Paraeducator experiences in inclusive settings: Helping, hovering, or holding their own?

The perspectives and experiences of 20 paraeducators working with inclusion students with disabilities who also present significant behavioral challen ges were investigated in this research. The inclusion students were in Grad es K through 8 and represented a range of disability categories (e.g., auti sm spectrum disorder, serious emotional disturbance [SED] learning disabili ty, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder [AD/HD]). Findings from this s tudy indicate that paraeducators tend to assume high levels of responsibili ty for managing the academic and behavioral needs for special education stu dents in inclusive settings. This tendency appears to be due to the nature of the job, which can create conflicting roles in meeting both the needs of inclusion students us well us those of general education teachers.