Porrino, Jonathan;
Somerville, Matthew P;
Bosanquet, Paula;
(2024)
Teaching assistant support for learning and wellbeing: The perspectives of secondary school pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
European Journal of Special Needs Education
10.1080/08856257.2024.2433328.
(In press).
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Abstract
This study used thematic analysis of interview data to explore how secondary school students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) perceived the one-to-one teaching assistant (TA) support they received for learning and wellbeing. One-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve pupils in five mainstream secondary schools in England. The findings suggested that although there were some reported disadvantages of TA support in learning, the perceived benefits were more prominent, which included increased engagement with and better understanding of learning. The benefits of strong TA–pupil relationships were highlighted which suggested that TAs provided emotional safety and containment. The challenges included perceived social stigma and peer separation. Additionally, the findings suggested that TA support may hinder opportunities for independent learning. It was concluded that while the findings indicated that TA support benefits learning and wellbeing, the role of the TA in supporting student independence requires consideration. There is a risk of students forming an over-attachment to the TA which may also lead to emotional dependency.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Teaching assistant support for learning and wellbeing: The perspectives of secondary school pupils with special educational needs and disabilities |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1080/08856257.2024.2433328 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2024.2433328 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. |
| Keywords: | Independence; secondary school; special educational needs and disabilities; learning; teaching assistants; wellbeing |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Psychology and Human Development |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10201097 |
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