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Researching the influence of teaching assistants on the learning of pupils identified with special educational needs in mainstream primary schools: exploring social inclusion
Author(s) -
Saddler Helen
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of research in special educational needs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.543
H-Index - 27
ISSN - 1471-3802
DOI - 10.1111/1471-3802.12019
Subject(s) - mainstream , inclusion (mineral) , special educational needs , pedagogy , mathematics education , psychology , social needs , process (computing) , mainstreaming , special education , sociology , social psychology , political science , computer science , health care , law , operating system
As a result of their high contact time with children, particularly children identified with special educational needs, it is widely acknowledged that teaching assistants ( TAs ) have great influence on pupils' education ( B alshaw). However, recent research into the impact of TAs on pupils' learning has questioned TA s' usefulness in improving pupils' learning (Blatchford, Bassett and Brown; Higgins). This paper argues that TA s' influence on pupils' education has not yet been researched effectively. Previous research has primarily focused on determining TA s' influence on pupils' achievement in terms of academic outcomes and has neglected to explore social outcomes. Two interconnected literature bases are reviewed in this paper; the current research exploring TA s' role and influence on pupils' learning is first explored, followed by a critical discussion of the literature regarding the process of social inclusion in mainstream primary schools. This paper concludes that for TA s' influence on pupils' learning to be effectively researched, TA s' influence on the process of social inclusion must be researched within mainstream primary schools.