Book review Assessing the impact of teaching assistants (Blatchford, Russell and Webster) This book assesses the

impact of teaching assistants in the classroom, with data collected in the course of an independent study based at the IOE, University of London, and funded by the Welsh and English governments. The study, referred in the book as DISS (Deployment and Impact of Support Staff), involved the direct observation of classroom practice and the use of questionnaires, in order to assess the impact of TA support on educational achievement.

In Chapters 1 and 2, the authors begin to present the main findings of the research pointing at the positive correlation between TAs and the workload of teachers, the positive effect on levels of stress and on behaviour management in the classroom, particularly in dealing with negative behaviour. The other key findings that emerge from the research are interesting and thought provoking with wide-ranging implications for schools.

Chapter 3 deals with the employment of TAs. From the data collected, it emerges that TAs are rarely paid for extra work and they are generally not satisfied with their level of pay. In terms of preparedness (Chapter 4), the majority of teachers have received no training to help them work with TAs and there is no allocated time to work with TAs on planning and feedback. In Chapter 5 the deployment of TAs emerges as a problematic issue, with little clarity regarding their role in the classroom and the tendency to give TAs the responsibility to take on teaching activities. Another concern is the fact that pupils supported by a TA have little opportunity to interact with class teachers. Finally, Chapter 6 compares teachers interactions with pupils. The research shows that TAs tend to focus on the completion of tasks rather than on learning and understanding, they are reactive rather than proactive during activities, and do not open up to talk that fosters conceptual understanding.

In conclusion, the book raises a number of questions regarding the role and the effectiveness of TAs in the classroom, which can be summarised in the following dilemma: considering that effective teaching requires fostering high levels of conceptual understanding, should TAs have a pedagogical role? On the one hand there are arguments in favour of TAs working on non-instructional, soft skills that

aim to promote self-esteem and enjoyment in learning, rather than engaging in direct teaching. On the other, research shows that trained TAs can be effective in delivering early intervention programmes with younger children with literacy difficulties. However, it would be wrong to assume that TAs can substitute teachers in teaching, with research showing that teacher-led-one-to-one reading tuition has greater impact than TA-led-one-to-one reading tuition. In the concluding pages (p.118 to p.143), the authors provide a series of key recommendations in order to improve the effectiveness of the role of TAs, including a revision of the conditions of employment, the inclusion of training in how to work with TAs in teacher training courses, joint planning and feedback time for teachers and TAs, and addressing the issue of children with lower attainment being supported by TAs, thus depriving them of the opportunity to work teachers.

Giuliana Ferri St Albans Primary, teacher PhD student at IOE, University of London