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Special Education and Teaching

Portland State University

Self-efficacy

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Professional Development For Special Education Paraeducators: How To Effectively Train Classroom Staff To Support Students With Complex Instructional And Behavioral Needs, Cara Olson-Sawyer Jun 2022

Professional Development For Special Education Paraeducators: How To Effectively Train Classroom Staff To Support Students With Complex Instructional And Behavioral Needs, Cara Olson-Sawyer

Dissertations and Theses

According to data from U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics in 2018, it is estimated that there are 1,308,100 paraeducators employed in public schools in the United States. Despite the prevalence of paraeducators, these employees receive limited opportunity for training. In addition, there is little guidance from the Department of Education or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for effective professional development and there are no standardized job qualifications or job descriptions across states and school districts. This lack of uniformity, combined with vague job descriptions often result in paraeducators entering the education field with no formal education and training, …