The Role and Leadership of Teaching Assistants - Special Education Needs - Coursework Example

THE ROLE AND LEADERSHIP OF TEACHING ASSISTANTS The Role and Leadership of Teaching Assistants SENCOs The changes in education practices and values that have occurred throughout the history of special Education Needs (SEN) have been very influential in the progress made in legislation and the process of implementing various policies in education. The main focus, however, has been the shift from segregation to inclusion for the provision of SEN in learning institutions in England and Wales with also similar developments in Northern Ireland in recent years (Bosanquet, Radford, and Webster, 2015 p. 23). Children with Special Education Needs (SEN) are those that have one or more learning difficulties or some form of disabilities that make it very difficult for them to get the best out of their education like other students within the same age group (Hallett, and Hallett, 2010 p. 36). These children need a lot of help in terms of handling their school work, expressing themselves, behaving well in the school environment, and organizing themselves among other forms of assistance. Children with autism, for instance, qualify as learners with special education needs. Changes in legislation have contributed immensely towards creating a conducive climate in both primary and secondary schools to accommodate diversity when offering their education. As such, one of the most influential policies in education in the past few years has been inclusion (Hallett, and Hallett, 2010 p. 43). Inclusion refers to the various strategies used in education to accommodate students with disabilities in public schools. Inclusion focuses on promoting the rights of children to access education and the responsibility of schools to accept and enroll all children (Bosanquet, 2012 p. 33). There are two main strategies of inclusion namely regular or partial inclusion and full inclusion. Both strategies are based on the element of integration in education in order to cater for students with different learning abilities. Essentially, inclusion entails providing additional help to the students and creating a good environment where these children can be treated like other ‘normal’ children (Van do Pol, Volman, and Beishuizen, 2010 p. 278). Inclusion has encountered many challenges that have made it difficult to implement some of its core tenets. Most importantly, the role of Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) has come under constant scrutiny in recent years (Cheminais, 2006 p. 42). SECOs are education officers charged with the responsibility of managing the day-to-day operations with regard to implementation of Special Education Needs. More specifically, a SENCO will be involved in providing additional support to students with special needs by liaising with their families, teachers, and other professionals in order to provide a good environment for them to get positive educational outcomes. All schools in the country have a SENCO who collaborates with different stakeholders to make sure students with special needs get the attention they need. The role of SENCOs can be broken down into five key areas (Bosanquet, Radford, and Webster, 2015 p. 31). In one of its surveys, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) found out that 74% of the respondents agreed that the support given to schools from external sources had decreased significantly. The study further indicated that most of the SENCOs are very pessimistic about the future of the SEN program due to minimal funding the program receives (Russell, Webster, and Blatchford, 2012 p. 124). Two out of three of the SENCOs predicted that the external support given to students would decrease further within the next two years. Another 33% of the respondents also felt that the in-school support given to students with SEN was also bound to decrease significantly in the near future (Vygotsky, 1978 p. 48). The main issues that prompted this pessimistic view of the SEN program are reduced funding and understaffing in public schools, making it difficult for teachers to meet their goals. From this survey by the NUT, it is clear to see the frustrations and challenges that the SENCOs are facing in executing their roles in the education sector. The Teacher Training Agency (TTA) sought to address the role of leadership of subject teachers through its 1998 policy commonly known as the TTA 1998. The main objective of the TTA 1998 was to ensure provision of professional management and leadership ion all subjects to secure high quality teaching, efficient use of resources, and improving the standards of learning and achievement for every pupil (Bosanquet, 2012 p. 37). Therefore, in order to achieve these objectives, the TTA 1998 identified four core areas of focus namely; Strategic direction and development of the subject, teaching and learning, leading and managing staff, and efficient and effective deployment of staff and resources. Teacher Development and Training (TDA) is also critical in ensuring quality education. Professional teachers in England and Wales are expected to get the Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) certification before practicing their profession in any public school. The General Teaching Council for England (GTC) are the ones responsible for managing QTS to excel in their profession (Bosanquet, Radford, and Webster, 2015 p. 27). The National Standards for Special Educational Needs Coordinators (1998) provide a framework