The ancillary staff in the inclusive school: critical issues and prospects for improvement. Results of a research focused on role self-perception

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the school employee has been strongly reviewed. In fact it has
received, as stressed by the overcoming of the term "janitor", used until the 1990s, a wider range
of functions and responsibilities. However, this change did not give life to new practices, as results
from the weakness of the training courses involved in favor of collaborators. They scarsely participate
in their school life, too. These critical issues highlight that inclusion is a so complex challenge
that requires the synergistic partecipation of each school worker. The aim of the following paper
is to detect how collaborators perceive their role within the school, focusing in particular on
collaborative relationships with other professional and non-professional roles (managers,
teachers, families, students, assistants autonomy, etc.). Specifically, researchers submitted an
exploratory qualitative-quantitative questionnaire to a group of 41 schools assistants, chosen
through different methods. The results highlight the existence of some critical aspects, such as a
poor appreciation of the role of the school employee, that stress the importance of structural
training courses.