Faculty mentorship is considered an important component of graduate education. Faculty supervisors of graduate student assistants are in a unique position to enhance the personal and career development of their supervisees. Yet, little is known about the relationship between supervision and mentorship in graduate education. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between mentoring behavior and supervisory approach as reported by faculty supervisors of graduate student assistants at Virginia Tech. Data were collected using the Mentor Behaviors Questionnaire and Supervisory Approach Inventory and analyzed using analysis of variance. The findings suggested that faculty provided career mentoring behaviors as a result of academic culture and the perceived role of faculty rather than the influence of gender, prior mentoring experience, or length of relationship. However, faculty with no prior mentoring experience, might be unaware of the value of psychosocial mentoring in promoting personal development of their assistants, especially in male-male relationships. A positive relationship between synergistic supervision and mentoring was established which suggested that productive supervisory practices and mentoring behavior were similar. Faculty who had more contact with students reported higher levels of career mentoring. Reward and recognition were suggested as incentives for increasing student contact which might foster career mentoring. Surprisingly, graduate assistant supervisors reported higher rates of mentoring behaviors than teaching or research assistant supervisors, thus challenging the commonly held perception that research assistants were more likely to receive mentoring support from faculty than other types of assistants. The information generated by this study is useful in identifying faculty behaviors associated with mentorship and establishing the link between assistantship supervision and mentorship opportunity. Student affairs and graduate education professionals may find that the implementation of faculty mentor training programs is a useful tool in promoting the psychosocial and career development of students. / Master of Arts

This study aims to research the student assistant’s workplace situation at the after-school center, wherein we examine the various differences between how school leaders, parents and guardians aswell as student assistants handle their duties at the after-school center. These questions are as follows, ”What duties should the student assistant role encompass”, as well as”Which differences exist in the support which students with special needs receive during school hours respective to after-school hours”. This study derives its information from qualitative research and scripted and improvised interviews. Our results demonstrate a clear link that the student assistant plays a vital role with the work of supporting special needs children. Since it has been difficult acquiring prior research regarding the student assistant’s role at the afterschool center we’ve had to draw parallels between the small amount of existing research regarding the student assistant’s work during school hours.

Den här studien syftar till att synliggöra hur elevassistenter som arbetar hos elever med synnedsättning upplever sitt uppdrag och yrkesroll. Studien utgår från en fenomenologisk ansats och tidigare forskning. Studiens resultat grundar sig på elevassistentens berättelser om sina upplevelser och erfarenheter. Fenomenologin står fast vid att respondentens upplevelser och erfarenheter är det som är i fokus i studien. Studien har genomförts med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Respondenterna kontaktades av syncentralen eller fått information från specialpedagogiska skolmyndigheterna om studiens syfte och mål. Studien bygger på berättelser från fyra elevassistenter om deras upplevelser och erfarenheter kring uppdraget samt yrkesrollen. Resultatet visar på oklara förhållanden gällande elevassistentens uppdrag och yrkesroll i skolans verksamhet. Det framgår att elevassistenterna huvudsakligen arbetar med hjälpmedel, syntolkning eller lärarens arbetsuppgifter. I det framgår även att skolledningen behöver utveckla sin kunskap kring elevassistentens uppdrag och yrkesroll hos elever med synnedsättning. Fortbildning både efterfrågas och behövs inom hela denna verksamhet. / This study aims to highlight how student assistants working with students with visual impairment perceive their assignment and professional role. The study is based on a phenomenological approach and previous research. The study results are based on the student assistant's stories about their impressions and experiences. The phenomenology firmly holds that the respondent's impressions and experiences are in the focus of the study. The study was conducted with semi-structured interviews. The respondents were contacted by the vision center or received information from the special education school authorities about the purpose and objectives of the study. The study is based on stories from four student assistants about their impressions and experiences regarding the assignment and the professional role. The results show ambiguous relationships regarding student assistant assignments and professional role in school activities. It can be seen that the student assistants mainly work with aids, visual interpretation or the teacher's tasks. It is also evident that the school management needs to develop their knowledge regarding the assignment and the professional role of the student assistant for students with visual impairment and continuing education is needed throughout the operations.