for coordinating SEN. The standards define the context within which provision of SEN can be very effective. It also focuses on the understanding, knowledge, skills, expertise, and attributes that are required by the individuals in charge of coordinating SEN in public schools, the SENCOs. These standards provide more clarity concerning the responsibilities that are derived from the National Code of Practice for SEN. They also provide an elaborate framework for the development of targeted professional Training in relation to SEN. The code of practice (1994) for special educational needs focuses on the identification and assessment of special education needs. It promotes effective decision making concerning the children with SEN. However, the code does not dictate to them what to do in each individual case, but provides good guidelines that can lead to effective decision making (Bosanquet, 2012 p. 44). The code covers issues such as principles and policies, pupil participation, working in partnership with parents, identification, assessment and provision of education in early settings as well as in both primary and secondary settings, and the statutory assessment of SEN among other issues (Wood, Bruner, and Ross, 1976 p. 96). Nevertheless, this code was later replaced by the code of practice (1994) in England. Individual Education Plan (IEP) refers to a plan or program that is designed for children with SEN with the objective of helping them to get the most out of their education. An IEP is based on the curriculum and the specific learning difficulties of a particular student. Therefore, the IEP provides strategies for helping the students overcome their difficulties by creating an environment where the learners can develop the learning and reading abilities and get the best out for their education just like their ‘normal’ counterparts (Cheminais, 2010 p. 57). Another important aspect of managing education in for children with SEN is to involve teaching assistants. These are qualified individuals who assist children engage in their learning activities in the classroom during a lesson. They often work very closely with the teachers in charge of the subject and always try to make sure the pupils enjoy leaning in a safe and caring environment (Ekins, 2012 p. 53). As such, the teaching assistants have a significant role to play in helping children with SEN to accomplish their education goals (Radford, Bosanquet, Webster, and Blatchford, 2015 p. 10). There have been numerous advances towards improving the provision of quality education for the children with SEN in public schools across the UK. Changes in legislation, enactment of new policies and progress in teacher training have been some of the factors that have characterized developments in the education sector, especially with regard to special education needs. Nevertheless, there still exist challenges for the SENCOs in executing their mandate in public schools. For instance the limited resources, reduced funding, understaffing, and minimal external support have been the most visible challenges in SEN throughout the UK (Cheminais, 2010 p. 73). These challenges have been the face of the changing role of SENCOs in the education sector and the limitations in the implementation of the inclusiveness as a strategy of managing children with SEN in the education sector. Nevertheless, significant developments such as the new policies that have been enacted in recent years, using the IEPs to manage the students with special needs, and strategies such as involving teaching assistants in the learning process for children with SEN have been influential in sustaining the SEN sector in recent years. Teaching Assistants Teaching assistants are professional individuals who help the teacher in executing various responsibilities in the classroom. They are also known as education assistants (EA) or Teaching Aides (TA). In the UK, the TA’s are a very valuable resource in the learning process, working collaboratively with teachers to support children on group, individual or a general class level (Frost and Stein, 2009 p. 43). The teaching assistants are highly skilled individuals and are considered as an integral element to the success of education and attainment of desired educational goals for all students (Blatchford, Russell, and Webster, 2012 p. 56). Usually, a teaching assistant works under the direction of the subject teacher, who has the ultimate responsibility for the learning process in the classroom. The Teaching assistants play a crucial role in both the planning and the execution stages in the learning process. They often collaborate with teachers in planning and preparing for the lessons and availing the necessary learning aides. During the lessons, the help the teacher in managing the classroom to ensure the students concentrate on the lesson and that they get the help they need in terms of reading and writing assignments (Cheminais, 2010 p. 77). Furthermore, the teaching assistants help the teacher in managing classroom activities such as group discussions, physical activities, and interactions among the students. Therefore, the teaching assistants are better placed to manage the behavior of the students and form better professional relationships with the students. This is important as they will advise the teacher on the abilities and capabilities of each of the students in the class (Blatchford, Russell, and Webster, 2012 p. 65). The teaching assistant workforce has developed over the years to become an indispensable part