Turkish parents' perspectives on the roles and responsibilities of paraeducators: framing experiences

Paraeducators provide crucial support for individuals with special needs in inclusive educational settings, but their roles and responsibilities lack clarity. The resulting ambiguity emphasizes the need for clear role definitions. In inclusive education, paraeducators are perceived as the individuals who are most in communication with families. In this process, the perspectives of parents, who are important stakeholders, are crucial. Our purpose in this study was to examine the experiences and perspectives of parents with respect to the assistance given by paraeducators in inclusive educational settings.

We used a phenomenological research design to collect data, and we conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 parents of children with special needs. We reached the participants through snowball sampling. We collected the data using a 11-item Parent Interview Form developed based on the literature and expert opinion. We analyzed the data through thematic analysis.

Data analysis revealed five themes: (a) preservice process; (b) employment process; (c) experiences and views related to roles and responsibilities during school time; (d) experiences and views related to roles and responsibilities outside of school time; and (e) expectations, needs, and recommendations.

The findings emphasize the importance of legal regulations, clear guidelines, and standardized qualifications for employing paraeducators in schools. We found that families managed the pre-service process on their own without any support. In the service processes, paraeducators were found to take on complex and non-standard roles. Among the issues reported by families as needs were the implementation of paraeducator supports within an official structure and training programs to enhance paraeducator qualifications. Additionally, families reported financial support needs in paraeducator employment. Based on the research findings, we can propose the establishment of vocational training institutions for paraeducator training and the planning of paraeducator employment in schools by official institutions within a specific protocol framework.