The Changing Roles of Teaching Assistants in England and Special Needs Assistants in Ireland: A Comparison.

Authors

  • Áine O'Neill
  • Richard Rose

Keywords:

Teaching Assistants, Special Needs Assistants, SNA, Roles, Inclusion, Inclusive Education

Abstract

In the discourse on how to deploy additional adults towards the achievement of classroom learning environments that are more inclusive in Ireland, a comparative study with England is useful. This article gives an account of a completed element of a wider study comparing the work of teaching assistants in England with that of special needs assistants in Ireland. While the two educational contexts differ systemically and developmentally, many of the variables at play on this issue are common to both.

References

Association of Secondary Teachers’ Ireland (ASTI) (2004) Report of Special Needs Sub Committee to Annual Convention; April 2004, Retrieved January 25, 2006, from http://www/asti.ie/pol main.htm.

Bach, S., Kessler, I. and Heron, P. (2006) Changing Job Boundaries and Workforce Reform: The Case of Teaching Assistants, Industrial Relations Journal Vol. 37 (1), pp. 2-21.

Balshaw, M. and Farrell, P. (2002) Teaching Assistants: Practical Strategies for Classroom Support, London: David Fulton.

Carrig, M. (2004) Changing Role of the Special Needs Assistant: Perspectives of a Special School Staff, REACH Journal of Special Educational Needs in Ireland, Vol. 17 (2), pp. 119-126.

Clayton, T. (1993) From Domestic Helper to ‘Assistant Teacher’: The Changing Role of the British Classroom Assistant, European Journal of Special Needs Education, Vol. 8 (1), pp. 32-44.

Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) (1997) Statistics in Education: Schools in England, London: DfEE.

Department for Education and Skills (DfES) (2000) Working with Teaching Assistants – A Good Practice Guide, London: DfES.

Department for Education and Skills (DfES) (2003) Raising Standards and Tackling Workload: A National Agreement, London: DfES.

Department for Education and Skills (DfES) (2007) National Statistics (First Release), London: DfES.

Department of Education and Science (DES) (2002) Circular Letter 07/02, Dublin: DES.

Department of Education and Science (DES) (2005) Circular Letter SNA 12/05, Dublin: DES.

Department of Education and Science (DES) (2007) Inclusion of Students with Special Education Needs Post-Primary Schools, Dublin: The Stationery Office.

Elliott, S. (2004) The Role and Training of Special Needs Assistants for Pupils With Autistic Spectrum Disorders in Ireland, Good Autism Practice Journal, Vol. 5 (2), pp. 22-34.

Giangreco, M.F. and Doyle, M.B. (2007) Teacher Assistants in Inclusive Schools. In Florian, L. (ed.) The Sage Handbook of Special Education, London: Sage.

Groom, B. (2006) Building Relationships for Learning: The Developing Role of the Teaching Assistant, Support for Learning Vol. 21 (4), pp. 199-203.

Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) (2003) Supporting Special Education in the Mainstream School; An INTO Report, Dublin: INTO

Ireland (1993) Report of the Special Education Review Committee (SERC), Dublin: The Stationery Office.

Ireland (1999) Primary School Curriculum: Introduction, Dublin: The Stationery Office.

Jerwood, L. (1999) Using Special Needs Assistants Effectively, British Journal of Special Education Vol. 26 (3), pp. 127-129.

Lacey, P. (2001) Support Partnerships: Collaboration in Action, London: David Fulton.

Lawlor, L. and Cregan, A. (2003) The Evolving Role of the Special Needs Assistant: Towards a New Synergy. REACH Journal of Special Needs Education in Ireland, Vol. 16 (2), pp. 82-93.

Logan, A. (2006) The Role of the Special Needs Assistant Supporting Pupils With Special Educational Needs in Irish Mainstream Primary Schools, Support for Learning, Vol. 21 (2), pp. 92-98.

Lorenz, S. (1998) Effective In-class Support: The Management of Support Staff in Mainstream and Special Schools, London: David Fulton Publishers.

Marks, S., Schrader, C. and Levine, M. (1999) Paraeducator Experiences in Inclusive Setting: Helping, Hovering or Holding Their Own? Exceptional Children, Vol. 65 (3), pp. 315-328.

Miles, M. and Huberman, A. (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook (2nd ed), Thousand Oaks, California: Sage

National Council for Special Education (NCSE) (2006) Guidelines on the Individual Education Plan Process, Dublin: The Stationery Office.

Palladino, P., Cornoldi, C., Vianello, R., Scruggs, T. and Mastropieri, M. (1999) Paraprofessionals in Italy: Perspectives from an Inclusive Country, Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, Vol. 24 (4), pp. 253-256.

Riggs, C.G. and Mueller, P.H. (2001) Employment and Utilisation of Paraeducators in Inclusive Settings, Journal of Special Education Vol. 35, (1) pp. 54-62.

Rose, R. (2000) Using Classroom Support: A Single School Case Study, British Journal of Special Education, Vol. 27 (4), pp. 205-210. Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) (2006) Professional Standards For Higher Level Teaching Assistants, London: TDA.

Thomas, G. (1992) Effective Classroom Teamwork: Support or Intrusion? London: Routledge.

Downloads

Published

2021-01-24

How to Cite

O’Neill, Áine, & Rose, R. (2021). The Changing Roles of Teaching Assistants in England and Special Needs Assistants in Ireland: A Comparison. REACH: Journal of Inclusive Education in Ireland, 22(1), 48–58. Retrieved from https://reachjournal.ie/index.php/reach/article/view/115

Issue

Section

Articles