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Teaching Assistants Named 'Unsung Heroes' Of Pandemic In UK Study

Updated September 6, 2021

One thing the COVID-19 pandemic brought to startling light is just who our society relies on when the going gets tough: healthcare workers, transport drivers/cargo haulers/delivery people, food processors, utility workers, and grocery store staff are all who we just can't do without.

In the U.K., schools also stayed open during the pandemic, which allowed those essential workers with children to go to their jobs with a little less to worry about. And according to a recent study, that wouldn't have been possible without the nation's underappreciated teaching assistants.

While we might think of teaching assistants as merely chipping in with a bit of help here and there, they've been indispensible in the pandemic.

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That's according to research out of the University College London Institute for Education, which analyzed data from more than 9,000 teaching assistants around the country to name them the nation's "unsung heroes" of the pandemic.

"TAs have been absolutely key in allowing schools to keep functioning during the pandemic," Dr. Rob Webster, one of the study's authors, said in a press release. "Our report highlights that in many ways teaching assistants have been the ‘unsung heroes’ of the pandemic and it is hard to see how schools could have managed without them."

Digging in to the stats shows that teaching assistants did indeed keep the education system running.

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According to the study, 88% of TAs supported the children of vulnerable and essential workers in schools, and 51% took on whole classes or bubbles on their own, with teachers having to prep and deliver lessons remotely, putting TAs in a higher-risk situation.

Just under half of TAs (49%) reported covering staff absences as well — allowing schools to stay open — with those serving in schools specializing in early years or special needs education — where kids didn't have personal protective equipment — reporting increased vulnerability.

"We have put our lives at risk more than any school staff during the pandemic," one TA reportedly said.

The pandemic also required some increased flexibility from TAs.

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Almost a quarter reported taking on new responsibilities, and 44% said that the situation had required them to pick up new digital skills, often without training.

What's more, the TAs had to do all that with more students in classrooms as the government broadened who it defined as essential workers, thus allowing their children to learn in-person.

"This increased workload for teachers and TAs who had to find ways of managing children in school and providing lesson content for those at home and our findings suggest this may have led to increased anxiety as TAs juggled many different tasks," said UCL Institute of Education professor Gemma Moss.

All that has TAs looking due for more appreciation.

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In Britain, teaching assistants are not well paid, with a median annual income of just £14,000 (about $19,500 USD), The Guardian reported.

Their contributions have also largely gone unnoticed during the pandemic, as only 27% of TAs reported that their school's administrators realized how much they had done for their schools.

The bottom line from the study is that administrators need to take TAs into account for the future.

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"The COVID-19 crisis has underlined the value of the contribution TAs make to their schools. Their insights and knowledge should be drawn on in the effort to rebuild education," Dr. Webster said.

"Our research reveals just how essential TAs are to the day-to-day running of schools. This is true in more normal times as well as during a pandemic. And if we are to build a more resilient education system going forward, then their voices need to be heard."

h/t: University College London

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