| dc.description.abstract | While the occupation of teacher assistant has become rooted in the
Ontario School System no research exists concerning the roles these teacher
assistants perform in Ontario. There is also a paucity of research which
examines teacher assistant roles from the point of view of teacher assistants
themselves.
This research investigated the roles of teacher assistants in two
elementary school special education classrooms in Ontario. Qualitative
methods were used to gain an insider’s view of what teacher assistants do in
the classroom. These methods included interviews with teacher assistants,
teachers, principals and a superintendent as well as observations of teacher
assistants and teachers working together in the classroom and document
analysis of the Site School Board Teacher Assistant job description and
relevant Ontario Teachers’ Federation documents.
Based on the data a conceptual model of the roles of the teacher
assistant was developed. This model consisted of two categories of roles.
Category I was called Working with Children and consisted of five roles:
instructor, behaviour manager, observer, caregiver and team player. Category II
was called Non-Contact with Children and consisted of two roles: technician
and clerk.
Implications of this research include the development of curriculum for
preservice and inservice programs for teacher assistants as well as augmenting
curriculum in teacher preservice special education training in order to address
how to fully utilize the teacher assistants in the classroom. Further research is
recommended to investigate the caregiver role in greater depth and to examine
the relationship between the roles of the teacher and the teacher assistant. | |
