While some instructional aides have excellent relationships with the teachers they assist, others feel misunderstood and unappreciated. Are instructional aides colleagues of teachers, bridges to the school community, both, or neither? Research addressed this question by studying instructional aides’ relationships with teachers and parents. The results suggest policies that would create stronger bonds among these partners in education.
Participants included instructional aides in five elementary schools in three Midwestern school districts. The sample consisted of sixteen females and one male, with ten African Americans and seven European Americans. When the initial interviews were conducted, the participants had worked as instructional aides from two and one-half years to twenty-four years.
Although this sample of instructional aides had generally positive relationships with the teachers, their experiences and histories suggested this is not always the case. Some instructional aides believed that their supervising teachers did not recognize the aides’ talents and skills, and were not supervising well. The perceptions and experiences of the instructional aides reinforced the need for professional development to help teachers more knowledgably and effectively supervise and work with instructional aides. This study points to the need for training to help teachers learn to listen to and respect aides’ ideas and efforts, and to learn if, how, and when to offer aides new responsibilities to assist students and parents.
The instructional aides in this study gave mixed messages about their relationships with students’ parents and families. Some instructional aides had close relationships with parents and often served as babysitters for their students. Other instructional aides placed the blame for students’ problems on their families. Aides rarely recognized the institutional factors that influenced students’ academic success and made stereotypical comments about the negative impact of single parent households on the students. These instructional aides were concerned about their students, but were not always able to cultivate positive attitudes about or relationships with the parents.
The results suggest the need to:
The voices of instructional aides revealed topics and issues that could be addressed directly with thoughtful basic policies in schools and school districts.
From: Lewis, K.C. (2002). Colleagues or cultural brokers? Instructional aides’ relationships with teachers and parents. Baltimore: Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk (CRESPAR), Johns Hopkins University. (Submitted for publication)
The National Center for Family & Community Connections with Schools at the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) released a new report: A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement (2002).
This research synthesis examines the impact of a variety of family and community connections with schools on student achievement. Authors Anne T. Henderson and Karen L. Mapp reviewed more than 50 research studies published since 1995. Nine of the studies were conducted by NNPS researchers or others supported by the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University. The reviewers concluded that “the research continues to grow and build an ever-strengthening case. When schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more.” The studies showed that students with involved parents, “no matter what their income or background,” were more likely to succeed in school—attending school regularly, earning higher grades, passing their classes, and graduating and going on to post-secondary education.
The report highlights the NNPS framework of six types of involvement and the different results these connections can have. It also discusses how schools can effectively connect with families from all backgrounds. Readers can also explore summaries of the each of the 51 studies reviewed, for a deeper understanding of the research.
To order a print copy or to download the report, go to www.sedl.org/connections/resources. You may also call SEDL Publications at 1-800-476-6861 to order a print copy.