritized students, offering a safe space for them to develop academically, socially, and emotionally. Program administrators are responsible for the oversight of the organization and must ensure that all staff members receive the necessary professional development to impact the lives…

New York State, in all of its regions, has a growing number of diverse public-school students, including many immigrant groups, accounting for a significant change in the ethnic and racial demographics of the state's student population. Despite the rapidly changing student population, the teaching force nonetheless remains disproportionately White…

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…

High-quality early childhood (EC) education has emerged as a national priority alongside the need for ensuring practitioners have the knowledge and skills to support the learning of all children, including those with disabilities and delays (Snyder et al., 2012). To create high-quality learning environments that meet the needs of children…

Paraprofessionals play a significant role in the education system. However, they often need more training on specific instructional strategies to use with the students they work with. In this study, we trained two paraprofessionals working in a self-contained U.S. elementary classroom for students with high-intensity behavioral support needs. Each…

Alternative schools are vital spaces for students who are not successful in traditional schools. The knowledge of social and emotional learning (SEL) and the impact it has on students who attend alternative schools specifically is limited. The problem addressed by this study was the lack of success that explicit SEL programs have in meeting the…

The well-documented special education teacher shortage in the U.S. has significant negative consequences for students with disabilities who require specially designed instruction from special education teachers. To address this shortage, special education teacher preparation programs should explore innovative approaches to recruiting and training…

Paraprofessionals are an essential part of special education. School districts increasingly rely on paraprofessional support to meet students' needs, but formal professional development opportunities vary. A lack of training in effective instructional strategies is potentially problematic for the efficacy of support staff. A multiple-baseline…

Legislation such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA(2004), and No Child Left Behind, NCLB (2001) reference that paraprofessionals should be trained and supervised by a certificated teacher. Yet, many special education teachers feel that they are poorly prepared to manage the staff in their classroom. Inadequate teacher…

In this dissertation I explore the collaborative practices of three participants: two paraprofessionals and one music teacher. Using social capital as the theoretical framework, I analyzed the ways in which the participants networked with others to gain resources for expressive action. In order to more fully understand the social structures that…

The purpose of this dissertation was two-fold: 1) to examine the teaching practices of paraprofessionals or teachers who have had ABA training and those who have not, and 2) to examine the differences in teaching practices between professionally trained RBTs and paraprofessionals or teachers who have had no ABA training. A case study was performed…