An examination of personal and organizational factors and paraeducator self-efficacy
Abstract
As a result of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, more paraeducators serve in instructional and service delivery roles to meet the needs of the growing population of classified students in both inclusive and self-contained classes. Although the number of paraeducators has increased, there is little research examining the factors impacting paraeducator self-efficacy. This study began to fill the gap in research by focusing on the personal factors (work experience, age level of teaching assignment, and disability served) and organizational factors (role of paraeducator, collaboration, professional development, job satisfaction, and supervision) related to paraeducator self-efficacy. Research used quantitative methods to examine the data, including descriptive and inferential statistics. Data were collected from 75 paraeducators working in a suburban public school for children with special needs who responded to the Paraeducator Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale and the Paraeducator Descriptive Questionnaire. Findings indicated that overall, personal or organizational factors were not predictors of self-efficacy, but individually, the organizational factor of job satisfaction was a significant predictor of self-efficacy. Additionally, strong relationships were present between supervision and role definition and also between job satisfaction and collaboration.
Subject Area
Special education|Teacher education
Recommended Citation
Straus, Hildy, "An examination of personal and organizational factors and paraeducator self-efficacy" (2014). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI3620247.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI3620247
