Is the hiring of teacher aides seen as a frivolous means of spending money? Without proper training and supervision, many aides can do more harm than good. For the past decade, schools have been hiring support staff to relieve teacher workloads, work independently with students, and improve class behavior. They are not qualified to teach but only to interact with students under the direct or indirect supervision of the teacher.
A study of Support Staff (DISS) project found “…that pupils with more support from a TA made less progress at school compared to similar children who has less support.” In an analysis of this report, it’s found that without proper preparation or training of a teacher’s aide, a negative impact is likely to occur.
North Carolina has a plan to pull teacher aids from the classrooms and use the money to give teachers a raise. Senate leader Phil Berger based his decision to eliminate teacher aides on research from Tennessee (a 2001 study) and the United Kingdom. Berger further states that teacher assistants are not considered part of the instructional staff.
Presently the NC teachers need higher salaries (ranking about 46th in the U.S.) With today’s accountability, an aide to assist in the classroom is vital.
Teacher aides are a key resource in many schools when used effectively. Proper training and supervision is important in order to attain a positive impact on a student’s learning. They need to be considered part of the team working along side of the teacher, and part of the lesson planning process to enable them to see the big picture of the curriculum. Aides are most effectively used when walking around the classroom to make sure all students are on task instead of sitting all day with a struggling child. To make assistants or aides most efficient schools need to:
• Require them to shadow the teacher
• Help grade papers and administer tests
• Include them as part of the staff
• Set guidelines and requirements
• Provide professional development
There are no resent studies that indicate that the duties performed by aides have any bearing on student achievement. According to an abstract by Susan B. Gerber and Jeremy D. Finn from the State University of New York at Buffalo, “The only positive effect was an improvement in reading scores for students who attended a class with a teacher aide for 2 or 3 years.” This abstract was written in 2001.
More recent studies need to be conducted on the effectiveness of teacher aides in the classroom. Schools need to consult with teachers on exact duties expected and classroom needs. Working one-on-one with a student builds dependency. Training aides and including them as part of the whole educational environment may be the answer to student achievement. Because the studies on the effectiveness of teacher aides are not recent, and aides are called upon to provide instruction to students, policies and research must help in the selection and preparation of aides. Teacher aides need to be valued and supported for them to reach their full potential.
