Lifelong learning: teaching assistants’ experiences of economic, social and cultural change following completion of a foundation degree

Abstract

This paper stems from a longitudinal research project that explored the perceptions and experiences of teaching assistants (predominantly women) who have undertaken a foundation degree. It draws upon Bourdieu's notion of habitus and investigates shifts in economic, cultural and social capital for this particular group of educational professionals. 189 graduates were invited to respond to a postal survey that asked questions about the impact of doing a vocational degree on personal and professional lives. The survey was followed up with six case study life history interviews to provide insight into the lived experiences of the teaching assistants. Our findings suggests that whilst there were personal benefits stemming from studying for the degree, such as a perceived increase in self-confidence, remunerated career development opportunities were limited and there was little change in terms of economic capital. There were changes and antagonisms in terms of social and cultural forms of capital. Our research exposed the personal challenges and hidden 'costs' involved in vocationally driven lifelong learning; especially for working mothers. We found that this group experienced a powerful conflict between fulfilling their professional aspirations and their responsibilities towards their families. In this paper we call for a more candid acknowledgement of the complex and shifting positioning of teaching assistants and the potential personal benefits and sacrifices involved in studying whilst working.

Reframing peer mentoring as a route for developing an educational community of practice

“…Conversely, there was also an element of disillusionment regarding their professional status and career progression (Dunne et al, 2008a(Dunne et al, , 2008b. Importantly, the TAs acknowledged the crucial role of their peers and reported that they would not have graduated without such a supportive network (Woolhouse et al, 2009). Sharing experiences and developing new ideas with TAs from other schools was a recurring benefit, suggesting that they valued collaborative learning (Dunne et al, 2008a), echoing the perceptions of the NC teachers reported earlier (Torgerson et al, 2011).…”

“…There were differences, however, in the amount of training the professionals received on each program (seven days for NC versus eight half-days for 1CN), and importantly, only qualified teachers could train on the NC programs, but the 1CN interventions were designed to be delivered by TAs. TAs were traditionally deployed to support pupils with reading and other difficulties, rather than those with mathematical difficulties (Dowker, 2004;Muijs & Reynolds, 2003), although there have been several mathematical interventions which have been designed specifically to be delivered by TAs (e.g., Catch Up Numeracy, Dowker & Sigley, 2010), in part because it is difficult to release class teachers for training and intervention delivery, and because TAs are cheaper to resource (Woolhouse et al, 2009). Regarding the effective use of TAs to deliver educational interventions, Samson, Hines and Li (2015) reported that extensive training, ongoing supervision and scripted lessons were important.…”

“…Thus, in this research, we build on previous literature which has established that peer mentoring was highly valued by teachers regarding intervention training (Torgerson et al, 2011) and TAs regarding the completion of a foundation degree (Dunne et al, 2008a;Woolhouse et al, 2009). The main aim of the research was to extend this body of work to TAs undertaking training on the 1CN interventions by exploring their views regarding the benefits of face-to-face sessions and peer mentoring.…”

“…Their deployment has eased the burdens on teachers created by the minimization of schools with provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, and the drive PEER MENTORING IN TEACHING ASSISTANTS 5 towards mainstream education for the majority of children. However, despite the fact that TAs work with children who need more support, they tend to be the group of educational professionals who receive the least training and who's practices and views are undervalued (Chambers, 2015;Dunne et al, 2008aDunne et al, , 2008bWoolhouse, Dunne, & Goddard, 2009). In this evaluative study, we aimed to provide a platform for the experiences of TAs to be shared more widely.…”

Teacher-teacher aide teaming: investigating collaboration using cogenerative dialoguing and CHAT

“…We didn't know as much as the previous teachers and we didn't have that experience and we weren't doing it the same. In research and literature around teacher-teacher aide working, hierarchical positions within the team have been associated with a lack of acknowledgement or undervaluing of the aide's contribution (e.g., Bourke, 2008;Woolhouse, Dunne, & Goddard, 2009) and teachers being concerned about their own competency and unsure how to manage teacher aides (e.g., French, 1998;Jerwood, 1999;Thomas, 1991Thomas, , 1992. Commenting on the lack of status of paraeducators, Reuda and Monzó (2002) wrote, "Power differences negatively impact the collaboration relationship and thus it is essential to minimize differences in authority that exist in the classroom" (p. 519).…”