Current Roles of Support Teachers, Analysis of Their Contribution to Inclusive School: A Narrative Review

Lara Astudillo (), Cecilia Simón and Maria Luz M. Fernández Blázquez
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Lara Astudillo: Department of Developmental Psychology and Education, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Iván Pavlov St., 6, Fuencarral-El Pardo, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Cecilia Simón: Department of Developmental Psychology and Education, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Iván Pavlov St., 6, Fuencarral-El Pardo, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Maria Luz M. Fernández Blázquez: Department of Developmental Psychology and Education, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Iván Pavlov St., 6, Fuencarral-El Pardo, 28049 Madrid, Spain

Disabilities, 2025, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-22

Abstract: Support in the context of inclusive education is pivotal, yet many countries struggle with integrating the evolving role of support teachers within inclusive frameworks. For that reason, some challenges and reluctance can be found in relation to the development of the functions of these professionals. Therefore, a way forward would be to clarify the role and responsibilities of support teachers in fostering inclusive educational environments. This paper aims to contribute to this discourse by conducting a narrative review of existing research on the functions of support teachers. Special attention is paid to their contributions in the construction of inclusive educational contexts. The review, which was inspired by the guidelines of the PRISMA statement, yielded 23 final studies. Four professional roles were identified: direct care-assistance, consultative-collaborative, administrative-documentary, and coordinator-leadership. Furthermore, the findings indicate that there is a predominance of individual or small group support practices outside the regular classrooms. The need to implement collaborative practices to generate support networks at both school and community levels is emphasized. Three major themes were identified as the primary challenges: teacher training, collaboration among educators, and school curricula, particularly in the post-primary stages. Orientations for rethinking the role of support teachers from an inclusive approach are outlined in the discussion.

Keywords: support teacher; professional roles; inclusive classrooms; inclusive practices; inclusive education; mainstream schools (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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