Classroom Competencies and Marginal Positionings

In this paper we examine the way students are positioned in classrooms in terms of the binary power/powerlessness and its relation to other binaries such as teacher/student, white/black and competent/incompetent student. We show how those positioned in the marked non‐ascendant pair of each binary are assumed, from the perspective of ‘teaching‐as‐usual’ to be choosing (irrationally) their lesser status. We show how this can be read quite differently from a poststructuralist perspective and how such a reading makes visible the ways in which power and ascendant positionings are discursively achieved not only as ‘normal’ but as the way things really are and should be. It further makes visible the ways in which such discursive achievements are dependent on those who are positioned as the necessary other/outsider to the ascendant order.     

An Analysis of Teachers’ and Paraeducators’ Roles and Responsibilities with Implications for Professional Development

There is a lack of documented evidence related to the relationships existing between paraeducators and teachers working in early childhood classrooms. Based on a 2-year project with three phases of data collection, the authors explore the duties of paraeducators and their working relationships with the teachers with whom they team. Based on findings from the data collected, the authors make specific recommendations for targeted professional development that is designed to improve collaboration and skill sets for paraprofessionals within early childhood learning environments. The position taken is one that supports collaborative teamwork designed to maximize the learning of young children.