Abstract
This thesis considers Teaching Assistants’ perceptions of their role during the Covid-19 pandemic and their motivation to fulfil their role. Existing literature regarding Teaching Assistants’ work during the pandemic has focused on their role largely in terms of teaching responsibilities. In addition to this, the research draws out original observations of how Teaching Assistants worked in this highly unusual context. It explores their specific experiences and the changes experienced to their role, ways of working within their schools and to existing power structures in schools. This thesis seeks to understand these changes in identity and relationships through the theoretical framework of Wenger’s theory of communities of practice. It explores how Teaching Assistants renegotiated their identity during the pandemic and the impact of this on their sense of identity, sense of self, motivation and contribution to their school communities. It draws on focus group discussions, and individual interviews involving Teaching Assistants working in two special schools in South-West England. Data from this study are used to illustrate how the role of Teaching Assistants in UK schools took on an increased importance and how Teaching Assistants took on more strategic roles. It demonstrates that that during the pandemic Teaching Assistants adopted decision making roles to support vulnerable, complex young people at a day to day and strategic level. This thesis examines how Teaching Assistants can be most effectively deployed on a practical level, taking into account their skills and knowledge of individual students; what conditions are supportive of them working in a crisis situation and how they can be deployed most effectively and their talents used to best effect in times of non-crisis. It addresses both the significance of being part of a community of practice and what this means in terms of a sense of purpose, identity and motivation.
Awarding Institution(s)
University of Plymouth
Supervisor
Jon Merrison, Nick Pratt
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Date
2026
Embargo Period
2026-10-06
Deposit Date
October 2026
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Holt, S. (2026) What were Teaching Assistants' perceptions of their role while working during the Covid-19 global pandemic and what motivated them to fulfil their role?. Thesis. University of Plymouth. Retrieved from https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/sc-theses/122
