Employing, Developing, and Directing Special Education Paraprofessionals
in Inclusive Education Programs: Findings from a Multi-Site Case Study
Go back to Section 5: Implications
When issues arise in schools and school systems, they can be mistakenly viewed as isolated, self-contained problems to be addressed. Understanding and effectively addressing complex issues, however, requires looking beyond the presenting issue or problem to understand the multiple contributing influences and forces (Senge, 2000). Employing, developing, and directing paraprofessionals in special education is one of those complex issues now facing schools and districts. For this reason, a systems perspective was utilized to examine and better understand the policies, practices, and personnel that result in effective use of special education paraprofessionals. This involved interviewing individuals who work at the team, school, and district levels in three different school districts. Central among the findings were the presence of an ongoing, job-embedded approach to developing paraprofessional knowledge and skills, the role of the special education teacher in directing and developing the work of paraprofessionals, the key role of administrators in supporting inclusive education, and the high cost of paraprofessional turnover.
In this age of standardization, there will continue to exist a need to personalize aspects of education. Nowhere is this more apparent than in providing a quality education to students with disabilities and developing systems to support their education. The quality of a student’s educational experience depends on the quality of the staff surrounding and supporting student learning. In inclusive education programs, paraprofessionals are a key supporting player whose work directly affects students. Paraprofessionals are hired to assume direct and daily service responsibilities for children who experience some of the greatest learning challenges. The special education teachers in this study recognized the importance of a high quality paraprofessional workforce in achieving student outcomes and their responsibility in supporting paraprofessional development. In essence, high quality paraprofessional direction was multi-layered and a form of job-embedded training. It was the bridge for integrating the general background knowledge with the hands-on, practice-based learning.
While the policy implications of the IDEA and NCLB continue to be defined, both clearly focus on the need for paraprofessionals to be well-trained and to work under the direction of licensed staff. We can no longer accept an approach to employing and supporting paraprofessionals where the paraprofessional just shows up and is expected to work effectively with students. The development of a quality paraprofessional workforce begins with the recruitment and employment of quality applicants; a coherent, multi-level staff development process; and ongoing, job-embedded direction by licensed staff. Similar to other systems, each component builds on and is integrally related to other components. Developing each component moves us closer to implementing high quality inclusive education programs for students.
Blalock, G. (1991). Paraprofessionals: Critical team members in our special education programs. Intervention in School and Clinic, 26, 200-214.
Brown, L., Farrington, K., Knight, T., Ross, C., & Ziegler, M. (1999). Fewer paraprofessionals and more teachers and therapists in educational programs for students with significant disabilities. The Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 24, 250-253.
Carroll, D. (2001). Considering paraeducator training, roles, and responsibilities. Teaching Exceptional Children, 34(2), 60-64.
Council for Exceptional Children. (2001). Bright futures for exceptional learners: An agenda to achieve quality conditions for teaching and learning. Reston, VA: author.
French, N. (1997). Management of paraeducators. In A. L. Pickett & K. Gerlach (Eds.), Supervising paraeducators in school settings: A team approach (pp. 91-169). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
French, N. (1998). Working together: Resource teachers and paraeducators. Remedial and Special Education, 19, 357-368.
French, N., & Pickett, A. L. (1997). Paraprofessionals in special education: Issues for teacher educators. Teacher Education and Special Education, 20, 61-73.
Freschi, D. (1999). Guidelines for working with one-to-one aides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 31(4), 42-45.
Frith, G. H., & Mims, A. (1985). Burnout among special education paraprofessionals. Teaching Exceptional Children, 17(3), 225-227.
Gaylord, V., Wallace, T., Larson, S., & Hewitt, A. (Eds.)(1992). From the editors. Impact: Feature Issue on Training of Direct Service Staff, 5(1), 1. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration.
Ghere, G. (2003). Employing, directing, and supporting paraprofessionals in inclusive education programs for students with disabilities: A multi-site case study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Giangreco, M., Broer, S., & Edelman, S. (1999). The tip of the iceberg: Determining whether paraprofessional support is needed for students with disabilities in general education settings. The Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 24, 281-291.
Giangreco, M., Edelman, S., Luiselli, T., & MacFarland, S. (1997). Helping or hovering? Effects of instructional assistant proximity on students with disabilities. Exceptional Children, 64, 7-18.
