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ABSTRACT
A significant increase in the paraprofessional workforce has occurred internationally, aimed at facilitating inclusive education. Within Ireland, this is evidenced in the SNA scheme for pupils with significant care needs. This paper focuses on the constructs of SNA support and pupil independence, as based on large-scale research across 20 Irish mainstream primary classes. The study was modelled on Strand 2 Wave 1 of the UK’s ‘Deployment and Impact of Support Staff’ project, involving systematic observations and case studies. Following qualitative and quantitative analysis, findings serve to expand the construct of pupil independence beyond adaptive behaviour to include themes of pupil voice and psychological empowerment. The research also highlights both positive and negative educational practices to support pupil independence including SNA rotation, SNA–pupil proximity and prompting. Results are discussed in light of previous national and international research. Future directions of the SNA scheme are presented, including the potential of scaffolding theory to advance applied practices. Limitations of the research are acknowledged, including implications for research, theory, policy and practice. This research presents as the first Irish study to examine the SNA role using systematic observations, serving to extend existing research on the complex relationship between paraprofessional support and pupil independence.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank all of the schools, teachers, SNAs, parents and pupils who generously partook in this research.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1. Primary schools in Ireland cater for children aged 4–12 years (TechLifeIreland Citation2020).
2. DEIS schools are under the ‘Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools’ scheme, aimed at providing better opportunities for those in communities at risk of disadvantage and social exclusion (DES Citation2017a).
3. Secondary care associated tasks involve SNA tasks that do not have direct pupil involvement (see DES Citation2014, 6–7). Examples included tidying classrooms, organisation of pupils’ materials and SNA–teacher discussions.
4. A focused interaction was defined as the pupil being the focus of the adult’s attention at an individual, group or whole-class level through a verbal or physical interaction (Brown and Blatchford Citation2015).
5. An ‘audience’ interaction was defined as the adult addressing a group or class, of which the child is a member (Brown and Blatchford Citation2015).