The Development and Field Test of an Employment Interview Instrument for School Paraprofessionals

In recent years, U.S. schools have seen a growth in the number of special education paraprofessionals employed to serve special education students as well as a growth in the roles these individuals are expected to play in schools. In addition, with passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA), school districts have become increasingly concerned about the quality of individuals filling these paraprofessional positions. Despite this heightened concern, little research has been completed concerning the selection process and in particular, the employment interview, which is the primary data collection strategy used to make the employment decision. The purpose of this study was to identify the major job components of paraprofessionals, to translate these standards into an interview instrument that could assist school officials in the selection process, and to field test that instrument. The developed instrument demonstrated good reliability and concurrent validity. The instrument shows promise for helping administrators identify effective paraprofessional staff members for school classrooms. (Contains 3 tables and 6 footnotes.)