The purpose of this study was to examine the survey responses of participants of collaborative models of instruction in order to determine the existence of constructs determined through the literature to be effective aspects of collaborative models. Further, the purpose of this study was to examine the participants' perceptions of their own readiness to participate in their roles as collaborative educators and supervisors as prepared by their professional preparation programs. This mixed methods study used both quantitative methods to evaluate graduation data and qualitative methods to analyze open ended survey questions to describe experiences of teachers and administrators in three high schools in public schools in Virginia. Participating districts were chosen based on graduation data for school year 2009, in which participating schools were in the three districts with the highest graduation rates for students with at least a standard diploma. Teachers participating were a collaborative teaching pair from one school within each district chosen by the participating school's principal. Data were collected from open ended surveys from participants and graduation data from the Virginia Department of Education Website. Results are presented in descriptive form from participants and graduation data. / Ed. D.

The impact of co-teaching in the inclusion setting is essential to improving the academic achievement of students with disabilities. With the emergence of federal and state mandates, standards-based accountability is compelling schools to place students with disabilities in the inclusion setting to receive the same content as their nondisabled peers. This research study aimed to identify the factors impacting the effectiveness of co-teaching in the inclusion setting within K-12 schools. The research questions for this study included: What factors do co-teaching teams identify as essential for effective co-teaching? What factors do co-teachers perceive as obstacles or problems that hinder effective co-teaching? and What administrative support is needed to carry out co-teaching responsibilities effectively? The design methodology for this study was qualitative and consisted of three co-teaching teams in Virginia. Semi-structured interviews with co-teachers from model demonstration sites were used to collect data. Data analysis occurred through hand-coding of the transcribed interview questions. Model co-teaching teams identified twelve factors that impact effective co-teaching, including positive relationships, consistent behavioral expectations, defined roles and responsibilities, pairing, professional development, parity, co-teaching models, administrators' expectations, co-teaching best practices, consistent co-planning time, professional expertise, and building co-teaching capacity. The research should provide practitioners with strategies and approaches for effective co-teaching in the inclusion setting with K-12 schools. / Doctor of Education / The impact of co-teaching in the inclusion setting is essential to improving the academic achievement of students with disabilities. This study represents the researcher's effort to understand the factors that are essential for effective co-teaching in the inclusion setting with K12 schools. This research is a qualitative study, and the researcher completed interviews with three model co-teaching teams from the Virginia Department of Education Excellence in Co-teaching Initiative. Model co-teaching teams identified twelve factors that impact effective co-teaching, including positive relationships, consistent behavioral expectations, defined roles and responsibilities, pairing, professional development, parity, co-teaching models, administrators' expectations, co-teaching best practices, consistent co-planning time, professional expertise, and building co-teaching capacity. The research should provide practitioners with strategies and approaches for effective co-teaching in the inclusion setting with K-12 schools.

As a result of recent federal legislative changes affecting educational policies, co-teaching, which requires general and special educators to work together to provide instruction to students in inclusion classrooms, has been on the rise and is considered by some educators as a method for meeting mandates required by law. While co-teaching is an idea that should work in practice, teachers who implement co-teaching find themselves facing complex issues regarding their roles and responsibilities within the context of program logistics. This qualitative study was designed to help co-teaching partners and others to understand how co-teaching partnerships are formed, develop, and work in classrooms. This understanding may be helpful to others as they seek to overcome barriers and form relationships that facilitate successful co-teaching partnerships. Elementary co-teachers in a rural school district were interviewed face-to-face, and a document analysis was conducted to examine how co-teachers experience co-teaching partnerships. Six general education co-teachers and six special education co-teachers were randomly selected for interviews, and they were asked to bring any literature that they had received on co-teaching to the interviews. Results indicate that co-teachers thought compatibility was important when working as co-teachers. They expressed the need for a mutual planning time during the school day, and both general and special education co-teachers were concerned about the amount of uninterrupted time special education teachers could spend in inclusion classrooms. When co-teachers thought they had a compatible partnership, they were willing to make alternative planning arrangements, and they were accepting of the time special education co-teachers could spend in the classroom. / Ed. D.