in the education sector. For instance, every public school in the country now has enough teaching assistants to help each subject teacher in the classroom management (Mackenzie, 2007 p. 111)). Moreover, the teaching assistants today are more qualified individuals than in previous years where most of them worked on voluntary basis. Most of the teaching assistants ion the country today have gone through the Graduate teaching assistants’ (GTA) training and are certified professionals. However, the role of TA’s has its own pros and cons. For instance, one of the advantages of TA’s is that they make it easier for the teacher to achieve the objectives of the lesson. In addition, teaching assistants are very effective in lesson preparation, and classroom management. This ensures the teacher only focused on delivering the content of the lesson (Blatchford, Russell, and Webster, 2012 p. 77). This shared responsibility is very critical in ensuring the students get the best outcomes from their education. Furthermore, the teaching assistants are very important in special education needs as they are able to identify the learning difficulties of each student and work with the teacher in implementing appropriate strategies (Mackenzie, 2009 p. 54). On the other hand, the role teaching assistants has been criticized for being redundant as it leads to duplication of roles for the teacher in the classroom. Moreover, the role of teaching assistants has made education more costly for learning institutions who have to increase their workforce and incur additional human resource related costs (Radford, Bosanquet, Webster, Blatchford, & Rubie-Davies, 2014 p. 117). Several reports and studies have been done over the years with regard to the role and significance of the teaching assistants in the education sector. Professor Blatchford, a professor of Education and Psychology at University of London’s Institute of Education conducted a study on 20000 teachers and teaching assistants. His study found out that the teaching assistants were not effective in the learning process because their role was only limited to the class setup. On the other hand, using teaching assistants in classroom limits the time the students spend with their qualified teachers leading to poor results for the students that need the most attention. His report recommended that two models of managing the role of teaching assistants be introduced in order to improve their roles. These are the 10-week Switch-on Reading scheme for 11-year-olds and the 30-week Catch up Numeracy initiative for seven- to 11-year- olds. These two models would give the assistant the power to build on the knowledge of the schools gained from class as well as giving them the necessary attention they need to perform better. Leading teaching assistants face a host of challenges in executing their roles. For instance, most of the teaching assistants are paid very poorly and lack motivation to perform their duty. This may be one of the factors that have hampered their service delivery, leading to poor educational outcomes for students with special needs. Secondly, since qualification is not a statutory requirement, most of the teaching assistants do not have the qualifications considered useful for their receive delivery. One cases study that encapsulates the role a teaching assistant is that of Carol Deane, who has worked in this role for more than 16 years. She is currently a level three teaching assistant. Over the course of her experience, she has worked with several teachers, including many NQTs. She currently works with Mrs. Jane, with whom they have had a professional relationship for the past three years (Ekins, 2012 p. 55). Their collaboration has been successful as evidenced by the performances of their students. Some of their students actually feel like they have two teachers during their lessons. She works together with her teacher on most of the duties including assessments and giving the pupils extra attention in and out of the classroom. One of the factors that have propelled them to success is their friendship and common passion for seeing the pupils excel. A recent report by the Deployment and Impact of Support Staff (DISS) revealed that while the teaching assistants had a minimal contribution towards the success of the learners, they boosted the productivity of the teachers they worked with. The report found out that the teaching assistant helped to maintain classroom discipline, reduce stress levels of the teachers they worked with, and reduced the workload for the teachers (Cheminais, 2010 p. 23). However, they had little or no impact towards improving the learning environment for the children. These findings coincided with Professor Peter Blatchford’s research, which stated that the teaching assistants were ineffective in the classroom with regard to helping students achieve the best learning outcomes. Scaffold learning refers to a wide range of instructional techniques that are aimed at improving the abilities of students progressively. The teachers are expected to provide successive levels of support to the learners in order to help them acquire more skills and higher levels of comprehension (Ekins, 2012 p. 59). The supportive strategies used are withdrawn when the student moves to the next level in the learning process and gain more responsibility for their own education. Scaffolding is a very useful strategy in the learning process especially for pupils with SEN. The teachers can work with the students progressively as they acquire