ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors investigates teaching assistants' (TAs') role and whether the boundaries between what is their own and what is the teachers' work can act to support or constrain their ability to manage behaviour. She They considers how developing a clear understanding of the work that TAs do and how their role is defined can be advantageous and disadvantageous in relation to managing behaviour. Graves, S. supported this and suggested that TAs’ roles, and specifically HLTAs’ roles, were chameleon-like, which, she the authors proposed worked against the development of a distinct professional identity. TAs have arguably been exposed to substantially more incremental change in their role which, as Giangreco, M. proposed, has not built upon a theoretically defensible foundation. In support of Mackenzie's research showing teachers' views of classroom roles lacked congruence with each other, participants in my research suggested that teachers were largely unaware of the challenges for TAs in managing behaviour. The authors consolidates our their understanding of TAs' roles.