Denna fallstudie tar sin utgångspunkt i flertalet artiklar där effekter av det så kalladetvålärarsystemet diskuteras. Begreppet tvålärarsystem har sin uppkomst i det amerikanska begreppet co-teaching, som i USA:s klassrum kopplas till en lärare och en specialpedagog. I denna fallstudie har vi valt att förkorta begreppet tvålärarsystem som TLS. Fallstudien grundar sig bland annat på två intervjuer med lärare som arbetar tillsammans i ett lärarpar på en grundskola i en större kommun i Sverige. För att lyckas med TLS är nyckeln att ha en god relation och kommunikation mellan lärarna i lärarparet. Fallstudien visar att svenska skolor och deras socioekonomiska läge är ett argument för att implementera TLS. TLS skapar förutsättningar för en mer individanpassad undervisning, till skillnad från om man arbetar som ensam lärare. Lärarna upplever därmed att de får mer tid till att stötta varje elev och detta gynnar elevernas lärande. TLS skall underlätta inkluderingsarbetet i skolan, det vill säga, elever med olika förutsättningar skall undervisas tillsammans och på så sätt få en mer likvärdig utbildning. Det fallstudiens resultat visar är dock att lärarparen ibland väljer att dela upp klassen i mindre grupper efter kunskapsnivå och genom att göra detta motverkar de inkluderingsarbetet. Följande forskningsfrågor har besvarats: Vilka var argumenten för att införa TLS på skolan?, Vilka är skillnaderna mot hur respektive lärare tidigare arbetat? och slutligen Hur upplever lärare TLS?

The concepts of an inclusive classroom, inclusion, co-teaching, and disability have been called poorly defined and in need of fresh conceptual analyses. In Chapter 1, I respond to this call for further analysis and then demonstrate, using current educational headlines, that these concepts of `an inclusive classroom,' `inclusion,' `co-teaching,' and `having a disability' are not just issues that are discussed in academia, but are also current issues in schools, courtrooms, and statehouses. In Chapter 2, the Literature Review examines philosophical literature of inclusive education, legislative and judicial history, and service delivery models for special education. In Chapter 3, Methods: A Conceptual Analysis, we examine the history and practice of conceptual analysis, and then look at the models of conceptual analysis as detailed by Jonas Soltis. Chapter 4, Conceptual Analyses, is the core of this dissertation, containing a generic analysis of the `inclusive classroom,' differentiation analyses of `inclusion,' and `co-teaching,' and a generic analysis of `having a disability.' Finally, in Chapter 5, Discussion, we examine implications for further research and conclusions.

This purpose of this single case study was to describe the discursive practices of an ELL teacher and a general education teaching in a co-teaching PLC setting. With the increased use of co-teaching as an approach to English language development supports, it is vital to gain a better understanding of how teachers plan to support the academic learning of English learners, and what language they use in these interactions. This study implemented a qualitative research design based in grounded theory and positioning theory. The results of this study found that the discursive practices of co-teachers were based in the content of topics, the method of discursive interactions, and their previous experiences in co-teaching that formed their interactions.

From 2014 to 2015, full inclusion through coteaching practices (2 or more professionals providing instruction in the same classroom environment) was implemented at a rural southeastern middle school in Georgia to improve the low academic achievement of students with disabilities (SWDs). The problem is that 8th-grade SWDs score low on the reading and mathematics sections of the Standardized Assessment for Reading and Mathematics (STAR). The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to examine the effect of coteaching on the achievement of 8th-grade SWDs in reading and mathematics as measured by the STAR. Vygotsky's zone of proximal development was the theoretical framework for this study because cognitive development can be enhanced with adult guidance and peer collaboration. The research questions focused on the difference in STAR gain scores between the coteaching SWDs participants and the SWDs with no coteaching. The sample was 96 8th-grade SWDs. A t test was used to compare the reading and mathematics gain scores between the academic years 2012 and 2014 (without inclusion/coteaching),46 SWDs and 2015-2017 (with inclusion/coteaching), 50 SWDs. Results showed that there were significant differences in the STAR performance after coteaching implementation in reading and mathematics, p = .045 and p = .004, respectively. This study may lead to positive social change by providing data to the local educational agency leaders, administrators, teachers, and the educational community to make informed decisions about the implementation of coteaching practices, to enhance instructional practices and teaching strategies, and to improve the academic achievement of SWDs allowing them the opportunity to become college and career ready, thus enhancing their postsecondary options.

Students with disabilities (SWDs) are being placed in inclusive settings. The problem is that in many cases, teachers who are assigned to these students may not have necessary training in special education. Lack of such teacher training can lead to deficits in learning for SWDs. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify secondary general education teachers' perspectives on professional development (PD) regarding teaching SWDs in inclusion classroom settings. The conceptual framework for this study was Bandura's self-efficacy construct as presented in social cognitive theory. For teachers, self-€efficacy may influence instructional practices, classroom climate, and attitudes toward educational processes. In this phenomenological study, data were gathered from 12 high school general education teachers with experience in teaching SWDs in inclusive settings using one-€on-€one interviews and a short demographic questionnaire. The first research question concerned whether general education teachers believed that PD could improve teachers-€™ performance with SWDs in inclusion settings. Results indicated that respondents generally believed that PD inclusion training was needed. The second research question concerned how PD should influence coteaching in inclusion settings. Results indicated that respondents generally believed that PD inclusion training should provide skills to allow teachers to assist special education students in inclusion settings without making them feel differentiated or singled out. In future studies, it is recommended that the sample be segmented into groups of general education teachers and special education teachers, with an equal number of each. It is also recommended that a quantitative study be initiated to examine whether the findings are confirmed with a larger population.