more skills and improve on their knowledge. The other important aspect in the education process is leadership. The teacher and the teaching assistants need to create a good environment for learning to take place. As such, they must be willing to show exemplary leadership in their work (Hallett, and Hallett, 2010 p. 67). The teachers must show leadership by taking responsibility for their work, guiding the children to perform better, and by adhering to the professional guidelines that inform their professional practice. School heads must ensure that their schools have the necessary resources to help both the teachers and the students. The Children and Families Act (2014) is one of the latest legislations that aimed at improving delivery of services to vulnerable children. The legislation supports and promotes establishment of string family unions in the UK (Cheminais, 2010 p. 27). It also underpins the objectives of the wider reform agenda which seeks to ensure that children and other young people get the right environment to succeed in life with equal opportunities regardless of their family backgrounds. Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) is an umbrella term referring to developments in the special education needs sector. Currently, there are many pieces of legislation that are governing professional practice within the SEN framework. One such laws is SENDA (2001), which aims at strengthening the rights of young students with learning disabilities or difficulties. A report published by Ofsted in 2010 recommended that schools should stop identifying children as having SEN when they simply need better teaching and pastoral support. This is because of the concerns that the numbers of students labelled as disabled had increased tremendously in the past few years. There are many challenges in SEN as well as in the changing role of the teaching assistants and the SENCOs. Some of these challenges include insufficient resources, lack of support, limited funding, understaffing, and lack of motivation. Nevertheless, these challenges can be overcome with robust reforms in the educations sector that will aim at promoting inclusive strategies (Cheminais, 2010 p. 27). Changes in legislation and policy enactment are some of the strategies that will help overcome these challenges. Every Child Matters (ECM) is a new program aimed at promoting the children’s’ agenda. It aims at promoting the wellbeing of both children and other young people in the country in various aspects, including education and general social wellbeing. It provided a multi-agency approach in dealing with and addressing issues that affect the wellbeing of children. In conclusion, there have been many studies and reports published by the government and other agencies and stakeholder in the education sector. Most of these reports, laws, and policies indicate that the management of teaching assistants is likely to improve and that the state of affairs in the special education needs will improve tremendously. Some of these reports and laws have had immense influence in the developments in the education sector. For instance, the SENDA Act has been very effective I creating the right environment for the children with SEN to be included in public schools. References Blatchford, P., Russell, A. and Webster, R. 2012. Reassessing the impact of teaching assistants: How research challenges practice and policy. Oxon: Routledge. Bosanquet, P. 2012. Turn taking, repair and topic practices in teaching assistant led literacy intervention sessions.  PhD thesis, Institute of Education, University of London. Bosanquet, P., Radford, J. and Webster, R. (forthcoming, 2015). A teaching assistants guide to effective interaction: How to maximise your impact. Oxon: Routledge Cheminais, R. 2006. Every Child Matters- A New Role for SENCOs London: David Fulton Publishers. Cheminais, R. 2010. Handbook for New SENCOs London: Sage (See extract on UEL Plus). Ekins, A. 2012. The changing face of SEN, Oxon: Routledge. Frost and Stein. 2009. – the importance of leadership. Hallett, F. and Hallett, G. 2010. Transforming the Role of the SENCO: Achieving the National Award for SEN Coordination (2010) Abingdon: The Open University Press Mackenzie, S. 2007. ‘A review of recent developments in the role of the SENCo in the UK’, British Journal of Special Education, 34, 4 pp. 212-218 Mackenzie, S. 2009. from Learning and Teaching in a Metropolis eds. And, L.; Trushell,J.and Walker, P. Rodopi B.V.: Netherlands (UEL Plus) Radford, J., Bosanquet, P., Webster, R. and Blatchford, P. 2015. Scaffolding learning for independence: Clarifying teacher and teaching assistant roles for children with special educational needs. Learning and Instruction. 36. pp. 1-10. Radford, J., Bosanquet, P., Webster, R., Blatchford, P. & Rubie-Davies, C. 2014. Fostering learner independence through heuristic scaffolding: a valuable role for teaching assistants. International Journal of Educational Research. 63. pp. 116-126. Russell, A., Webster, R. and Blatchford, P. 2012. Maximising the impact of teaching assistants: Guidance for school leaders and teachers. Oxon: Routledge Van do Pol, J., Volman, M. and Beishuizen, J. 2010. Scaffolding in teacher-student interaction: A decade of research. Educational Psychology Review 22 (3). pp. 271-296. Vygotsky, L. 1978. Mind in society. The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Wood, D., Bruner, J. S. and Ross, G. 1976. The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Child Psychiatry, 17, 89-100. Read More