Teaching Exceptional Children 41(5), pp. 34-43.

Article #2: Early Childhood Education -- Teachers and their Assistants

The author points out that the use of paraprofessionals in early childhood special education is increasing because of the steadily increasing numbers of children need services and the lack of sufficient qualified teachers. Some teachers experience difficulty, for a variety of reasons, developing positive working relationships with the paraprofessionals in their classrooms. The nature of the work requires a spirit of true collaboration.

Some of the issues with paraprofessionals cited in the literature include lack of formal education in child development, reluctance to discuss uncomfortable topics with families, views on parenting and early childhood education that differ from their programs best practices, difficulty dealing with stress and time management, and unprofessional behaviors and work ethics. Teachers may see the problems clearly but be unsure what to do about them. Research shows that many teachers feel uncomfortable...

However, new teachers often find paraeducators are already in place; their challenge becomes to build successful working relationships.
Teacher education programs cannot prepare one for all possible scenarios with paraeducators. The writer plans to do further independent research on strategies for working effectively with paraeducators. While it is not possible to anticipate every situation, the literature seems to suggest that there are common themes to the issues teachers face. Review of the literature and possible role-plays with colleagues could help prepare one to deal with situations as they arise in the real world.

Reference

Appl, D. (2006). Early childhood education teachers and their assistants: "Teaching along with her." Teaching Exceptional Children 38(6), pp. 34-40.