The Other Teachers in the Room: Contributions of Assistant Teachers in Early Childhood Classrooms

• In Event: Shaping ECE Classroom Quality: Center Director, Teacher, and Assistant Teacher Contributions

Abstract

Introduction
Despite the ubiquity of assistant teachers in Head Start and other early care and education (ECE) programs, there are very few research studies that explore the role they play in the classroom, and more specifically, how they contribute to classroom quality in the day-to-day implementation of the program. As a result, this large constituency of the ECE workforce is often left out of policy initiatives as well.

Study Population
This research study was conducted in collaboration with a partner Head Start agency in the Northeastern US. The participants were 38 lead/assistant teaching teams from Head Start preschool classrooms across 14 Head Start centers within the larger agency. There were Dual Language Learning (DLL) children present in each of the 38 Head Start classes in which the participating lead/assistant teaching teams worked. The minimum number of DLL children in any class was 3; the maximum number of DLL children in any class was 20.

Methods
Full-day observations were conducted and coded using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS; Pianta, LaParo, & Hamre, 2008) measure for quality in each of the 38 classrooms. Lead and assistant teachers from the same classroom were observed on the same day, but their contributions to classroom quality were coded separately. Teacher questionnaires were used to collect information on lead and assistant teachers’ experience, and socio-demographic characteristics. These data were the foundation for the calculation of descriptive statistics and the fitting of statistical models to test the relationship of classroom quality in Head Start to teacher characteristics—including whether the professional role (i.e., being a lead or assistant teacher) related to classroom quality.

Results
The primary findings from the study are grouped into three areas of interest. (1) Multilingualism and Diversity: Although high rates of multilingualism and racial/ethnic diversity were found among both lead and assistant teachers in this sample, assistant teachers have higher rates of multilingualism and of racial/ethnic diversity than lead teachers in Head Start. (2) Limits of Language Competencies: Despite the high rates of multilingualism among lead and assistant teachers, most classrooms served between one and four DLL children whose home languages were not spoken by either teacher. Although the most common home language among the children in this Head Start agency was reported to be Spanish, there were 17 other languages reported as spoken in the children’s homes. (3) Classroom Quality: Lead and assistant teachers in this Head Start sample scored nearly the same on the CLASS in the domains of Emotional Support and Classroom Organization. Lead teachers score higher, on average, than assistant teachers in Instructional Support.
Implications from this study relate to the need for assistant teachers to be more fully acknowledged in Head Start policy and practice. Three specific recommendations are: (1) the need to create a formalized definition of the professional roles of assistant teachers, (2) the importance of acknowledging linguistic- and cultural-knowledge as competencies among the ECE assistant teacher workforce, and (3) the benefits of prioritizing professional development opportunities that target the growth of assistant teachers.

Author

• Jennifer Wallace Jacoby, Mount Holyoke College
  Presenting Author