Three hundred and seventy-four principals from 299 secondary school (Years 7-12) campuses in the state of
Victoria, Australia were invited to approach their teachers’ aides to participate in the study. Principals were
asked to forward an invitational email to the TAs in their school who supported secondary students with
disabilities. There were no criteria which excluded any teachers’ aides from participating in this research. It was
important to ensure that a broad range of opinions and experiences were gathered regarding TAs’ perceptions of
their own professional learning needs when working with students with disabilities in the state secondary school
system.