The expansion of the paraprofessional territory in schools - A reorganization of educational doings and relatings?

The paraprofessional territory in Swedish schools is growing.

It is populated mainly by low-educated staff doing low-paid work supporting or supplementing already established professional categories.

The paraprofessionals are now almost as large as the number of primary and lower secondary school teachers in the Swedish school.

They are involved in all parts of everyday work in schools, and constitutes a significant and nowadays almost indispensable occupational group.Although many schools have developed a dependence on paraprofessional services, bringing forth unexpected and perhaps unwanted consequences, the knowledge of their work is surprisingly low.

The proposed project aims to generate knowledge by systematically describe and problematize work in the paraprofessional territory in Swedish schools.

Results from the project will bring an updated description of the occupational field and an in-depth understanding of paraprofessional work in schools and its potential consequences.

The project is based on research indicating that the expansion of the paraprofessional territory is bringing occupational and professional dynamics to life, changing the way schools are organizing interactions and relations. Three complementary studies will be implemented.

Firstly, two surveys with the aim of mapping the paraprofessional territory in Swedish schools, and secondly, a field study with the intention of discerning the social processes that paraprofessionals negotiate in everyday work.