International research has illustrated that learning support staff (LSS) play a crucial role in the instruction of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND): they support the children's classwork while teachers manage the whole-class instruction. However, fewer research studies have explored LSS's role in the children's…

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…

This study examined the perceptions of educators to determine if they felt that they were adequately prepared to teach in a high poverty school setting. The participants, educators from four school districts, completed a survey based on their perceptions of their own level of self-efficacy and preparedness to work in high poverty schools. The…

Black staff in out-of-school time (OST) programs are frequently positioned as disciplinarians, behavior managers, or "chaperones," while curriculum and instruction responsibilities are assigned to formally trained (and often White) educators. Imbalances in power and funding mean White leaders usually hold decision-making authority, while…

Background: The Who's Challenging Who? (WCW) training is coproduced and delivered by people with intellectual disabilities (IDs), and it aims to improve staff empathy for people with challenging behaviour (CB). This study qualitatively describes trainees' and trainers' experiences of the WCW. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were undertaken…

Health-Promoting School (HPS) interventions aim to reduce bullying and violence via curriculum, environmental and family/community-engagement components. Despite evidence of their effectiveness, factors influencing the implementation of such interventions are poorly understood. This systematic review aims to examine such factors by assessing…

This research explored how seven primary school teaching assistants (TAs) experienced their role in supporting children's mental health. Interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The participants believed that they supported children's mental health and particularly referenced the close relationships that they…

Background: A number of studies of the roles and responsibilities of teaching assistants have been conducted in Australian jurisdictions, but much of this research has been small-scale or geographically localised. Method: The present study was the largest survey conducted in Australia to date and involved a survey of 361 teaching assistants in New…

The CARES (customer-focused, action-oriented, responsive, empathetic, and service-driven) initiative was launched in AISD in 2018-2019 to bring about a culture of respect and inclusiveness throughout the district. The initiative puts an emphasis on positive customer experiences for families, students and staff members. In the spring of 2020, the…

The prevalence of domestic violence is concerning due to its debilitating impact on the psychological, social and academic functioning of children. This study explored the experiences, strengths and challenges of school mental health staff in relation to students exposed to domestic violence. Interviews with 10 school wellbeing staff working in…

School psychologists are often seen as leaders in schools. They lead data teams, problem-solving teams, multidisciplinary evaluation teams, and crisis response teams. They are also perceived as leaders regarding intervention, multitiered systems of support, behavior support, collaboration, consultation, special education, assessment, and…

For many years a leading approach to teaching at-risk students and reducing school dropout has been the use of alternative schools. There are unique challenges to providing educational services in alternative schools and teachers in those schools need specialized knowledge and skills to address these challenges. The same can be inferred for…

Effective dissemination from researchers to clinicians can improve outcomes for people using substance misuse services by providing the knowledge and skills necessary to deliver best practice. The internet has the potential to facilitate quick, accurate and affordable learning on a large scale. However, the quality of online resources for…

Following the almost worldwide implementation of policies giving all students--including those with special education needs--the right to learn within the general education system, there has been a sharp increase in the number of inclusion assistants (IA). IAs provide special-needs students one-to-one accompaniment, allowing them to function in…

This article reviewed international data from English-language peer-reviewed studies on the use of TAs in inclusive classrooms from the past 10 years concerning: (a) the roles of TAs; (b) the impact of TAs on students, educators, and inclusive education; and (c) the factors that influence the performance of TAs. These studies suggest that unclear…