This type of support greatly increased the risk of ending up on disability benefits
Researchers in Norway found that being placed in a special education class had no effect at all. However, having a teaching assistant had a significant negative effect.
Assistant support is a standard measure that clearly works quite poorly for quite a few, according to the researchers behind a new study.(Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB)
Some were placed in special classes, while others were given a teaching assistant.
These students formed what researchers call a high-risk group – youths likely to face additional challenges in education and later in life, including an increased risk of becoming dependent on disability benefits as adults.
Båtevik and his colleagues followed the students all the way into their mid-30s to find out how things turned out for them.
Five times higher disability risk
In a recently published study, the researchers examined what types of support the students received in upper secondary school, and whether this had any influence on their transition to work. Did special education support make a difference?
The results of the analyses are surprising.
The researchers found that being placed in a special education class had no effect at all.
However, having a teaching assistant was strongly associated with worse outcomes.
Boys who had an assistant were 7.6 times more likely to end up on disability benefits as adults than those who did not have an assistant.
Girls with an assistant had a 3.5 times higher risk.
Overall, students who received help from a teaching assistant were five times more likely to end up on disability benefits later in life.
There’s a strong possibility that the study reflects differences in student circumstances, rather than the actual effect of having an assistant.
Professor Astrid Marie Jorde Sandsør
Cannot say why
"We did think it was a bit strange, yes, that's for sure," says Båtevik.
He and his team tried to identify reasons within their available data and especially focused on controlling for students’ level of functioning. They wanted to determine whether the students who had assistants were already facing such severe challenges that they were likely to end up on disability benefits regardless.
Annonse
"But even after adjusting for those with the greatest difficulties, whether or not the student had an assistant still made a difference," says Båtevik.
The study does not offer a definitive explanation for these results, but the researchers point to possible answers from other studies.
"Getting extra assistance can, in the worst case, make things worse," says Finn Ove Båtevik, professor at Volda University College.(Photo: Private)
Could stigma be the problem?
About the study:
The researchers have data on students who received special education support in upper secondary school in 1994 and 1995 from six counties in Norway. The sample was designed to be representative of the entire country.
Starting from a base of over 1,800 students, they were able to collect more detailed data on 760 of them.
These students were contacted for interviews when they were:
23-24 years old
28-29 years old
33-37 years old
Over the years, many dropped out. In some cases, schools refused to provide addresses, some students had passed away, and many simply did not respond.
For this new analysis, the researchers used data from 300 of the students. Although the dropout rate is high, they point out that this is still a large sample compared to similar studies.
"There’s a chance this is connected to reduced contact with qualified teachers, which can impact academic achievement," says Båtevik.
Most of the students had chosen a vocational track.
"In these programmes, students prepare for trades that require specific skills. Replacing subject-specific instruction with an assistant could weaken their foundation for entering the job market," says the researcher.
The researchers also suspect that stigma might play a role. Being assigned an assistant may feel like a label that’s hard to shake, and might lead teachers and parents to lower their expectations. That, in turn, can impact how these students view themselves.
"Many of these students are likely already stigmatised by the time they reach upper secondary school," Båtevik points out. "Getting extra assistance can, in the worst case, make the problem worse."
We need closer insight
To truly understand why having an assistant might lead to negative outcomes, researchers need to study support measures inside schools in a different way, argues Båtevik. You need to follow different groups closely over time to see who benefits and who does not.
"Our study is an overview that provides the big picture and helps us ask more questions," he says.
"It’s tempting to conclude that we should stop using assistants because they don’t seem effective. It’s a standard intervention that clearly doesn’t work well for many. But some students do benefit, so I wouldn’t dismiss it entirely. We need to dig deeper to understand what’s really going on," he says.
No clear answers
"This study doesn't allow us to draw conclusions about causaility – whether having an assistant is the reason for poorer outcomes later in life," says Astrid Marie Jorde Sandsør.
Professor Astrid Marie Jorde Sandsør believes the study is not relevant to today's schools. A lot has changed in special education since the 1990s, she points out.(Photo: University of Oslo)
She is a professor at the Centre for Research on Equality in Education (CREATE) and the Department of Special Needs Education at the University of Oslo.
Sandsør finds the study's results interesting.
"It raises questions about how we can best delivre special education. But the design of the study doesn't give us clear answers," she says.
Sandsør believes the researchers could have done more to control for disability level and other background factors.
"There’s a strong possibility that the study reflects differences in student circumstances, rather than the actual effect of having an assistant," she says.
We know little about what actually works
Still, she agrees with the researchers on one key point: We know far too little about the effectiveness of special education.
"We spend a lot of money in Norway on things whose effectiveness we don't really know. We may think we know, but we don't put in the effort to actually find out," she says.
It's not always easy to figure out how to evaluate such interventions either, she adds.
"You either need really good data so you can control for everything. Or you need to conduct experiments where some students receive support, and others who don't receive the intervention are used as a comparison," she says.
Helpful when used correctly
Sandsør also believes that special education has changed significantly since the 1990s.
"So we can't draw direct conclusions about today's school environment based on this study," she says.
Even though there is still much we do not know, a Danish study has shown positive effects of having an extra assistant in the classroom, Sandsør notes. In that case, the assistant was not tied to a specific student, but supported the whole class.
Norwegian studies have also shown that using more teachers to teach in smaller groups can have a positive effect. Sandsør points to projects like Two Teachers and the 1+1 project.
"Assistants can be helpful when used correctly, that much we do know," says Sandsør. "But that doesn't mean every assistant, in every setting, will have a positive effect. To understand what works and what doesn't, we need more thorough research."
Myklebust, J.O. & Båtevik, F.O. 'Social security risk in adulthood among former students with special needs. Are special educational measures helpful?', Tidsskrift for velferdsforskning, vol. 28, 2025. DOI: 10.18261/tfv.28.2.2 (Abstract)