Co-teaching as an inclusive educational model is a new approach in Greece which aims to support the inclusion of children with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools. This research aimed to investigate and evaluate co-teaching practices as well as teachers’ and students’ with SEN perceptions with regard to co-teaching. This research adopted a mixed methodology in two independent phases in order to address the needs of the study. Namely, 140 teachers were surveyed and multiple case studies of five different secondary co-taught classrooms were incorporated. This study showed that the way co-teaching is implemented in Greek secondary schools is closer to the model of “one teach-one assist”. Specifically, co-teachers saw the general teacher as responsible for all children, while the special teacher as responsible for an individual child with SEN included in a mainstream classroom. Thus, limited special teacher role expansion to all children was observed. The study showed that the general teachers were more negative about the sharing of various classroom responsibilities compared to the special teachers. Moreover, the approach of children’s withdrawal out of class was implemented to a significant extent. According to the research findings it was largely the special teachers who preferred this integrated approach and not the general teachers. Also, limited differentiation and grouping methods were used by co-teachers. In addition, this study indicated that co-teaching pairs did not collaborate with each other in an extensive way and did not commonly plan lessons together. Thus, teacher participants were quite sceptical in relation to the potential personal benefits of co-teaching to themselves. This study showed teacher training in co-teaching, teachers’ sensitivity and positive attitudes towards children with SEN, collaboration between co-teachers and mutual planning time, clear and official allocation of co-teaching roles and special teachers employment at the beginning of the academic year were all regarded as factors which would facilitate the successful implementation of co-teaching. Interestingly, the present study revealed that from the perspectives of both teachers and children with SEN the model of “one teach-one assist” seemed to have positive academic outcomes to children with SEN. However, the model of “one teach-one assist” seemed to have not only positive but also negative social and personal outcomes for children with SEN. From the perspective of some teachers and children with SEN respondents it seems that the model of “one teach-one assist” limited the social interactions of some children with SEN and interrelationships with the remaining children, which was due to sitting next to them during the lesson time and escorting them during the break time. Moreover, children with SEN did not see that co-teaching resulted in their social skills development. As a result some children with SEN expressed their unwillingness to be supported by a special teacher during the following academic year. Among the various disadvantages of co-teaching that children with SEN mentioned was the confusion that they usually felt when both teachers were speaking simultaneously. Lastly, children with SEN who experienced the out of class support expressed their preference for being supported out of the mainstream classroom. This was because they saw that the out of class support benefited them academically.

Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka hur speciallärare definierar begreppet samundervisningoch hur de förhåller sig till begreppet i sin egen praktik. För att undersöka detta genomfördes semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju speciallärare, verksamma från förskoleklass till årskurs 9. Intervjuerna transkriberades och analyserades sedan med hjälp av meningskoncentrering och innehållsanalys. Ytterligare en analys gjordes utifrån ett socialkonstruktivistiskt perspektiv (Burr, 2003). Resultaten visade att samundervisning var ett relativt okänt begrepp hos de sju intervjupersonerna. Några speciallärare hade erfarenhet avarbetssättet, men då utan att ha kallat detta för samundervisning. Resultaten visade vidare att intervjupersonerna såg att samundervisning som arbetsform borde bidra till högre måluppfyllelsehos eleverna, samt skapa tryggare elever som blir mer synliga för fler vuxna i skolan. Vidare uttryckte intervjupersonerna att arbetssättet skulle kunna bidra till att utveckla professionerna, både för den ordinarie läraren och för specialläraren. Intervjupersonerna menade att definition avbegreppet, en gemensam vision och ett tydligt syfte med arbetssättet, var en förutsättning för att samundervisningen skall fungera väl. Även gemensam planeringstid mellan de två samundervisande pedagogerna var en förutsättning för goda resultat. Vidare menade intervjupersonerna att samundervisning riskerar att bli konfliktfylld om inte tillitsfulla relationer har byggts upp mellan de två samundervisande pedagogerna, eller om erfarenhet och kunskap om arbetssättet saknas. Tidigare forskning som presenteras i denna studie, bekräftar detta resultat.