Teaching Assistants in International Schools: Perceptions and Perspectives

Clayton Lehman

Abstract


This research study occurred because of the many observations made by the researcher while working in international schools in East and Southeast Asia. Although multiple studies have investigated teaching assistants in public schools, there is little research dedicated to the study of teaching assistants in international schools. The purpose of this research study was to look at classroom practices, student language acquisition, professional development, and teaching assistant wellbeing in international schools through the lenses of locally-hired teaching assistants and to discover what they consider to be barriers in their positions as a teaching assistant. Further, comparisons were made between teaching assistants in English-only and multi-lingual schools and between teaching assistants in schools that are for-profit and non-profit. Data acquisition for this mixed-methods study occurred through a thirteen question survey that was completed by 135 teaching assistants working in international schools in East and Southeast Asia. The main findings of this research study were that many teaching assistants in international schools desire relevant professional development, fairer working environment, more equitable salary conditions, and more professional and career opportunities.

Save to Mendeley


Keywords


teaching assistant; support teacher; international school; SEN

Full Text:

PDF

References


Baker, L. L. (2016). Re-conceptualizing EFL professional development: Enhancing communicative language pedagogy for Thai teachers. TEFLIN Journal, 27(1), 23-45. doi:10.15639/teflinjournal.v27i1/23-45

Blatchford, P., Russell, A., & R. Webster, R. (2012). Reassessing the impact of teaching assistants. How research challenges practice and policy. London: Routledge.

Bosanquet, P., & Radford, J. (2019). Teaching assistant and pupil interactions: The role of repair and topic management in scaffolding learning. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 89(1), 177-190. doi:10.1111/bjep.12231

Bradley, G. (2000). Inclusive education in international schools: A case study from Singapore. In M. Hayden & J. Thompson (Eds.), International schools & international education (pp. 29-41). London, UK: Kogan Page.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology 3(2), 77-101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Butzkamm, W. (2007). Native language skills as a foundation for foreign language learning. In W. Kindermann (Ed.), Transcending boundaries: Essays in honor of Gisela Hermann-Brennecke (pp. 71-85). Berlin: Lit Verlag.

Carder, M. W. (2008). The development of ESL provision in Australia, Canada, the USA and England, with conclusions for second language models in international schools. Journal of Research in International Education, 7(2), 205-231. doi:10.1177/1475240908091305

Chan, T., & Yuen, M. (2015). Inclusive education in an international school: A case study from Hong Kong. International Journal of Special Education, 30(3), 86-97.

Chin-Yin, W., Indiatsi, J., & Wong, G. W. (2016). ESL teacher candidates’ perceptions of strengths and inadequacies of instructing culturally and linguistically diverse students: Post clinical experience. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 23(2), 57-64.

Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Cummins, J. (1980). The construct of language proficiency in bilingual education. In J. E. Alatis (Ed.), Current issues in bilingual education (pp. 81-103). Washington: Georgetown University Press.

Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional development. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.

Dearden, J. (2014). English as a medium of instruction–a growing global phenomenon: Phase 1. London: British Council.

Echevarria, J., & Graves, A. (1998). Sheltered content instruction. Teaching English language learners with diverse abilities. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Emmett, T. (February 25, 2017). England’s private schools take Asia by storm. The Diplomat. Retrieved from thediplomat.com

ExpatFinder. (n.d.). ExpatFinder international school fees survey 2018. ExpatFinder. Retrieved from http://www.expatfinder.com

Fisher, M. & Pleasants, S. L. (2012). Roles, responsibilities, and concerns of paraeducators: Findings from a statewide survey. Remedial and Special Education, 33(5), 287-297. doi:10.1177/0721932510397762

Freeman, D., & Freeman, Y. (1988). Sheltered English instruction. ERIC Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics Washington D.C. (ERIC NO. ED301070).

Gibson, D., Paatsch, L., Toe, D., Wells, M., & Rawolle, S. (2015). Teachers’ aides working in secondary school settings: Preparedness and professional learning. Journal of Education and Learning, 4(3), 71-87. doi:10.5539/jel.v4n3p71

Gurría, A. (2018). Pisa 2015 results in focus. PISA in focus:1. doi:10.1787/9789264266490-en

Halicioglu, M. L. (2015). Challenges facing teachers new to working in schools overseas. Journal of Research in International Education, 14(3), 242-257. doi:10.1177/1475240915611508

Hardman, J. (2001). Improving recruitment and retention of quality overseas teachers. In S. Blandford & M. Shaw (Eds.), Managing international schools (p. 123-135). London: RoutledgeFarmer.

