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How are Preservice Educators Prepared to Work with Paraprofessionals? An Analysis of Teacher Preparation Programs and Faculty Perspective

Paraprofessionals have a wide range of responsibilities in the educational system to support students' academic, behavioral, and social needs. The law does not specifically define how paraprofessionals will receive training for these tasks, but many districts require teachers to fill this role. While some educators may receive adequate training, literature shows that the majority of preservice and in-service teachers feel unprepared to train, manage, and supervise paraprofessionals. In this exploratory study, grounded qualitative methods were used to analyze data from course materials and semi-structured interviews regarding faculty perspectives of current practices used in teacher preparation programs. Themes which emerged from the data included: (1) Informal or ad hoc training; (2) Recognition of the need to support conceptual awareness; and (3) Infrastructural issues. Participants in this study used their knowledge, background, and experiences to create meaningful and relevant activities with concepts that preservice teachers need to work with paraprofessionals. However, instruction tended to be informal or ad hoc due to a number of infrastructural issues and constraints surrounding current practices. The findings of the study were congruent with previous literature regarding course materials, activities, and types of training. Additionally, this study revealed some issues at the national, state, and local levels that have influenced the extent of information provided to preservice teachers regarding working with paraprofessionals.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc2332651
Date05 1900
CreatorsWalker, Christine Elizabeth
ContributorsSavage, Melissa N., Allen, Carrie, Boesch, Miriam C., Middlemiss, Wendy
PublisherUniversity of North Texas
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
FormatText
RightsPublic, Walker, Christine Elizabeth, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved.

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