Assistant teachers are an integral component of the preschool classroom, planning and implementing educational activities and supporting individual children and small groups, and often bring linguistic, cultural, and racial/ethnic diversity to the teaching field. However, there is limited research on the impact of assistant teacher qualifications…

To promote and enhance self-determination, the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) was developed for teachers to teach students the skills needed to engage in goal-directed actions. The SDLMI was originally designed to be delivered by teachers, but technologies are emerging that can provide an alternative medium to delivering…

Many children may need the help of another person to attend school. It is common for children with disabilities to receive help from a teaching assistant at school. Assistants are provided in many countries as a legal right and are often publicly funded. It is also widely assumed that having teaching assistants in the class is an effective and…

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) rates have increased in recent years, resulting in the need for more classroom support. In Wales, support for many pupils with ADHD is provided by the 16,157 teaching assistants (TAs) employed by local authorities. This qualitative study interviewed 15 primary school TAs to answer three questions…

Teaching assistants (TAs) in the United Kingdom typically work with students with additional and special needs, including the most challenging and vulnerable pupils, in low paid, precarious roles. However, no research has examined how organisational factors such as job demand, control, and support can influence TAs' wellbeing, despite recent…

There is much research into teachers' workplace wellbeing, but very little research investigating teacher assistants' wellbeing in the workplace -- especially those who work in classrooms where students with a disability are present. Research among teachers has identified adaptability as a key to their workplace wellbeing. Following this research,…

This paper explores whether children and young people (CYP) with additional learning needs (ALN) are at a systemic disadvantage regarding Welsh language opportunities. Justification pertaining to why this should be on the radar of educational psychologists (EPs) in Wales is provided. Congruent with critical realism, quantitative and qualitative…

This article presents the results of an action-research project. The project consisted of a reflection process involving a year-long collaboration between a teacher, a teaching assistant and a speech therapist in a special education school, together with two researchers acting as counsellors. The reflection process sought to promote changes in the…

Practical activities are the main activities of learning biology whose implementation is rarely evaluated. This study aimed to determine the quality of biology practicum which includes planning and implementation of biology practicum and student learning outcomes thereafter. The population in this study was students, teachers and and laboratory…

The aim of this article is to analyse how professionals in special needs upper secondary schools in Sweden -- assistants, teachers and Special Education Needs Coordinators -- understand and define quality in their daily interactions with students who have intellectual disabilities. Our analysis draws on data collected via a digital questionnaire,…

Dominant deficit-focused discourses of autism have supported the use of specialised practices within education. This is despite the fact that recent micro-level research provides evidence of overlooked interactional competence in autistic children and problematises the idea of their unavailability to ordinary teaching methods. The aim of this…

In the Netherlands, the trend towards inclusion has led to the development of a 'To School Together' programme in which students with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) receive tailored care and education during the school day in a special classroom ('To School Together' class) within a mainstream school. Besides shared…

Students with special needs face difficulties in teaching and learning activities in a regular elementary school. There are various aspects that affect their learning process in a regular school. The study objectives are: (1) to know the implementation of education for students with special needs in a regular elementary school. (2) to know if the…

To promote and enhance self-determination, the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) was developed for teachers to teach students the skills needed to engage in goal-directed actions. The SDLMI was originally designed to be delivered by teachers, but technologies are emerging that can provide an alternative medium to delivering…

Background: Although language and communication difficulties are common in secondary school students, there has been limited research into the efficacy of interventions for adolescents with language and communication difficulties. Aims: To investigate the efficacy of teaching assistant (TA)-delivered narrative and vocabulary interventions to…