Educational Support

Start Dates & Ontario Colleges Program Codes: 

• ​Fall Start Full-Time (September): 0161
• Winter Start Full-Time (January): 0181

This program is delivered synchronously online through Distance Education.

Students in Thunder Bay should apply to Distance Education as the campus location. 

Help Students Reach Their Goals!

Confederation College’s Educational Support program will give you the skills and knowledge you need to join a multidisciplinary education team, working with children from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12. You will learn a wide range of current strategies and techniques to support whole child development, as well as instructional best practices, applied behaviour analysis, assistive technologies and personal care. You’ll develop the knowledge and skills needed to create safe learning environments for children with diverse abilities and backgrounds, including those with a wide range of learning, behavioural, communication, physical, developmental and intellectual exceptionalities.

Top Highlights

• Learn through three field placement experiences in elementary and high school settings that support the application of coursework to real-world environments

• Train to work as a key part of a multidisciplinary education team

• Assist students in kindergarten through high school, who have special and diverse needs, with everything from personal care to behaviour to academics

Learn more about our Educational Support program with our recorded information session:

Program Learning Outcomes

The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

1. provide educational support in compliance with pertinent education-related legislation, standards, regulations and policies, health and safety legislation and regulations, as well as organizational policies, practices and procedures.
2. develop and implement strategies to promote and support positive school climates that contribute to a safe, caring and secure educational setting.
3. collaborate with members of the Individual Education Plan (IEP) team by assisting in the development and revision of the IEPs of learners with exceptionalities.
4. implement components of educational support programs of instruction under the direction and support of the IEP team and/or relevant members of the school community.
5. lead by example to promote empathetic, positive and pro-social behaviour in all learners to facilitate the development of social competence in learners with exceptionalities in accordance with their IEPs.
6. promote the development of independence in, and provide assistance to, learners with exceptionalities in their performance of routine activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) in accordance with their IEPs.
7. develop and implement strategies to support learners with exceptionalities in the appropriate use of assistive technologies and daily living aids in accordance with their IEPs.
8. monitor, document and report on the behaviour, performance and progress of learners with exceptionalities in accordance with their IEPs.
9. prepare and present a plan for engaging in ongoing personal and professional development to promote competence in the educational support field.

Graduates of the Educational Support program go on to employment in elementary and secondary schools as well as with community agencies. Career categories include Educational Assistant (EA), Student Support Professional (SSP), Special Education Assistant, Special Education Support Personnel, Communication Assistant, Library Assistant and Support Service Worker.

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