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ERIC Number: EJ1017943
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Dec
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1030-0112
EISSN: N/A
The Dissection of Paraprofessional Support in Inclusive Education: "You're in Mainstream with a Chaperone"
Whitburn, Ben
Australasian Journal of Special Education, v37 n2 p147-161 Dec 2013
The experiences of young people with disabilities of inclusive schooling are largely under researched. This paper reports recent findings of a small-scale Australian qualitative study, in which secondary students with vision impairment spoke about their experiences of receiving paraprofessional support. Two overarching themes emerged from this study: "light" and "heavy" paraprofessional support. The results presented here demonstrate that participants described that support personnel upheld the strong arm of the special education tradition, which was manifestly detrimental to their inclusion. Raw data is presented to elucidate the emergent themes, and to explain the various pedagogical and general support roles of class and special educators in eliminating the need for direct paraprofessional presence in lessons. The light and heavy model of support is also examined in terms of how it fits into the complexity of the education discourse and the young people's own aspirations for full inclusion.
Cambridge University Press. 100 Brook Hill Drive, West Nyack, NY 10994. Tel: 800-872-7423; Tel: 845-353-7500; Fax: 845-353-4141; e-mail: subscriptions_newyork@cambridge.org; Web site: http://journals.cambridge.org/JSE
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A