You’d never know it from the posted job description, but hitting, kicking, hair pulling, biting, spitting, scratching, broken glasses, death threats and exposure to blood, feces, and urine are just a small sample of the “working conditions” that EAs experience on a daily basis. In just a short number of years, their duties have gone from supporting teachers in a general and primarily administrative fashion, to evacuating classrooms when chairs are being thrown by the specific student they are assigned to.
Most schools will say that they have "zero tolerance" for such behaviour, and their policies and procedures will reinforce that statement. But time and time again, the evidence - whether anecdotal or independently researched and compiled - shows a lack of effective tools, support, or political will to deal effectively with the problem. While the reasons for this are as varied as they are many, the reality is that incidents such as these are now seen as a normal “part of the job”. And that’s a problem in and of itself. They’re not normal, and they shouldn’t be tolerated.
In this session, we'll examine the relationship between student education and staff safety, with a specific focus on EAs and incidents involving violence.