The Inclusion Assistant: Who Is She Supposed to Be? An Exploratory Study

Anat Moshe,Perach Licht

doi:10.13189/ujer.2016.041213

Abstract

Following the almost worldwide implementation of policies giving all students - including those with special education needs - the right to learn within the general education system, there has been a sharp increase in the number of inclusion assistants (IA). IAs provide special-needs students one-to-one accompaniment, allowing them to function in the general education classroom and reducing the onus on the classroom teacher in such cases. Unfortunately, many, if not most, of IAs enter the system without suitable training or special qualifications and often neither they nor the teachers have a clear idea of how they should fulfill their role. This exploratory study used a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to identify and compare how 30 classroom teachers and IAs define the IA's role. It also studied how eight IAs changed their perception of their roles after attending an IA training course and what the implications of such courses may be. The findings indicated that there is a discrepancy in how teachers and IAs define the IA's role, indicating a need for clearer delineations. The results also indicated the necessity for creating a suitable framework for teaching IAs the theoretical and practical aspects of the job.

Highlights

IntroductionIn the past two decades, educational systems in the Western world have been undergoing widespread changes regarding the perceptions, attitudes, and nature of the services given to students with special educational needs (SEN)
Because this historic change in policy has brought about a dramatic rise in the number of students with severe disabilities that are eligible for an inclusion assistant” (IA), there has been an increase of teaching assistants who are employed as IAs in the general education setting
The Ministry of Education views the IA to be part of an integrated support package offered to an special educational needs (SEN) student, it does not differentiate between TAs, who work in special education classrooms, and IAs, who work in the general classroom, and lumps them both into the same general category

Summary

Introduction

In the past two decades, educational systems in the Western world have been undergoing widespread changes regarding the perceptions, attitudes, and nature of the services given to students with special educational needs (SEN). Most notable of these changes is the demand formulated as part of an international agreement and that has been secured through the passage of laws that demand the inclusion of SEN students into the general education setting [1,2]. Because this historic change in policy has brought about a dramatic rise in the number of students with severe disabilities that are eligible for an IA, there has been an increase of teaching assistants who are employed as IAs in the general education setting

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion