(pdf version available)
(Download Acrobat Reader for Free to View pdf files!)
What do Paraeducators and their Supervisors Need to Know and be able to Do? Raw Data
Method: Questionnaire
Purpose: To ascertain perceived importance of topical areas of training paraeducators and professionals who supervise them.
Dates of data collection: Fall 1998
Project Staff:
Michael F. Giangreco, Project Director
Eileen CichoskiKelly, Project Coordinator
Linda Backus, Project Associate
Priscilla Sherman-Tucker, Project Associate
Chris CichoskiKelly, Technology Specialist
Number of respondents: 153
Return Rate: 28%
Background Characteristics:
Grade level respondents work with:
PreKindergarten-8 grade: 41%
High school: 17%
Across grades (k-12): 37%
Others less than 2%
Missing data: 3%
Level of education of respondents:
HS/GED: 12%
Associates: 5%
Bachelor's: 20%
Master's: 41%
Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS): 5%
Doctorate: 17%
Race of respondents:
Caucasian: 89%
Black: 5%
Hispanic: 4%
Asian American: 1%
Native American <1%
Role of respondents:
State Ed: 14%
General educator: 6%
University: 10%
Parent: 11%
Professional Organization: 3%
Spec. Educator: 19%
Advocate: 3%
Related Service: 11%
Paraeducator: 16%
School administrator: 7%
Sex of respondents:
Female: 89%
Male: 11%
State of Respondents:
36 states were represented.
States with representation greater than 2% include:
Vermont: 28%
Idaho: 7%
California: 5%
Colorado: 5%
New York: 5%
Maine: 4%
Washington: 4%
Iowa: 3%
Kansas: 3%
Nevada: 3%
| Alaska | Illinois | Montana | Oklahoma | West Virginia |
| Arkansas | Indiana |
Nebraska |
Oregon | Wisconsin |
| Connecticut | Louisiana | New Hampshire | Rhode Island | |
| Florida | Massachusetts | North Carolina | South Dakota | |
| Georgia | Michigan | North Dakota | Texas | |
| Hawaii | Minnesota | Ohio | Virginia |
Years of Experience working with Paraeducators:
range is from 0 years (1%) to 30 years (<1%)
0 years: 1%
1-5 years: 34%
6-9 years: 16%
10-15 years: 31%
17-20 years: 11%
22-30 years: 7%
Note: All responses are based on a Likert-style scale from 1-5 with 1 as "not important" and 5 as " critically important" for the survey topic listed below. The responses are summarized by number of persons who responded to the topic (n) and percentage of persons who responded to the topic (%) for each item.
| Survey Topic |
1 not important |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 critically important |
| Collaborative teamwork |
n=0 |
n=2 1% |
n=16 11% |
n=47 32% |
n=84 56% |
| Paraeducator roles and responsibilities |
n=0 |
n=4 3% |
n=14 9% |
n=48 32% |
n=84 56% |
| Curriculum & Instruction |
n=0 |
n=7 5% |
n=21 14% |
n=40 27% |
n=81 54% |
| Inclusive education |
n=0 |
n=9 6% |
n=23 15% |
n=39 26% |
n=79 53% |
| Characteristics of children with various disabilities |
n=0 |
n=10 7% |
n=30 20% |
n=37 24% |
n=74 49% |
| Roles and responsibilities of others |
n=2 1% |
n=12 8% |
n=37 25% |
n=60 40% |
n=39 26% |
| Multicultural & Family issues |
n=2 1% |
n=30 20% |
n=51 34% |
n=38 25% |
n=29 20% |
| Survey Topic |
1 not important |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 critically important |
| Collaborative teamwork & effective communication strategies |
n=0 |
n=6 4% |
n=7 5% |
n=35 23% |
n=101 68% |
| Teaching paraprofessionals to implement instruction |
n=0 |
n=8 5% |
n=17 11% |
n=49 34% |
n=75 50% |
| Roles & responsibilities of paraprofessionals and teachers |
n=0 |
n=99 6% |
n=20 13% |
n=36 24% |
n=85 57% |
| Supervising instruction of paraprofessionals |
n=0 |
n=15 10% |
n=20 13% |
n=44 30% |
n=69 47% |
| Planning for the paraeducator |
n=0 |
n=11 8% |
n=30 20% |
n=42 29% |
n=64 43% |
| Survey Topic |
1 not important |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 critically important |
| Supporting students with Behavior challenges |
n=0 |
n=3 2% |
n=15 10% |
n=47 32% |
n=84 56% |
| Effective teaching strategies |
n=0 |
n=8 5% |
n=16 11% |
n=61 41% |
n=65 43% |
| Implementing & monitoring instruction |
n=1 1% |
n=7 5% |
n=20 14% |
n=62 42% |
n=56 38% |
| Approaches to literacy: Reading, Math, & Lang. Arts |
n=1 1% |
n=25 17% |
n=35 23% |
n=56 37% |
n=34 22% |
| Use of technology |
n=3 2% |
n=17 11% |
n=46 31% |
n=59 39% |
n=25 17% |
| Supporting students with low incidence disabilities |
n=2 1% |
n=25 17% |
n=39 28% |
n=36 26% |
n=39 28% |