Do Teacher Aides Aid American Education? [microform] / James L. Olivero

A far-reaching 1968 study on teacher aides revealed that very little was known about the aid that aides supposedly provide. It was found that there is some direct relationship between the use of aides and action programs to improve instruction. Some general points crop up regularly: 1) Teachers who have aides usually will not do without them. 2) Teachers who are contemplating having aides often are very apprehensive about sharing the classroom with another adult. 3) Training programs need to be developed at which both the teacher and aide learn to work together. 4) Teacher aides are performing three categories of services: supervisory, clerical, and instructional. 5) Teacher aides generally express satisfaction with their jobs, but complaints relate to the teacher's over-expectations or under-expectations of them. The roles must be defined. The rest of us might just play our roles by supporting the several differentiated staffing studies now under way and withholding judgment until the relevant data have been gathered and analyzed, and by staying off the bandwagon until more is known about the advantages and disadvantages. Many years may elapse before we really know what aid to education the teacher aides have provided, but the future looks bright. (JS)