The research team could not reach conclusive evidence on whether teaching assistants improved children's educational attainment, because in some classes the assistants were used effectively and in others they were not. There were also particular problems when support was not well planned and did not link clearly to teachers' aims and lesson plans.
The three-year study, 'Pupil Adult Ratio Differences and Educational Progress over Reception and Key Stage 1', followed a large group of pupils who entered reception classes in 1996.
An observer in one reception class reported that the two assistants'
interactions with children showed 'a central uncertainty at the heart of their role'. They tended to give children answers or tell them what to do rather than encouraging them to think, and saw their role primarily as preparing resources, tidying up and managing the children so the teacher could concentrate on teaching.
In another case study the assistant, who helped each morning for a total of seven hours a week, was seen as being inflexible and lacking in warmth. The teacher said she felt the assistant, who also doubled up as a 'dinner lady'
supervisor, saw her role as being a disciplinarian and found it difficult to encourage her to adopt a more personal and friendly style.
In other classes assistants worked more effectively with children, supporting the teacher by imitating and repeating the teacher's explanations, giving immediate and relevant feedback and offering praise and encouragement.
The report observed that 'personal qualities of adults were a major factor in the effectiveness of their contribution, and this was over and above training.' It added that since school support staff were inevitably involved in direct teaching interactions, 'there is a need to articulate more deliberately what kinds of pedagogy are relevant, in the case of TAs, and to use this to inform training'.
The results of the research mainly precede the current Government drive to improve the recruitment of assistants and to provide training for them.
A Department for Education and Skills spokesman said, 'The report was carried out before the introduction of systematic training for new teaching assistant recruits, and a recent Ofsted report showed that assistants bring considerable benefits to the classroom and that teachers value their work.
'Of course, schools need to manage teaching assistants well to reap their full benefits, as was also shown by Ofsted's report.'
The report is available on the site www.dfes.gov.uk/research.
