Papers (150)

Over the past 20 years, there has been a steady increase in the number of paraprofessional personnel employed in special education, Title 1, and bilingual education programs. Currently, there are approximately 500,000 paraeducators working in the United States. Data indicates that 95 percent of paraeducators are women working for little more than minimum wage, that the role of paraeducators has shifted from clerical work to greater instructional involvement with special education students, and that job satisfaction is low among paraeducators. Tfie availability of paraeducator training is important because of paraeducator's critical role as a member of the instructional team. The identification of 32 training programs for paraeducators across the United States revealed that 10 programs were specific to special education paraprofessionals and that only 1 program had been designed specifically for a rura