Unheard Voices: Teacher Assistants’ Views and Experiences of Safety in Their Schools

Teacher assistants (e.g. paraprofessionals, instructional aides, and classroom assistants) work under teacher supervision to support students. In this study, we explored teacher assistants’ (TAs; N = 448) perceptions of school violence, drawing on qualitative data from a larger national survey of school personnel. Participants expressed a lack of support, accountability, and resources from administration and other school staff, underscoring the need for more inclusive and comprehensive strategies to improve safety. Participants recommended both evidence-informed interventions (e.g. restorative practices, positive behavior interventions) and stricter, punitive approaches (e.g. zero-tolerance policies, school hardening). Findings suggest that TAs’ views relate to experiences of victimization and a need for more training around school safety issues.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of School Violence
Published
2026-08-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2026.2720150
Primary Topic
Collaborative Teaching and Inclusion
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Unheard Voices: Teacher Assistants’ Views and Experiences of Safety in Their Schools

Sawyer Hogenkamp, Andrew Martinez, Linda A. Reddy, Eric M. Anderman et al.
Journal of School Violence
Collaborative Teaching and Inclusion
article

Unheard Voices: Teacher Assistants’ Views and Experiences of Safety in Their Schools

Sawyer Hogenkamp, Andrew Martinez, Linda A. Reddy, Eric M. Anderman, Frank C. Worrell, Ron Avi Astor, Chaoyue Wu, Susan D. McMahon, Gordon Capp, Dorothy L. Espelage
article en

Abstract

Teacher assistants (e.g. paraprofessionals, instructional aides, and classroom assistants) work under teacher supervision to support students. In this study, we explored teacher assistants’ (TAs; N = 448) perceptions of school violence, drawing on qualitative data from a larger national survey of school personnel. Participants expressed a lack of support, accountability, and resources from administration and other school staff, underscoring the need for more inclusive and comprehensive strategies to improve safety. Participants recommended both evidence-informed interventions (e.g. restorative practices, positive behavior interventions) and stricter, punitive approaches (e.g. zero-tolerance policies, school hardening). Findings suggest that TAs’ views relate to experiences of victimization and a need for more training around school safety issues.

Journal of School Violence
DePaul University (US), California State University System (US), University of California System (US), Hunter College (US), The Ohio State University (US)
University of North Carolina, Ohio State University, University of California Berkeley, DePaul University, University of California, Los Angeles
Peace, Justice and strong institutions
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Collaborative Teaching and Inclusion
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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