Introduction
Paraeducator, also known as para-pro, instructional assistant, educational assistant, classroom assistant, or teacher’s aide, is a person who assists students under the supervision of a certified teacher (Douglas et al., 2019).
Qualifications
Qualifications necessary to be employed as a paraeducator are very heavily based on educational institutions and state location. Some common requirements include but are not limited to a two-year associate degree from a specialized program in paraeducator or any field related, such as special education or child development (Douglas et al., 2019). Title 1 schools also ask for a certificate that signifies passing a state-based standardized test, proven knowledge of Work Keys, and PARAPro. Working experience is not usually required; however, volunteering as a teacher’s aide would be an advantage (Douglas et al., 2019). I agree with the two-year degree needed for the position. Yet, I think that passing a state-based test is not essential because skills required for the paraeducator are best obtained through experience not theoretical knowledge.
In my opinion, this number is likely to decrease because of the emphasis put on inclusive education. Instead of hiring paraprofessionals, schools will prefer to reallocate financial resources on co-teaching where two instructors are equally qualified to deliver educational content to meet the goals of special needs education students.
Responsibilities
The issue of delegating responsibilities is challenging because general educators have limited experience in giving instructions to adults. Furthermore, the scope of duties entitled to the paraprofessional does not include teaching; thus, instructors should only delegate administrative and supportive tasks to stay within the official job description (Douglas et al., 2019). Nevertheless, delegation is important for teachers as it allows them to focus on purely instructional responsibilities: analyzing the learning needs of students, defining tasks, and maintaining classroom organization.
The physical needs of the students
During instruction, paraprofessionals should be trained to support the physical needs of the students, attending to basics such as hunger, sleep, or emotional distress to ensure students are in good physical health (Douglas et al., 2019). Teaching assistants should also be instructed to support peer prompting, searching for and responding to cues in the learning environment. This way students will be encouraged to learn from each other in a more interactive way (Douglas et al., 2019). Finally, paraprofessionals should learn to document and collect data on the skills and supports in the individualized IEP of the students.
Shared planning time
Shared planning time is vital for developing mentoring relationships, receiving mutual feedback, and setting common goals, necessary to achieve progress for the paraeducator and a supervising teacher. Educational programs would benefit from a more comprehensive curriculum where an instructor can pay more attention to delivering class material while an assistant can engage directly with students (Douglas et al., 2019). In such a manner, the scope of activities would expand with students showing more interest in the education process.
Communication and previous working experience
When assigning duties to the paraprofessional, such factors as communication and previous working experience should be taken into consideration (Douglas et al., 2019). Personality traits, as well as communication skills, define the extent to which a teacher’s assistant can accommodate the emotional needs of the learners. The previous working experience showcases the strong sides of the employee as well as potential areas of improvement that require more supervision.
Communication should be grounded in mutual respect between a supervising teacher and a paraeducator. To avoid conflicts, a personalized job description and clear scope of tasks should be determined for the teacher’s assistant. Both parties should have a voice in discussions for the greater good of students, yet the final decision should always rest with the instructor. In the event of a conflict, a supervising teacher and a paraeducator should revisit the pre-defined agreement, outlining the rights and duties of both (Douglas et al., 2019). Negotiation techniques may be utilized to reach a common ground where all needs are met. If the conflict seems too serious to handle independently, a neutral third party should be involved to mediate.
Confidentiality
Maintaining confidentiality is one of the most critical tasks in the educational setting. Paraeducators are legally responsible for respecting the confidentiality of the school and students. Students’ performance can only be discussed with staff members upon the teacher’s approval (Douglas et al., 2019). Questions asked by other staff members and parents should be redirected directly to the supervising instructor without external disclosure. Images of students, video recordings, and educational records cannot be distributed to third parties without legal confirmation (Douglas et al., 2019). Content of personal conversations should equally be protected under the FERPA unless the content as such possesses potential or direct harm to the individual, community, or environment.
Conclusion
As a former paraprofessional, I think that the assistant job would be much easier if more independence was granted in the classroom. Frequently, paraeducators are assigned to students and cannot move when the teacher gives instructions in front of the classroom which prevents the professional from forming meaningful relationships with students. From the perspective of a supervising teacher, I believe that more time should be given to establishing an effective process of delegating tasks and finding ways to communicate properly. From my experience, most of the issues arise from misunderstandings in communication.
Reference
Douglas, S. N., Uitto, D. J., Reinfelds, C. L., & D’Agostino, S. (2019). A systematic review of paraprofessional training materials. The Journal of Special Education, 52(4), 195–207. Web.