This study presents data on the effects of the proximity of instructional assistants on students with multiple disabilities who are placed in general education classrooms. Based on extensive observations and interviews, analyses of the data highlighted eight major findings of educational significance, all related to proximity of instructional assistants. Categories of findings and discussion include (a) interference with ownership and responsibility by general educators, (b) separation from classmates, (c) dependence on adults, (d) impact on peer interactions, (e) limitations on receiving competent instruction, (f) loss of personal control, (g) loss of gender identity, and (h) interference with instruction of other students. The article concludes with implications for practice related to policy development, training, classroom practices, and research.

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This article summarizes and analyzes a set of 43 pieces of professional literature pertaining to paraprofessional supports for students with disabilities published between 1991 and early 2000. Twenty-six nondatabased sources and 17 research studies were included. The findings identify topical gaps in the literature, review the major databased findings, and present implications for the field. The review concludes with suggestions for future research that emphasize the need for more student outcome data, conceptual alignment of roles, training, and supervision, and the exploration of alternatives to paraprofessional supports.

This article presents descriptive, quantitative data from 737 school personnel and parents Who support the education of students With a full range of disabilities in general education classes. The study addresses (a) hoW special education teachers and paraprofessionals spend their time, (b) perspectives of paraprofessionals about certain paraprofessional practices, and (c) perspectives of professionals and parents about schoolWide practices associated With inclusive special education that may contribute to reducing inappropriate utilization of special education paraprofessionals. The findings highlight concerns and suggest that focusing change efforts on paraprofessional issues Without corresponding attention to general and special education issues is akin to addressing the symptoms of a problem rather than its roots.

In this article, I summarise the primary content included in a keynote address I delivered via videoconferencing in July 2012 at the national conference of the Australian Association of Special Education, held jointly with the annual conference of the Tasmanian Principals Association in Hobart, Tasmania. The address focused on three major topics pertaining to the utilisation of teacher assistants in inclusive schools: (a) persistent and emerging research trends, (b) contemporary conceptual and data-based concerns, and (c) ideas about what schools can do to provide improved educational opportunities and supports for students with special educational needs in inclusive classrooms. The article concludes that the potential overuse or misuse of teacher assistants is a symptom, not cause. Building integrated models of general and special service delivery in schools can address the challenges associated with questionable teacher assistant utilisation.