Limited research has been conducted on coaching of paraprofessionals who serve students with disruptive behaviors. This study builds upon a randomized controlled trial investigating the intervention effects of the Behavior Support Coaching for Paraprofessionals model by examining the specific behavior concerns, coaching goals, and interventions…

Due to shifts in society's attitudes toward special education and changes in U.S. federal policies, such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and No Child Left Behind, more students with disabilities (SWDs) are beginning kindergarten in general education classrooms. As a result, schools and districts across the United States have…

Through a social constructivist lens, this study looked at how paraprofessionals understand mathematics instructional content and associated pedagogical skills and explore an organization's current involvement of support staff in schools' mathematical classrooms. The setting for this bounded case study was two elementary schools contained in one…

Classroom observation is an accountability practice which promotes the evaluation of teachers' capacity to meet standards, improve teaching practices, and enhance student learning outcomes. Prior research has revealed that these practices are not without bias: the reliability of observation can be challenged because of classroom or observer…

Professional staff occupy an essential role in universities, and yet they have received little attention in the existing French literature, despite the considerable changes afoot in academic institutions. Based on qualitative research consisting primarily of 43 semi-structured interviews, this article looks at representations of development…

This mixed method research was to develop and validate an instrument to measure paraeducator self-efficacy for paraeducators who work with students with disabilities. This research study's framework was DeVellis' (2017) scale instrument development process conducted in three phases: item development, scale development, and scale evaluation. The…

Guided by normalization process theory, our qualitative case study explored classified staff members' perceptions of their role in the implementation of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in schools within a large urban US school district. Analysis reveals that classified staff members' gleaned knowledge of positive…

In this three-study dissertation, I present an in-depth examination of patterns in the paraeducator workforce across two states: Indiana and Washington. In each study, I leverage longitudinal administrative data to answer questions about the distribution, turnover, and impact of paraeducators in the workforce using both descriptive and causal…

Background/Context: Staff turnover is a critical issue for practitioners and policymakers alike. Especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, significant attention has been dedicated to developing policy interventions to address high staff shortages. Intervention around staffing instability may be particularly pertinent for special…

Limited research has examined the qualities of paraprofessional and teacher relationships in schools. Teachers' and paraprofessionals' ability to communicate and collaborate are important for guiding supports for their students. The present study examined characteristics affecting the professional relationship of paraprofessional and teacher pairs…

Background: Implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in schools is fraught with challenges. Even when EBPs are initiated, deterioration of implementation efforts often hinders their long-term success. School leadership behaviors can influence teachers' EBP implementation. Our study tested an implementation strategy called Helping…

This case study examined how the academic advising (hence, advising) component of a Grow Your Own (GYO) teacher program can be tailored to honor bilingual/bicultural paraprofessionals' (hence, BL/BC paras) assets and differential needs. Data collection strategies included participant observation, interviews, a focus group, field notes, and…

High-quality professional development can lead to increased and sustained implementation of evidence-based practices. This study examined the effects of practice-based coaching paired with scripted supports on a paraeducator's use of shared book reading strategies. Indirectly evaluated were impacts on the expressive and receptive vocabulary…

Many of the decisions made related to student progress and intervention selection rely on data. In their roles, paraeducators often implement academic interventions; therefore, they must be prepared to monitor students' progress accurately and reliably. This pilot randomized control trial tested the effects of a remote training package on…

Paraeducators in the United States are often paired with students with disabilities who have experienced trauma, but paraeducators may not be adequately knowledgeable about behavioral impacts of trauma. A review of all states and the District of Columbia in the United States found that no specific jurisdiction has required trauma education for…