2.6 Support staff in Europe and beyond
Teaching assistants and other related learning support staff work in many countries, including in Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia and Japan, and in the schools for children of British armed forces personnel posted overseas. As might be expected, however, the status and responsibilities attached to these support roles varies considerably between educational systems. For example, a team of researchers from The Open University led by Jonathan Rix, while visiting Japan and Italy as part of their review of international policy and practice in learning support, found that:
Within Japan, the roles of teachers and assistants were clearly adhered to, with teachers having responsibility for teaching and assistants providing non-teaching support. Within Italy, the qualification level required of teachers and support teachers was equivalent, creating the opportunity for shared responsibility.
Spend a few minutes considering your own knowledge or experience of learning support roles. Thinking of Japan and Italy as being at either end of a continuum, where do you feel the situations you are familiar with would fit in?