Effective inclusion: Teaching Assistants

Teaching assistants have provided a key ‘extra pair of hands’ in classrooms across the country for many years. In 2003 a government report led to an influx in the number of TAs in the classroom and by 2008 they made up a quarter of the workforce in many schools (Webster et al., 2011). However little research had ever been completed into the effectiveness of these staff so it was unknown if this support which is very expensive was actually worthwhile. More recently a number of studies have been carried out which have been able to shed some light and the results have been varied. A study by Blatchford and Webster et al. (2011) significantly demonstrated that teaching assistants could have a negative impact on the academic attainment of young people with special educational needs (SEN), but more recent research has looked at ways to ensure teaching assistants do in fact support students to make progress. This attached document on ‘Effective inclusion teaching assistants‘ uses the inclusion model that I have used throughout the blog to summarise a recent essay I have written on inclusion and teaching assistants. My essay was looking at whether or not teaching assistants are necessary in the classroom and what other methods can be used to support students with an SEN. Most of my research focused on young people in secondary schools with autism and interestingly many of the students in the research documents would have preferred not to have been supported 1:1 by a TA. It was for this reason that I have looked for alternative and maybe more inclusive methods of supporting students.Here are a few of the texts I read for my essay. Blatchford, P., Bassett, P., Brown, P., Martin, C., Russell, A., and Webster, R. (2011) The impact of support staff on pupils ‘positive approaches to learning’ and their academic progress. British Educational Research Journal. Vol. 37 (3) pp.443-464. Howes, A. (2003) Teaching reforms and the impact of paid adult support on participation and learning in mainstream schools. Support for Learning. Vol. 18 (4) pp. 147-153. Humphrey, N. and Symes, W. (2010) Perceptions of social support and experience of bullying among pupils with autistic spectrum disorder in mainstream secondary schools. European Journal of Special Educational Needs Education. Vol. 25 (1) pp. 77-91. Humphrey, N. and Symes, W. (2011a) Peer interaction patterns among adolescents with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) in mainstream school settings. Autism. Vol. 15 (4) pp. 397-419. Humphrey, N. and Symes, W. (2011b) The deployment, training and teacher relationships of teaching assistants supporting pupils with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) in mainstream secondary schools. British Journal of Special Education. Vol. 38 (2) pp. 57-64. Humphrey, N. and Symes, W. (2013) Inclusive education for pupils with autistic spectrum disorders in secondary mainstream schools: teacher attitudes, experience and knowledge. International Journal of Inclusive Education. Vol. 17 (1) pp. 32-46. Parsons, S., Guldberg, K., MacLeod, A., Jones, G., Prunty, A. and Balfe, T. (2009) International Review of the Literature of evidence of the best practice provision in the Education of Persons with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. National Council for Special Education: Birmingham. Webster, R., Blatchford, P., Bassett, P., Brown, P., Martin, C. and Russell, A. (2011) The wider pedagogical role of teaching assistants. School Leadership and Management. Vol. 31(1) pp. 3 -20.