The questionnaire was developed on the basis of a review of the literature. In particular, the work of Giangreco
(2002) and Carter (2010) informed the development of many of the items included in the questionnaire relating
to TAs’ knowledge and skills, the specific tasks that TAs are often reported to perform daily, and specific needs
for further professional learning in supporting students with disabilities. The anonymous questionnaire consisted
of 28 items that included tick-the-box, nominal, and open-ended questions. Items one to seven gathered
demographic data about the participants including gender, age group, length of time working as a TA, the
number of schools the TAs had worked in, the number of hours per fortnight working as a TA, and their own
level of education. Items eight to 13 explored TAs professional learning prior to commencing work as a TA.
Specifically, these items asked participants to indicate whether they had received any accredited training or any
induction materials, and to describe their work experience as a TA. Items 14 to 21 sought to explore TAs weekly
work schedules including the school setting they work in, the number of students with disabilities and the
number of teachers that they work with, the number of academic subjects they work in, and the year levels from
which the students with disabilities are enrolled in. Item 22 invited participants to rate their level of knowledge in 11 disability categories including autism, visual and hearing impairment, cognitive impairment, or physical
disability. Items 23 to 26 investigated teacher aides’ level of knowledge and skill in carrying out many of the
tasks related to work as a TA. For example, participants were invited to rate their own level of knowledge and
skills related to various disability categories, and 31 specific work-related activities associated with their role as
a TA in a state secondary school setting (i.e., implementing Individual Learning Plans, ethical practices, liaising
with classroom teachers etc.). The final two items invited participants to add any further comments and indicate
whether they were willing to participate in a focus group.
The anonymous on-line questionnaire responses were collected using Survey Monkey across a six week period.
The number of on-line questionnaires returned was 166 with each participant being delegated a Teachers’ Aide
(TA) number code ranging from TA1 to TA166 based on their questionnaire submission date. However, 3 of the
questionnaires were not included in the final analysis because two questionnaires were repeat submissions
(TA84 and TA140) and one (TA86) was because the respondent came from a Special School and this was
outside the scope of this research. This resulted in an overall return number of 163.