Abstract
The position of a teaching assistant is one of the main mechanisms of inclusive education. There are more than 17,000 teaching assistants working in regional education system in the Czech Republic.
By law, a teaching assistant's qualification can be very diverse, as it can be held by people with university education as well as those with compulsory education. Most often, however, teaching assistants are people with high school qualification, who completed the necessary qualification within a qualification course.
This chapter presents initial findings of a research study examining professional identity of teaching assistants. The main focus is on evaluation of what the contribution of professional training is from teaching assistants' perspective, and on their involvement in further education.
Qualification education is critiqued, as some teaching assistants found their professional training too theoretical. Some of the participating teaching assistants did not take part in further education, which is also discussed.
Based on the presented data, the authors present recommendations for development of qualification and professional training of teaching assistants. They also suggest ways, in which teaching assistants can be more involved in further education.