Syftet med denna essä är att undersöka hur elever med NPF (neuropsykiska funktionsnedsättningar) kan bli inkluderade i skolan och på fritidshemmet, samt öka kunskapen kring hur lärare ska bemöta elever med NPF. Denna uppsats är skriven i essäform. I essän delar jag med mig av händelser där dilemman uppstått från min yrkeserfarenhet gällande en elev med NPF. I början av essän försöker jag, genom att berätta om några konkreta händelser från mitt arbete som assistent till en pojke med NPF, få läsaren att se vad mitt arbete innebär. Essän har fyra frågeställningar som uppsatsen utgår från: Hur ska jag inkludera elever i behov av stöd på bästa sätt på fritidshemmet men även i klassrummet? Vilka kunskaper hade jag behövt för att möta Noel på bästa sätt? Vem ansvarar för Noels skolgång och tillvaro? Vad hade behövts för skapa en hållbar arbetssituation för mig? Essän avslutas med en reflektion kring resultatet som framkommit i essän. Jag har genom denna essä kommit till slutsatsen om att teoretisk kunskap är en viktigt del i arbete med elever med NPF. / The purpose of this essay is to investigate how students with NPF (neuropsychiatric disabilities) can be included in school and at the after-school center, as well as increase knowledge about how teachers should treat students with NPF. This article is written in essay form. In the essay, I share events where dilemmas have arisen from my own professional experience regarding a student with NPF. At the beginning of the essay, by telling a story about my own work with a boy with NPF, I try to involve a readers a wittnes of my work etails. The essay deals with four questions on which the essay is based: How should I include students in need of support in the best way in the after-school center but also in the classroom? What knowledge would I have needed to meet Noel in the best way? Who is responsible for Noel's schooling and existence? What would have been needed to create a sustainable work situation for me? The essay ends with a reflection on the results that have emerged in the essay. Through this essay, I have come to the conclusion that theoretical knowledge is an important part of working with students with NPF.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka stödinsatsen i form av elevassistent och hur insatsen kopplas till elevens behov av särskilt stöd. Studien bygger på tidigare forskning kring elevassistentens roll och funktion i arbetet med elever i behov av särskilt stöd och har en kvalitativ ansats där åtgärdsprogram har samlats in och bearbetats med hjälp av dokumentanalys som metod. Även djupintervjuer av semi-strukturerad karaktär genomfördes med en rektor, en speciallärare och tre elevassistenter. Resultatet från dokumentanalysen analyserades och sammanställdes i en tabell och de inspelade intervjuerna transkriberades och sammanställdes utifrån teman. Resultatet analyserades, sammanfattades och sattes sedan i relation till tidigare forskning samt studiens teoretiska ramverk. Sammanfattningsvis påvisar resultatet att stödbehov kopplat till elevassistent som insats ofta är av social karaktär. Elevassistentens roll handlar med andra ord främst om att fungera som en stödstruktur, speciellt i sociala sammanhang. I elevassistentens roll ingår också ofta någon form av undervisning, antingen enskilt eller i mindre grupper. Elevassisternas behov av stöd hamnar inom områden som planeringstid, handledning och kompetensutveckling. I vilket omfattning detta stöd ges beror utifrån detta resultat lite på vilken enhet samt inom vilka årskullar elevassistenten är verksam. För att säkerställa att insatsen resulterar i en akademisk progression hos eleven, påvisar resultatet att detta sker genom dialoger mellan lärare och elevassistent samt genom olika typer av test. / The purpose of this study was to investigate what kind of support being conducted by the profession student assistant, and how their role is linked to students with special educational needs. The study is based on previous research how the role student assistant is functioning in relation to students with special educational needs. The study has a qualitative approach and the theoretical framework is based on the ecological system theory. Individualized educational plans have been collected and processed using document analysis as a method. In-depth interviews of semi-structured nature was also conducted with a principal, a special teacher and three student assistants. The results of the document analysis were analyzed and complied in a table and the recorded interviews were transcribed and complied based on themes. The result of the document analysis was analyzed, summarized and then compared in relation to previous research as well as the theoretical framework of the study. The results in terms of what is required from the student assistant are pointing towards needs of social character. In other words, the role of the student assistant is primarily to function as a support structure, especially in social contexts. A part within the role also includes teaching, either individually or in smaller groups. The student’s assistants need for support can be categorized into planning time, supervision and adequate education. Whether, and in what extent various support is given, varies from the result. The result demonstrates that the pupil’s academic progression is being ensured via dialogues between teachers and student assistants as well as various types of tests.