TEACHERSʼ ASSISTANTS IN PRESCHOOL INSTITUTIONS: ASSESSMENT OF HEADS OF THE PRESCHOOL INSTITUTIONS IN KAUNAS

Abstract

The article deals with the issues of the professional activities of the teacherʼs assistants (TAs) in preschool institutions. Relevance of the topic. The demand for the TAs in the educational institutions with regard to various reasons becomes every year more and more relevant, many countries offer more and more working places for this category of educational aide specialists. The implementation of the political principals of the inclusive and universal education cause the raise of the following questions. What challenges are facing the teachers of the preschool institutions in their professional practice and what issues will they confront in the future? Which roles should take the aide personnel during the educational process? How is the actual situation of the TAsʼ work in the preschool institutions? What expectations and requirements they face do to their qualification? What are their professional functions? There are quite a lot publications dealing with similar issues, but the results of the studies are mostly determined locally and by small samples. There are also some research studies on the work of the TAs in Lithuania, but they are exploring exceptionally in the context of the common schools, not in the preschool education field.

This article highlights the thematically trends of the research studies in different countries about the issues of the work of TAs. It also presents the results of the empirical survey, which the authors conducted in the years 2022-2023 in Kaunas with the aim to investigate the perspective of the heads of preschool institutions about the demand, educational status, insufficient professional knowledge and skills as well as the qualification perspectives of their employees – TAs. The research problem. How professionally educated are the TAs in preschool institutions, what expectations exist do to their professional qualification and what demand for such kind of the specialists in preschool institutions can be identified? The object of the research was the assessment of the heads of the preschool institutions concerning the demand for the TAs as well as their professional qualification. The aim of the research was to reveal, how the heads of the preschool institutions appreciate the demand for the TAs as well as their professional qualification. Research tasks were theoretically to reveal the main research trends in the field of the TAsʼ work at the international level, empirically to identify the demand and the education of the TAs in the preschool institutions in Kaunas, to categorize their insufficient professional knowledge and skills as well as to determine the qualification perspectives for the TAs. For this purpose scientific literature, documents and research data from the survey were analyzed. Research results. The analysis of the research studies in different countries has revealed the following trends in the field of TAsʼ professional activities: the peculiarities of TAsʼ work with the children with special needs, the issues concerning effectivity of the work of TAs, the identification of the level of professional qualification and the demand for the improving qualification, their academic training, the determination of the professional functions and roles as well as their personal feelings as a professional. The results of the empirical study revealed the actual and growing demand for TAs in the 5-years perspective in preschool institutions in Kaunas. The heads of the institutions characterize these specialists as very needed in the preschool communities, but most of them are without any pedagogical education, not even seeking such one education actually. The most needed knowledge and skills are the pedagogical, psychological knowledge, skills in special education and special psychology, as well as communication skills and practical experience working with children. The respondents emphasize the necessity for the improvement of the professional qualification of TAs. The study programme for the training of TAs (not only for schools, but also for preschool institutions), who would be able to work with the children with special needs, is regarded by the most of the heads of the preschool institutions in Kaunas as required.