McLachlan_2012.pdf (1.98 MB)
Learning for Excellence: Professional learning for learning support assistants within further education
thesis
posted on 2023-08-30, 13:52 authored by Benita McLachlanThe 1980s saw an increase in learning support assistants (LSAs’) in colleges for further
education to support post-sixteen learners with learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD).
LSAs’ were appointed on an ad hoc basis with little or no experience, or relevant
qualifications to deliver support in ‘inclusive’ vocational classrooms. The Workforce
Development Plan in 2004 acknowledged this phenomenon and advocated that occupational
standards be developed. Two years later, in October 2006, the first National Occupational
Standards (NOS) for college LSAs was launched but it did not include an official training
framework for their professional learning and although there are some training structures in
place, this still remains the case today.
Learners with LDD are, therefore, still supported by untrained LSAs’ who are not
professionally equipped to deal with the particular challenges they present. Educators like
myself who work alongside LSAs’ in colleges, must seek to naturalistically explore
professional learning opportunities to enhance their knowledge and skills. Such professional
learning opportunities should reflect the creative and dynamic contribution college LSAs’
bring to inclusive classrooms and, thereby, not only improve the quality of the support LSAs’
give but the overall integrative, ethical and non-discriminative ethos of a college. With this
knowledge, I developed and implemented an Enhanced Learning Support Assistant
Programme (ELSAP) for the professional learning of volunteer LSA participants with the aim
of improving their knowledge and skills to deliver a more meaningful education for postsixteen
learners with LDD. For the acquisition of new knowledge and skills, professional
learning for LSAs’ needs to occur systemically over time and be integrated within the multilayered
context of a college to allow dynamic and reciprocal influences to make
transformative connections. Critically, my action research study strengthens the connection
between socio-political theory and practice within the sociology of disability education on
moral, ethical and human rights grounds.
History
Institution
Anglia Ruskin UniversityFile version
- Accepted version
Language
- eng
Thesis name
- PhD
Thesis type
- Doctoral
Legacy posted date
2013-07-30Legacy creation date
2019-08-07Legacy Faculty/School/Department
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