How to maximise the impact of teaching assistants in primary schools Literature review

How to maximise the impact of teaching assistants in primary schools - Literature review Example For instance, Deployment and Impact of Support Staff in schools (DISS) project at the Institute of Education in London recently carried out a study (Russell, Webster & Blatchford 2013). Their findings proved pupils who received great assistance from TAs usually made poor progress in their academics compared to those received very little support from the same (Russell, Webster & Blatchford 2013). This is because TAS in schools play very little role in the academic teaching of pupils but contribute in helping them understand various contents as well as acquiring essential life’s skills. Mostly, TAs aid in instilling a sense of self-responsibility in pupils thus enabling them to face varied life challenges with confidence that they will overcome if they apply appropriate skills. In a perfect school composition, teaching assistants mostly do about 25% of the entire school workforce. Therefore, it is essential for schools to make the most of the teaching assistants in order to assist pupils succeed not only in their academics but also in making rational decisions while they are outside learning settings. This is by schools coming up with effective strategies on preparing teaching assistants well as well as interaction with pupils to help them achieve higher standards. According to Russell, Webster & Blatchford (2013), schools ought to invest more on preparedness, deployment as well as practice of teaching assistants to ensure they adequately influence pupils positively. For instance, TAs ought to be adequately prepared on how to aid teachers in classrooms as well as understanding different disciplines, which pupils learn in class. It is also essential that teaching assistance receive practice on the nature and quality of their interactions with pupils Russell , Webster & Blatchford (2013). The latter is important as the teaching assistants’ interactions with