ARE TAs EFFECTIVE IN SUPPORTING ASD PUPILS IN THE CLASSROOM?

This is a short research proposal examining the role of TAs in the classroom and its impact on pupils on the Autistic Spectrum. The main question is:

"How does the deployment of TAs, the understanding of their roles and responsibilities, impact on the inclusion of children with ASD in secondary mainstream schools?"

As there is an increasing number of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders currently enrolled or joining mainstream secondary schools, the biggest challenge and concern is to assess whether the specific needs of these children are being met in line with the government policy of inclusion. This concern naturally gives rise to an enquiry of how the deployment of Teaching Assistants, the understanding of their roles and responsibilities impact on the inclusion of these students. It is important to state, right from the outset, that while TAs and inclusion seem to be completely two different areas of research, the two are intertwined in the sense that one of the main reasons that necessitated the recruitment of TAs in the first place, was “the drive to include greater numbers of pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in mainstream education” as well as the “idea that TAs could help schools meet the needs and demands of including pupils with SEN and disabilities…” (Webster and Blatchford, 2012, p.78).