The Roles and Responsibilities of Teacher Aides Supporting Students with Special Needs in Secondary School Settings

2007 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Howard ◽  
Jerry Ford
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Professional Status ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Students With Special Needs ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
School Settings ◽  
Teacher Aides

This study examined the perceptions of teacher aides regarding their roles and responsibilities in supporting senior students with special needs in mainstream secondary school settings. Fourteen teacher aides were interviewed using a semi‐structured interview guide to determine their views regarding their roles and responsibilities, the challenges they faced, their relationships with parents, teachers and students, and their professional development needs. Findings from the study indicated that the participating teacher aides performed a variety of roles and that they often had a considerable degree of autonomy and responsibility in providing academic, social, and behavioural support to the students they served. Teacher aides reported that they were generally satisfied with their jobs and proud of their contributions and accomplishments. However their relationships with teaching staff were often challenging. Teacher aides also indicated that their roles and responsibilities were not clearly delineated, their professional status was not formally recognised, opportunities for advancement and professional development were limited, and that they received little systematic feedback and evaluation of their performance.

Development of a Mobile-Optimised Website to Support Students With Special Needs Transitioning From Primary to Secondary Settings

2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianne Chambers ◽  
Anne Coffey
Keyword(s):  
Special Needs ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
Smooth Transition ◽  
Students With Special Needs ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Initial Development ◽  
School Settings ◽  
Transition Issues ◽  
Support Students

With an increasing number of students with special needs being included in regular classroom environments, consideration of, and planning for, a smooth transition between different school settings is important for parents, classroom teachers and school administrators. The transition between primary and secondary school can be difficult for students with special needs, particularly in the areas of organisation and social interaction. Technology can be used to assist students to make this transition more effectively and may work to minimise any difficulties involved in the transition. In this article the authors describe transition considerations, and technology use for students with special needs and how technology may be used to address transition issues. The authors conclude by detailing the initial development process of a mobile-optimised website to support students with special needs who are transitioning from a primary to secondary environment in an Australian context. Future directions for the use of the website are explored.

A Survey of the Experiences of Paraprofessionals With Roles, Training, and Communication When Working With Students With Autism

2022 ◽  
pp. 108835762110668
Author(s):  
Kristi L. Morin ◽  
Sallie Nowell ◽  
Jessica Steinbrenner ◽  
Ann Sam ◽  
Victoria Waters ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Perceived Barriers ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
School Settings ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Job Preparation ◽  
Professional Development Needs ◽  
Students With Autism ◽  
Applied Knowledge

Paraprofessionals are critical members of instructional teams for students with autism; however, little is known about their job preparation and professional development needs. This study addressed the gap in the literature by surveying 325 paraprofessionals in public school settings in the United States and Guam who reported working with students with autism. Data were gathered on paraprofessionals’ (a) roles and responsibilities, (b) applied knowledge from different types of professional development, (c) perceived barriers to professional development, and (d) types and timing of communication with their supervising teachers. The results of this study have direct implications for individuals interested in developing a model of professional development that will meet the unique needs of paraprofessionals who work with students with autism.

scholarly journals The attitudine of the typical students towards the inclusion of their colleagues with special educational needs in mass education

Educatia 21 ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 21-27
Author(s):  
Nicoleta Raluca Lupu
Keyword(s):  
Special Needs ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Educational Needs ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Mass Education ◽  
Special Educational Needs ◽  
Students With Special Needs ◽  
Inclusive Schools ◽  
Educational Implications ◽  
Teachers Attitudes

he present article is a quantitative research which responds to the following question: what is the attitude of the typical students towards the inclusion of their colleagues with special needs. The attitudes of typical students were measured using a scale designed for this purpose. The results showed a positive attitude towards inclusion. The attitude was also influenced by factors such as gender. Through the paper "Educational Implications of Game in Students with Special Educational Needs from Inclusive Schools", a new way of inclusion was suggested, the inclusion through game addressed to the whole community. The key groups involved in the inclusion process and the proposed objectives for each target group are thus presented: teaching staff: 1) identifying teachers' attitudes towards the integration of the students with special needs in mass education, 2) changing the teachers' attitudes through games; students with special educational needs: 1) designing and testing some forms of support through game; the parents of typical students: 1) identifying the attitudes towards the integration of students with special needs in mass education; typical students: 1) identifying the attitude towards the integration of students with special educational needs in mass education

scholarly journals Pedagogic Lapses in Problem-solving Model and the Professional Development of Secondary School Philosophy Teachers in Yaoundé VI Municipality

2020 ◽  
pp. 31-43
Author(s):  
Kibinkiri Eric Len ◽  
Yaya Bati Faison
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Teacher Practices ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Thematic Content Analysis ◽  
Problem Solving Model ◽  
School Philosophy ◽  
The Government

The professional development of teachers most especially Philosophy teachers has been a major concern of the Government of Cameroon. The ministry of secondary education has experimented several approaches and methods such as the New Pedagogic Approach and the Competence Based Approach. However, the Problem-Solving Model (PSM) could have an influence on the professional development of secondary school philosophy teachers. On this premise, this study sought to find out how the Problem-Solving Model influences the professional development of secondary school philosophy teachers in Yaounde VI Municipality. The investigation was anchored on authors like J. Dewey, E. Kant, C. S. Pierce and K. Nkrumah on their constructivist and pragmatic views. The qualitative approach with the aid of a semi-structured interview and semi- structured observation were employed. A total of ten teachers were selected to participate in this study using the non-probability sampling technique from two secondary schools; G.B.H.S. Etoug-Ebe and G.B.H.S. Mendong in the Yaounde VI municipality. Data was analyzed descriptively using tables, graphs and thematic content analysis. The results revealed that PSM influenced the professional development of secondary school philosophy teachers except for some few elements like stating the problem, contextualizing and rephrasing the problem, recalling the problem and contextualizing the solution that need to be relooked into because teacher practices do not conform to Dewey’s pragmatic model. The results of this study led to the proposed pragmatic triadic model to guide teacher practices.

scholarly journals The Social Acceptance of Secondary School Students with Learning Disabilities (LD)

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-194
Author(s):  
Teja Lorger ◽  
Majda Schmidt ◽  
Karin Bakračevič Vukman
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Social Acceptance ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
School Students ◽  
Students With Special Needs ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Students With Ld

This paper aims to shed light on the level of social acceptance among students with learning disabilities (LD4) in various secondary school vocational programs in comparison with their peers without disabilities. Our findings are based on an empirical study that comprised 417 students,5 of whom 85 were students with LD. Based on sociometric analyses of allparticipating classes, we determined that students with LD were less integrated into the classroom in comparison to their peers without LD. The results of the sociometric analysis show statistically significant differences in the sociometric position between students with LD and students without LD. While students with LD were most frequently perceived as rejected,students without LD were seen as popular or average. In addition, students with LD see themselves as less socially self-efficient compared to their peers. The results of our study mostly refer to boys, because the sample comprised 359 boys and 58 girls. We believe that pro-inclusion teachers with appropriately developed strategies for strengthening students’ socialskills, as well as positive attitudes and sufficient knowledge about the special needs of students can have a significant impact on the social acceptance of students with special needs in the classroom community. 

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