Abstract
The publication Assistance in the Education of Socially Disadvantaged Pupils discusses the work of teaching assistants working in schools with an increased number of socially disadvantaged pupils. Besides the available theoretical works, the point of departure for the text has primarily been provided by the experience gathered over the course of a two-year project within which a non-profit organization called New School, PBO (Nová škola, o. p. s.) employed assistants in four primary schools belonging to some socially excluded areas of the Central Bohemian Region.
Based on the experience from the project, the following important areas of teaching assistant's job content have been defined: supporting pupils and teachers within the scope of the lessons, securing school preparation in terms of pupils' tutoring, mediating the communication between the school and pupils' families, organizing free time activities and, if necessary, organizing the cooperation with other extra-curricular organizations. The conditions significant for the assistant's effective work performance are adequate methodological support and appropriate explication of the aims of the assistant's work.
The questions related to the assistants' competencies are viewed in the context of the assistant's profession (its history, related legislative norms) and connected with the description of the specific educational needs of socially disadvantaged pupils (with the emphasis on Roma pupils and pupils-foreigners).