Paraeducators Supporting Reading Instruction

Paraeducators provide support to students with disabilities during instruction within the course of a typical school day. The use of structured and scripted interventions has been effective in improving the reading skills of students with reading difficulties. The purpose of this research study was to provide an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of paraeducators working alongside special education classroom teachers to provide reading instruction in classrooms for students with complex learning disabilities. The context for their instructional support was one large urban Midwestern school district where the Wilson Reading System® (WRS) was used to teach reading. Through phone interviews, the study identified nine paraeducators’ use of time in elementary and high school classrooms, their knowledge about the intervention, and factors that contributed to their personal success. Results of the study included a description of the academic and nonacademic duties performed by the paraeducator on a daily basis, presented three paraeducator profiles that highlighted their roles and responsibilities using the WRS, and presented factors that impacted the paraeducators’ sense of self-efficacy, such as their personal commitment to support students.