As far as what’s involved with the job, in addition to what’s been said, you may also help students keep their materials organized, you may have to read assignments/reading passages aloud to them, you may have to haul equipment around for them (like the machine to make printed materials larger for seriously visually impaired students). You may work with only one student, have several that you follow, or simply just stay with one teacher and help everybody in the class. Like I said, it just depends on your school and your job.

Some advice I might give – carry supplies around with you; often the students you work with forget things like pencil and paper. You might also carry around a notebook to take notes in for yourself. Don’t just help the students you are supposed to help. Ideally, no one is supposed to be able to tell which students in a classroom are special ed and which ones are not. Of couse, some special needs are pretty obvious, but most are not. So if you only help one student, it will be pretty obvious that that student is special ed, but if you help all the students, then it won’t be so obvious. Observe as much as you can while you are in a classroom – discipline methods, classroom procedures, posters on the wall, etc. This will help you once you do become a teacher.

Another thing, aides are often asked to do many other things, not just inclusion. The inclusion aides at my school also have to do one lunch duty per day. They often sub for teachers who have to leave the room briefly for an ARD. They go on field trips when extra people are needed. They monitor the bathrooms and hallways during standardized testing. So be prepared to do more than just inclusion.

As for increasing your chances of getting a job, yes you will. Some other things you may not have thought about. Sometimes your degree program will consider your work experience for credit. Some of the aides at my school have been told they will not need to complete student teaching the way that others do; their experience in the school is their student teaching, so they will complete their degree a little more quickly. Also, some school districts financially contribute to employees’ education. My district pays back employees up to $1000 a year for education, including aides. Oh, and here’s something kind of strange. The district pays 100% of health insurance premiums for our aides, but only about half of teacher premiums. You will also have your foot in the door, have already built a relationship with coworkers and administrators, and you are likely to know what jobs are really available (not just what’s posted on the website).

There are districts that use their educational aide as subs and are paid more for the days that they are acting as a teacher. If you have positive interaction with the administration and show that you are dedicated, it assists the administration in maybe offering you a position over someone that they know little about. You also have an in on when the positions will post so you will have first hand knowledge before the paperwork is sent to the paper for open applications.

You also can get your foot in the door by working with students on home instruction. It is a paid position, you need to have your teacher certificate.

As for the teaching position it depends. If the district really likes the job you did then yes it will increase your chances. Most districts open the job to people inside before the open it to the public.