Empowering Paraeducators to Support Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Through Practice-Based Coaching: A Collaborative Approach

Paraeducator support is often crucial in the education of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. However, paraeducators who serve these students often lack sufficient training and mentorship to support effective instruction and behavior management. Similarly, teachers are typically underprepared to work with paraeducators to build sustained, effective collaborations. In this paper, we describe an evidence-based collaboration process based on the practice-based coaching framework and illustrate the implementation of this process within the context of supporting the academic and behavioral needs of a student with emotional and behavioral disorders. We outline a practice-based coaching process anchored in a collaborative partnership between the coach (teacher) and the coachee (paraeducator), emphasizing a bidirectional relationship in which both individuals contribute their expertise and work together as partners.