Paraprofessionals in Special Education: Issues for Teacher Educators

Abstract

Paraprofessionals have been employed by school districts to fulfill various roles in the educational process for many years. Currently, there are over 250, 000 paraprofessionals working in special education programs. Teacher educators may be interested in practices regarding the employment of paraprofessionals and may want to take an active role in the development of models for the preparation and management of paraprofessionals. Teacher educators are urged to help develop training standards for professionals who supervise paraprofessionals and for the paraprofessionals themselves, to study the problems of paraprofessional employment, to develop models and policies to guide the profession in appropriate delineation of roles and responsibilities, to promote awareness of the potential use of paraprofessionals as community liaisons, to recognize the potential recruitment of paraprofessionals into teaching and to share their knowledge with the field.