This small-scale piece of research listened to the stories, experiences and perceptions of teaching assistants to hear their lived experiences of the role of teaching assistant. To hear how expectations have altered with/without legislative and framework guidance and consideration of the individuals who take up teaching assistant roles, in a…

This article focuses on sustainable education for Batek children, an ethnic subgroup of Indigenous Orang Asli peoples in Malaysia. A number of important figures, including school leaders, teachers, parents and peers, are needed to support initiatives to improve the quality of education among Indigenous communities. However, studies have indicated…

This paper presents evidence of how the role of teaching assistants (TAs) in England has been remade by the COVID pandemic. Drawing on data from a national survey of 9,055 TAs and 22 semi-structured interviews with TAs, teachers and headteachers, the authors show how essential TAs were to schools' responses to managing the disruption caused by the…

In Québec (Canada), vocational training centres hire their teachers based on their occupational skills and knowledge. Often without prior pedagogical training, teachers must complete a bachelor university degree including three or four internships. Conducted in their workplace, novices are then accompanied on-site by an assistant teacher (AT).…

While teaching assistants (TAs) have experienced various employment challenges, little research has been done to examine factors affecting their well-being. Based on an extended Control-Value model in studying teachers' emotions and well-being, the present study examined the relationship between primary school TAs' Control-Value variables in the…

The role of the classroom assistant (CA) is considered pivotal in inclusive provision for pupils with additional needs. CAs' support of pupils who have a visual impairment (VI) is greatly underreported in the literature. Scaffolding theory was applied to investigate the role of CAs in supporting pupils who have a VI in mainstream schools in…

Background: Over recent decades, teacher aides (TAs) have had an increasing presence in mainstream classrooms internationally, providing vital support to students and teachers on a daily basis. Although the evolution of the role has given rise to many implicit and explicit shifts in TAs' responsibilities, opportunities for TAs to develop and shape…

Discussions about the contributions of teacher assistants (TAs) are mainly limited to Western contexts, such as Australia, the UK, and the United States, and studies have consistently explored the role of TAs in inclusive learning environments despite their continuous deployment in special schools. This study attempted to understand the…

Shadow aides (also known as learning assistants or shadow teachers) and the vital role they play in the learning support plan of many inclusive policies and practices is under-researched. This paper explores stakeholders' experiences with and the views they hold of shadow aides in the inclusive classroom in a Caribbean context using a qualitative…

Students with autism spectrum disorder have been shown to benefit both academically and socially from inclusion in general education classrooms, but concerns remain about the persistence of separate special education settings around the world. Using special education program placement data from the Canadian province of Ontario and census data…

A critical aspect of inclusive policies and practices is the role that Teacher Assistants (TAs) are supposed to assume within mainstream classrooms. Despite the evidence, TAs are still linked to the most vulnerable children, especially those with severe afflictions. This exploratory mixed method of investigation analyses the differences between…

The literature is sparse on understanding the experiences of stakeholders with inclusive education in the Caribbean. Using a qualitative single case study, this study explores the lived experiences with inclusive education of non-teaching stakeholders (principal, dean of discipline, guidance counsellor, parents, and educational assistants) in a…

Self-determination skills, including competencies such as decision-making, are regarded by parents and teachers as important for students with special needs. Although not necessarily regarded as appropriate, teaching assistants often take substantial responsibility for delivering educational programs to students and little is known about their…

In recent years significant research attention has focused on the problem of student violence in schools and, to a lesser extent, on its relationship to gender-based violence. However, student violence towards teaching assistants has not been studied, despite evidence suggesting that teaching assistants are at significantly more risk from student…

Children and young adults who are 'looked after' can present teachers and teaching assistants with a variety of day-to-day classroom challenges and a range of complex behaviours due to adverse childhood environments. This group of vulnerable young people have very complex social and emotional behaviours that require a considered approach of…