Teaching assistants form approximately 25% of the school workforce
(Webster and Blatchford, 2013) and many deaf students will receive support from a teaching assistant. This may be on a formal basis with a teaching assistant specifically allocated to support a single student or on a less formal basis. The latter may be as part of a group activity or ad hoc support when the student is finding the learning challenging.
2.6.1 The number of teaching assistants in schools
The increase in the number of teaching assistants employed in schools was in part as a result of the School Teachers' Review Body (2001) Report which highlighted the need to address teachers’ workload. However this
corresponded with the increase in the numbers of children with SEN being included into mainstream education. Whilst the original government intention was that some teaching assistants would be employed to teach children directly the outcome is that the teaching assistants predominantly work alongside many students, particularly those identified as having SEN
(Blatchford et al., 2011). This support may be part of an intervention strategy or as a specified number of hours of individual support identified within their statement of SEN or as part of a school based decision.
Until the introduction of the SEND Code of Practice (Department for
Education and Department for Health, 2014) a student’s Statement of SEN frequently stipulated a specific number of hours teaching assistant support, however it rarely provided details of the nature of the support. The actual nature of the support is not stipulated and it is likely that at least some of the decision regarding the nature of the support will be determined by the
delivering an intervention or when managing the child away from the classroom (Webster and Blatchford, 2013). Webster et al., (2013) suggest that provision in this manner “...appears to get in the way of schools thinking
through appropriate pedagogies for pupils with the most pronounced learning difficulties.” p463.
2.6.2 The development of the teaching assistant role
The rapid growth in the number of teaching assistants in a short period of time has had significant implications for the development and
conceptualisation of the role which has led to wide variations in practice despite the development of National Occupational Standards (Local Government National Training Organisation, 2001, Training and
Development Agency for Schools, 2007). Several large scale reviews of research regarding teaching assistant practice (Howes et al., 2003, Alborz et al., 2009) have identified that students have increased participation in
lessons and benefit socially when supported by a teaching assistant, except when the teaching assistant is working exclusively with a pupil. It does not however lead to any significant academic improvement. Teaching assistants may however have a positive impact on student progress when engaged in individual and small group sessions for which they received training and appropriate management support (Alborz et al., 2009, Farrell et al., 2010). Indeed recent studies investigating the implementation of specific
interventions by teaching assistants have indicated positive academic
benefits (McCartney et al., 2009, Burgoyne et al., 2013, Savage et al., 2009, Fricke et al., 2013). It is important to note however that the majority of
research investigating the impact of intervention programmes designed to improve academic performance are based within the primary stage. The majority concern language or literacy development particularly in the early stages. Much less research has been conducted into teaching assistants’ practice within secondary educational settings delivering specific intervention programmes.
2.6.3 Training requirements for teaching assistants
Teaching assistants are not required to hold any formal qualifications in respect of their role and many arrive in the classroom with no previous experience (Blatchford et al., 2006). Indeed there is no requirement to hold any academic qualifications and consequently a governing body and head teacher are given the authority to determine the suitability of a candidate for
the role (Department for Education, 2014a). The issue of qualifications is politically sensitive (Graves, 2013, Devecchi et al., 2012), as imposing minimum qualification requirements would potentially lead to demands for pay increases. Russell et al. (2013), recommend that secondary schools would benefit from employing graduates in specific subject areas to work as teaching assistants but teaching assistant pay scales do not reflect a
graduate position. Further examination of this issue is beyond the scope of this discussion but it illustrates the potential impact of external political factors on the working practices and expectations of the teaching assistant role.
2.6.4 Government review of teaching assistants
In 2002 the government commissioned the Deployment and Impact of Support Staff (DISS) project to review the impact of support staff in both primary and secondary schools. It was an extensive study, conducted over a five year period and has challenged the employment of teaching assistants in any pedagogical role particularly for children with special educational needs:
…TA support has a negative impact on pupils’ academic progress especially pupils with SEN. The findings render the current
system of support for SEN highly questionable… and whether TAs should have a pedagogical role
(Blatchford et al., 2011, p.136)
This statement however is based on “…simple classification of SEN…” (Blatchford et al., 2011 p.136) and is consequently highly problematic; pupils identified with SEN are not a homogenous group but represent a diverse group of students with multiple learning experiences, skills, abilities and needs. The nature of the support students require will differ significantly depending on the nature of their SEN. It is unclear from the DISS study what is classified as pedagogical support and what is not. Particular concerns were raised regarding the impact of a teaching assistant on a pupil’s independence and ability to develop the skills to learn independently (Russell et al., 2013, Radford et al., 2014). The supported pupils were observed frequently seeking “..validation from the TA.” (Blatchford,2012,
p.88). This is an issue that is recognised and frequently raised by
practitioners.
Investigations also point towards the different nature of the interactions between teaching assistants and pupils in comparison to the interactions
between teachers and pupils as being of prime importance (Rubie-Davies et al., 2010). The study suggested that teachers were concerned with the development of understanding whilst the teaching assistants were
concerned with task completion. Teacher assistant responses to questions from the pupils were different with the teachers “… encouraging thinking and
checking understanding ..” (Rubie-Davies et al., 2010, p443) whilst teaching
assistants were more likely to provide pupils with the answers. Teaching assistants were reported to be reactive whilst teachers were proactive with their interactions. Teaching assistants were also found to be more likely to close down a conversation with a pupil rather than to open it up to allow further discussion and the opportunity to develop thinking (Radford et al., 2011). Such studies are an external reflection by the researchers on the conversations. Very little research exists that examines such interactions from an internal viewpoint either that of the teaching assistant, the student, or even the reflection from the mainstream teacher as to why the teaching assistants may be interacting with students in a particular way. Such
information may support our understanding of the interactions and role and how to develop it further.
A small number of studies have been undertaken to examine the role of teaching assistants working with specific groups of children with SEND, for example Autistic Spectrum Disorder (Symes and Humphrey, 2011); Visual impairment (McKenzie and Lewis, 2008, Harris, 2011) and supporting deaf children in mainstream schools, including Powers (2001) as part of a wide- ranging review of the support for deaf children in mainstream school and Jarvis (2003a) who considered the role from the pupils’ perspectives. There is an urgent need to augment this knowledge to inform potential changes in the deployment of teaching assistants as a consequence of the DISS project subsequent related investigations; The Effective Deployment of Teaching Assistants project (Russell et al., 2013) and The Making a Statement Study (MAST) (Webster and Blatchford, 2013) study, to ensure that they enhance rather than reduce the potential benefits of teaching assistant support for all groups of pupils.