Research on the Demands and Supporting Strategies of Paraeducators for Children with Special Needs in Jiangxi Province from the Perspective of Inclusive Education

Technical Summary: Research on the Demands and Supporting Strategies of Paraeducators for Children with Special Needs in Jiangxi Province

Problem Statement
Despite national mandates in China (e.g., the Implementation Plan for the Autism-Friendly Care Promotion Initiative and the 14th Five-Year Plan for Special Education) to establish shadow teacher (paraeducator) systems, Jiangxi Province faces significant barriers to the sustainable integration of children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) into mainstream classrooms. While Jiangxi has made progress in inclusive placement, general education teachers often lack systematic training in special education pedagogy, limiting their ability to implement Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or manage disruptive behaviors. Consequently, SEN children frequently experience limited classroom participation, emotional dysregulation, and social isolation. Although shadow teacher services exist in Jiangxi (e.g., in Nanchang), field observations indicate pervasive operational challenges, including a lack of standardized role definitions, insufficient professional training, fragmented support systems, and inadequate institutional resources. The study addresses the urgent need to diagnose these systemic bottlenecks and construct regionally tailored support strategies.

Methodology
The study employed a mixed-methods design (quantitative and qualitative) grounded in provincial policies and frontline practices.

• Participants: The research involved three primary stakeholder groups across multiple prefecture-level cities in Jiangxi (including Nanchang, Jiujiang, Ganzhou, etc.):
  • Parents: Parents of 87 children with autism, intellectual disabilities, learning difficulties, speech/language impairments, and multiple disabilities (children aged 6–10) were surveyed.
  • Paraeducators: 16 teaching assistants and accompanying readers (including full-time staff, student volunteers, and parent volunteers) supporting children aged 6–12.
  • Teachers: 24 general education and special education teachers supporting school-aged children aged 6–12.
  • Interviews: Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with three parents (of children aged 6–10), three inclusive teachers (supporting children aged 6–12), and three paraeducators (supporting children aged 6–12).
• Instruments:
  • Questionnaire: A self-developed instrument titled Questionnaire on the Demand and Supporting Strategies for Paraeducators of Children with Special Needs in Jiangxi Province. It demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.89) and validity (S-CVI/Ave = 0.91). It covered demographics, demand perceptions, competency requirements, support systems, and policy recommendations.
  • Interviews: Semi-structured guides focused on service demands, functional roles, practical challenges, and desired institutional support.
• Procedure: Data collection occurred between January and April 2026, following ethical approval from Yuzhang Normal College. Data were analyzed through thematic coding to map unmet demands and systemic barriers.

Key Contributions and Results

1. Multidimensional Service Demands:
   The study identified four core domains of unmet support needs for SEN children in mainstream settings:

   • Behavioral Intervention: The highest priority (89.66% endorsement), focusing on classroom rule-building and managing disruptive behaviors (e.g., screaming, aggression).
   • Social Skills Training: 85.06% of respondents highlighted the need for peer interaction guidance and group activity integration.
   • Daily Living Skills: 78.16% required support for self-care routines (dressing, dining, restroom).
   • Academic Scaffolding: 60.92% needed differentiated homework guidance and knowledge explanation.
   • Individualized Rehabilitation: 75.86% required the implementation of rehabilitative plans (e.g., speech therapy, sensory integration) within the school context.

2. Professional and Occupational Deficits:

   • Workforce Composition: The current workforce is dominated by untrained parent-hired paraprofessionals and volunteers (only 18.39% are full-time certified).
   • Competency Gaps: 91.95% of survey respondents identified critical gaps in shadow teacher professional competencies, prioritizing training in special education foundational theory, positive behavioral intervention techniques, and IEP design.
   • Role Ambiguity: Practitioners often oscillate between a "babysitter" role (custodial care) and an overstepping role (usurping teacher authority), lacking clear regulatory definitions.
   • Welfare Issues: The sector suffers from low remuneration, lack of social security, and undefined career advancement pathways, leading to low professional identity and high turnover.

3. Systemic Dilemmas:
   The research diagnosed four primary structural barriers:

   • Policy Gaps: Absence of standardized entry qualifications, fragmented training programs, lack of wage standards, and missing performance evaluation systems.
   • Resource Scarcity: Insufficient funding, lack of specialized resource rooms, and a shortage of certified special education instructors.
   • Collaborative Failures: Institutional silos between schools, families, and rehabilitation clinics; lack of formal communication channels between general teachers and paraeducators.
   • Social Stigma: Low public awareness and acceptance of the paraeducator role, hindering recruitment of qualified graduates.

4. Proposed Supporting Strategies:
   The paper constructs a four-dimensional support framework:

   • Government Level: Enact provincial regulatory measures (e.g., Implementation Measures for Shadow Teacher Services), establish dedicated fiscal budgets for salaries and training, create standardized certification and evaluation benchmarks, and foster cross-departmental coordination (Education, Civil Affairs, Health).
   • Professional Capacity Building: Implement a three-tiered training model (provincial training, municipal credentialing, school-based supervision). Introduce "gradient-tiered" support frameworks where intervention intensity matches disability severity (e.g., full-time support for severe cases, hybrid support for mild cases).
   • School Level: Formalize role delineation between teachers and paraeducators, establish structured home-school communication protocols, create inclusive physical environments (resource rooms), and integrate IEP co-design processes.
   • Community/Family Level: Develop cross-sector support networks involving universities and rehabilitation centers for training, provide caregiver mental health counseling, and launch media campaigns to reduce occupational stigma.

Significance and Claims
The paper claims to offer empirical evidence and actionable policy references specifically tailored to the educational realities of Jiangxi Province. By systematically unpacking the demands of four core stakeholder groups and diagnosing the specific bottlenecks in the current shadow teacher system, the study aims to advance high-quality inclusive education for SEN children in central China. The author posits that constructing a multi-layered, regionally tailored support framework is a prerequisite for the sustainable operation of shadow teacher services. The findings are intended to guide the incremental maturation of a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder support system, aligning local practices with national goals for educational equity and the rights of neurodiverse learners. The study emphasizes that resolving these layered systemic barriers is essential for enabling SEN children to access equitable schooling and achieve holistic development.