Holliday, A. (2006). Native-speakerism. ELT Journal, 60(4) 385-87. doi:10.1093/elt/ccl030

Independent Education Today. (2016). Huge global demand for English-medium K-12 education. Independent Education Today. Retrieved from https://ie-today.co.uk

ISC & NFI. (2017). Inclusion in international schools global survey 2017. ISC Research.

ISC Research. (2019). ISC research. ISC Research. Retrieved from https://www.iscresearch.com/

James, C. & Sheppard, P. (2014). The governing of international schools: The implications of ownership and profit motive. School Leadership & Management, 34(1), 2-20. doi:10.1080/13632434.2013.813457

Kirkpatrick, A. (2007a). Teaching English across cultures. What do English language teachers need to know to teach English. English Australia Journal, 23(2), 20-36.

Kirkpatrick, A. (2007b). World Englishes: Implications for international communication and English language teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Krashen, S. D. (1981a). Second language acquisition and second language learning. [Digital version]. Retrieved from http://www.sdkrashen.com/

Krashen, S. D. (1981b). Bilingual education and second language acquisition theory. In California State Department of Education (Ed.), Schooling and language minority students: A theoretical framework (pp. 50–79). Los Angeles: Evaluation, Dissemination and Assessment Center California State University

Lamb, M. (1995). The consequences of INSET. ELT Journal, 49(1), 72–80. doi:10.1093/elt/49.1.72

Lyons, W. E. (2012). Examining role issues in inclusive classrooms through participatory action research. The Canadian Journal of Action Research, 13(3), 19-37.

McHugh, M. L. (2013). The Chi-square test of independence. Biochemia Medica, 23(2), 143-149. doi:10.11613/BM.2013.018

McKenzie, K. B., & Scheurich, J. J. (2004). Equity traps: A useful construct for preparing principals to lead schools that are successful with racially diverse students. Educational Administration Quarterly, 40(5), 601-632. doi:10.1177/0013161X04268839

Nguyen, M.X.N.C. (2017). TESOL teachers’ engagement with the Native Speaker Model: How does teacher education impact on their beliefs? RELC, 48(1) 83-98. doi:10.1177/0033688217690066

Ofsted. (2005). Managing challenging behaviour. London: Ofsted.

Roffey-Barentsen, J. & Watt, M. (2014). The voices of teaching assistants (are we value for money?). Research in Education, 92(1), 18-31. doi.org/10.7227/RIE.0002

Ryan, G.W., & Bernard, H.R. (2003). Techniques to identify themes. Field Methods, 15(1), 85-109. doi:10.1177/1525822X02239569

Salkind, N. J. (2013). Statistics for people who (think they) hate statistics (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Sears, C. (2015). Second language students in English-medium classrooms: a guide for teachers in international schools (Vol. 20). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Sharples, J., Webster, R., & Blatchford, P. (2015). Making best use of teaching assistants: Guidance report. London, UK: Education Endowment Foundation.

Shoebottom, P. (2009). Academic success for non-native English speakers in English-medium international schools: The role of the secondary ESL department. NALDIC Quarterly, 7(1), 13-18. Retrieved from www.naldic.org.uk

Tarry, E. (2011). British international schools: The deployment and training of teaching assistants. Journal of Research in International Education, 10(3), 293-302. doi:10.1177/1475240911422298

Tarry, E. (2012). Teaching assistants: providing support for the IPC. In M. Hayden & J. Thompson (Eds.), Taking the IPC forward: Engaging with the International Primary Curriculum, 125-33. Woodbridge, England: John Catt Educational Ltd.

Tarry, E., & Cox, A. (2014). Professional development in international schools; issues of inclusion identified by a group of international school teaching assistants. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 14(4), 248-254. doi:10.1111/1471-3802.12024

Tompkins, R.H, Ratcliff, N., Jones, C., Vaden, S.R., Hunt, G., & Sheehan, H.C. (2012). The myth of the fool proof script: Can paraprofessionals effectively improve kindergarten student achievement using a scripted phonics program? Early Years: An International

Journal of Research and Development,32, 313-323.

Trent, J. (2014). ‘I’m teaching, but I’m not really a teacher’. Teaching assistants and the construction of professional identities in Hong Kong schools. Educational Research, 56(1), 28-47. doi:10.1080/00131881.2013.874147

Van de Pol, J., Volman, M., & Beishuizen, J. (2010). Scaffolding in teacher-student interaction: A decade of research. Educational Psychology Review, 22, 271-296. doi:10.1007/510648-010-9127-6

Ward, O. (2017, May, 2017). Education for the elites in ASEAN. ASEAN Today. Retrieved from aseantoday.com

Whitehorn, T. (2010). School support staff topic paper. London: DfE https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/4151632.pdf

Wood, D., Bruner, J. S., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17(2), 89-100. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1976.tb00381.x




DOI: https://doi.org/10.33508/bw.v8i1.2145