Giangreco, M. F., Edelman, S. W., & Broer, S. M. (2001). Respect, appreciation, and acknowledgment of paraprofessionals who support students with disabilities. Exceptional Children, 67, 485-498.
Giangreco, M. F., Edelman, S. W., Broer, S. M., & Doyle, M. B. (2001). Paraprofessional support of students with disabilities: Literature from the past decade. Exceptional Children, 68, 45-63.
Harkness, C. (2003). The paraeducator’s role on education teams: Lessons from experience. Impact: Feature Issue on Paraeducators Supporting Students with Disabilities and At-Risk , 15(2), 1, 28-29. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration.
Hilton, A., & Gerlach, K. (1997). Employment, preparation and management of paraeducators: Challenges to appropriate service for student with developmental disabilities. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 32, 71-76.
Likins, M. (2002). Effective training for paraprofessionals. Impact: Feature Issue on Paraeducators Supporting Students with Disabilities and At-Risk , 15(2), 6-7. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration.
Marks, S. U., Schrader, C., & Levine, M. (1999). Paraeducator experiences in inclusive settings: Helping, hovering, or holding their own? Exceptional Children, 65, 315-328.
McLeskey, J., & Waldron, N. (2000). Inclusive schools in action: Making differences ordinary. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Miles, M., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Minondo, S., Meyer, L., & Xin, J. F. (2001). The role and responsibilities of teaching assistants in inclusive education: What’s appropriate? Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 26, 114-119.
Passaro, P. D., Pickett, A. L., Latham, G., & Hong Bo, W. (1994). The training and support needs of paraprofessionals in rural special education. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 13(4), 3-9.
Patton, M. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Pickett, A. L. (1986). Paraprofessionals in special education: The state of the art – 1986. New York: City University of New York, Graduate School and University Center.
Pickett, A. L. (1990). Paraprofessionals in education: Personnel practices that influence their performance, training needs and retention. New York: City University of New York, Center for Advanced Study of Education.
Pickett, A. L. (1994). Paraprofessionals in the Education Workforce. Washington, D.C.: National Education Association.
Pickett, A. L. (1996). A State of the Art Report on Paraeducators in Education and Related Services. New York: City University of New York, National Center for Paraprofessionals in Education and Related Services, Center for Study in Advanced Education.
Pickett, A. L. (1997). Paraeducators in school settings: Framing the issues. In A. L. Pickett & K. Gerlach (Eds.), Supervising paraeducators in school settings: A team approach (pp. 1-24). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
Pickett, A. L. (2002). Paraeducators: The evolution in their roles, responsibilities, training, and supervision. Impact: Feature Issue on Paraeducators Supporting Students with Disabilities and At-Risk 15(2), 2-3, 29. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration.
Pickett, A. L., & Gerlach, K. (1997). Supervising paraeducators in school settings: A team approach. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
Pickett, A. L., Likins, M., & Wallace, T. (2003). The employment and preparation of paraeducators: The state of the art—2003. The National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals. Retrieved June 10, 2003, from the World Wide Web: www.nrcpara.org
Salzberg, C., & Morgan, J. (1995). Preparing teachers to work with paraeducators. Teacher Education and Special Education, 18, 49-55.
Senge, P. (2000). Schools that learn: A fifth discipline fieldbook for educators, parents, and everyone who cares about education. New York: Doubleday.
Vasa, S., & Steckelberg, A. (1997). Paraeducators in school settings: Administrative issues. In A. L. Pickett (Ed.), Supervising paraeducators in school settings: A team approach (pp. 235-262). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
Wallace, T., Shin, J., Bartholomay, T., & Stahl, B. J. (2001). Knowledge and skills for teachers supervising the work of paraprofessionals. Exceptional Children, 67, 520-533.
York-Barr, J., Sommerness, J., Duke, K., & Ghere, G. (2002). Special educator roles and responsibilities in inclusive settings: Findings and recommendations from an expert focus group. Unpublished manuscript, University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration.
Employing, Developing, and Directing Special Education Paraprofessionals
in Inclusive Education Programs: Findings from a Multi-Site Case Study
Go to Appendix