Career Information

Career Description

The prefix para- is defined as "at the side of, beside, alongside of". A para-educator or instructional assistant, therefore, is a person who works along side teachers, specialists, and administrators in a school and/or other type of educational setting. Instructional assistants work directly with students under the supervision of a licensed teacher. Strong interpersonal, communication, and teamwork skills are needed as instructional assistants work directly with children and other educational professionals. Instructional assistants can and should get a great deal of satisfaction in knowing that they are helping their school's students and staff.

• Educational Assistant
• Para-educator
• Paraprofessional
• Special Education Aide
• Teacher's Aide
• Teacher Assistant

• implementing instructional strategies to support student learning
• providing one-on-one and small group facilitation
• assisting children with math, reading, and writing assignments
• assisting children with computers and media
• supervising various classroom activities and non-academic events
• encouraging appropriate student behavior
• utilizing a variety of instructional resources and technology
• completing clerical and administrative tasks related to instruction
• preparing materials
• creating classroom displays

Historical Perspective

It has been more than 50 years since teacher aides were introduced into classrooms to enable teachers to spend more time planning and implementing instructional activities. In the 1950s, a post-World War II shortage of teachers forced local school boards to find alternative personnel and methods for providing educational services. As a result of a project sponsored by the Ford Foundation in Bay City, Michigan and research efforts at Syracuse University the value of employing teacher aides was demonstrated.

Initially the duties assigned to teacher aides were routine and included record keeping, housekeeping tasks, monitoring students on playgrounds and in study halls and lunch room, and preparing materials. The introduction of Title I and Head Start programs in the late 1960s and the passage of P.L. 94-142 in the mid 1970s provided momentum for the employment of paraprofessionals. At the same time greater emphasis began to be placed on the role of instructional assistants in providing direct education and support services to children, youth and their parents.

Indeed, the 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (I.D.E.A.) recognized this increased reliance on paraprofessionals in more complex and demanding roles. State and local education agencies are now required to develop policies and infrastructures that will insure that paraprofessionals are appropriately prepared and supervised in order to carry out their assigned tasks. Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act also acknowledges the need for systematic paraprofessional training and supervision. (No Child Left Behind Legislation)

The need for skilled, committed personnel at all levels, to provide instructional and other direct services to children and youth who have limited English and their families has led to another surge in para-educator employment. The number of adults and children in the United States whose primary language is other than English is at an all time high.

Children and youth served by our nation's schools speak virtually all of the world's languages and dialects as well as the more than 100 languages that are indigenous to Native Americans. As a result teachers and other school professionals require the assistance of para-educators who have a knowledge of and understand the heritages of children and youth who come from diverse cultures and who speak many different languages.