The assistant workforce is a constituent presence in all schools. Progressive reconfiguration of the role has resulted in a hybrid position, with assistants customarily navigating power relationships in the hierarchy of the school. This paper employs Bourdieu’s theory of social fields, in particular, his system of relations, as a means to consider the intersection of habitus and capital amongst assistants in special schools in Northern Ireland. Using this analytic approach, focus group interviews with Classroom Assistants and Health Assistants explored their current deployment, their interaction with each other and with teachers. Data was collected from 47 participants across 7 special schools, with interviews transcribed and thematically analysed. Findings revealed assistants as a workforce in transition, whose conventional habitus has been steadily disrupted by a supply and demand culture often at variance with the origins of the post. Whilst such divergence has the potential to create a site of struggle, the burgeoning social and cultural capital held by assistants has, instead, re‐configured their perceived position within the special school environment, creating more porous professional boundaries and an increasingly fluid professional identity. These explanatory insights offer a fresh perspective for further research into this pivotal yet under‐researched group in Northern Ireland.

中文翻译：

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它发生了不可估量的变化：探索特殊学校助手不断发展的习惯

助理劳动力是所有学校中的一员。角色的逐步重新配置导致了混合职位，助手通常会在学校层次结构中导航权力关系。本文采用布迪厄的社会领域理论，尤其是他的关系系统，作为考虑北爱尔兰特殊学校助手中惯性与资本的交集的一种手段。使用这种分析方法，焦点小组与教室助理和卫生助理的访谈探讨了他们当前的部署，彼此之间以及与老师之间的互动。数据来自7所特殊学校的47名参与者，并记录了访谈内容并进行了主题分析。调查结果显示，助理是过渡中的劳动力，其常规习性已被供求文化稳定地破坏，通常与职位的起源有所不同。尽管这种分歧有可能创造斗争的场所，但助手们所拥有的迅速发展的社会和文化资本却重新配置了他们在特殊学校环境中的感知地位，创造了更加疏松的专业界限和日益变化的专业形象。这些解释性的见解为进一步研究北爱尔兰这个关键但研究不足的群体提供了新的视角。重新配置了他们在特殊学校环境中的感知位置，从而创建了更加疏松的专业界限和日益变化的专业身份。这些解释性的见解为进一步研究北爱尔兰这一关键但研究不足的群体提供了新的视角。重新配置了他们在特殊学校环境中的感知位置，从而创建了更加疏松的专业界限和日益变化的专业身份。这些解释性的见解为进一步研究北爱尔兰这一关键但研究不足的群体提供了新的视角。