The impact of classroom support
October 2004
Introduction
To read a one-page summary of this RoM, go to the overview.
Primary schools now employ significant numbers of teaching assistants (TAs). Between 1999 and 2002, the government made £350 million available to recruit an additional 20,000 full-time equivalent assistants for both primary and secondary schools and subsequently made another £200 million a year available to sustain recruitment and training until 2004.
This month we look at a study carried out between 1996 and 2000 that investigated the impact of TAs on teaching and learning at KS1 in primary schools. It explores how far increasing the number of adults in classrooms and improving the ratio of pupils to adults benefits pupils in terms of their achievement. It considers too how TAs help teachers to provide a better quality of educational experience for pupils. The report is:
Pupil adult ratio differences and educational progress over reception and Key Stage 1
Blatchford, P., Martin, C., Moriarty, V., Bassett, P. and Goldstein, H. (2002) Institute of Education, University of London DfES Research Report 335.
The report provides:
- a statistical analysis that drew a relationship between class size, the number of support staff and pupils’ achievement at Key Stage 1. (The researchers used a technique called ‘multi-level modelling’ to analyse connections between these features in a rigorous way that is capable of identifying connections at many levels – we refer to this procedure throughout the summary as the ‘statistical analysis’)
- teachers’ reports of the impact of TAs
- a series of case studies which provided illustrations of TAs’ practices.
The researchers’ statistical analysis showed that overall TAs did not have a measurable impact on pupils’ attainment, yet many teachers reported they felt that TAs had a positive effect on teaching and learning in their classrooms. The case studies revealed an explanation for the contrasting results – some TAs were more effective, and were used more effectively, than others. The case studies also highlighted the importance of teachers finding time to discuss their lesson plans, aims and objectives with their TAs, and helping TAs to transfer the knowledge they gained during training, into effective classroom practice.
Because this study took place before the government’s major investment in TAs and their training, the authors suggested that their results should be interpreted carefully, as they may not be applicable to the current situation. Nevertheless, the RoM team believes that there are many helpful messages for teachers’ and TAs’ practice in this report. The study was also rated highly in a recent systematic review of the research on the impact of paid adult support on the participation and learning of pupils in mainstream schools undertaken by the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information (EPPI) centre. The review can be accessed from http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/EPPIWeb/home.aspx?page=/reel/review_groups/inclusion/review_two.htm
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