Uncertainty, emotional suppression, and sense-making: teaching assistants’ experiences of challenging behaviour in special education

Abstract

Challenging behaviour (CB) is a central concern in UK special-education policy, placing substantial emotional demands on teaching assistants (TAs). This qualitative study explored TAs’ experiences when responding to CB, their engagement with workplace support, and how they perceived these experiences to shape the wider classroom environment. Two focus group discussions were conducted with a total of seven TAs from a special needs school (one group of three and one of four participants) and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results identified three themes: (1) Working without a safety net, in which limited guidance and feedback from senior leaders left TAs feeling uncertain about their response to CB incidents; (2) Living behind the mask, where suppression of authentic emotions when responding to incidents can result in emotional numbness that extended beyond the workplace; and (3) Making sense of behaviour together, TAs’ call for structured student debriefs to offer reassurance after witnessing behavioural incidents. The study illuminates the emotional labour borne by this large yet under-researched workforce and emphasises the need for prompt supervisory feedback and structured debrief practices.