ERIC Number: EJ1362658
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Dec
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1338-2144
EISSN: EISSN-2719-5651
Available Date: N/A
When Policy Clashes with Practice: The Case of Teaching Assistants in the Czech Republic
Slezáková, Katarína; Kissová, Lenka; Felcmanová, Lenka
Journal of Pedagogy, v13 n2 p77-103 Dec 2022
Since the mid-2010s, Czech Republic has been implementing inclusive education measures on a wide scale. Five stages of supportive measures have been introduced, including the assignment of teaching assistants (TAs) for students with special educational needs. In the four years since the main reform, the assignment of TAs has become the most implemented supportive measure, even as their role in promoting inclusive education has been questioned in the scholarly literature. We base our findings on empirical research in primary schools and relevant policy documents. This paper focuses on the clashes between policy intentions and the practice of incorporating TAs into classrooms. We organise the findings into four categories of policy/practice conflicts: (1) ambiguous TA job descriptions; (2) insufficient TA qualifications; (3) combined TA contracts due to lack of funding; and (4) inconsistencies in TA appointments. Our findings suggest that, in practice, policy-regulated measures often do not correspond to the actual needs of schools.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Teaching Assistants, Educational Policy, Educational Practices, Special Education, Mainstreaming, Occupational Information, Personnel Selection, Inclusion, Elementary Secondary Education, Role
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Czech Republic
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A