Dissertation
The evolution of a partnership: a phenomenological examination of co-teaching relationships
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
01 Feb 2015
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/etd-6437
Abstract
Special education has undergone a tumultuous evolution as American society grapples with the most appropriate way to educate students with special needs. Schools and school districts, guided by state and federal regulation, have begun integrating special needs students into general education classrooms as a means of providing a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. While this inclusion has taken many forms, co-teaching is currently the most popular methodology employed in secondary schools. In the co-taught classroom, all students are served by both a general and a special educator tasked with providing access to the curriculum and appropriate modifications to make access possible for special education students. Research on the practice of co-teaching has, to date, been inconclusive. Little is understood about how co-teaching partnerships mature and how the evolution of those partnerships impacts teachers participating in those relationships. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions and behaviors of teachers involved in co-teaching partnerships, the evolution of those partnerships, and the effects of teacher perceptions on instructional methodologies employed in the classroom. Sixteen teachers involved in eight different co-teaching partnerships at the secondary school level participated in the study. Analysis of data collected through interviews, classroom observations, and collection of artifacts yielded four major themes and sixteen sub-findings as part of those themes. The key findings of this study emphasized the need for strong personal bonds between educators in co-teaching partnerships, the relatively short span of maturation for successful pairings, the powerful role co-teaching plays in professional development of the participants, and the institutionalized disparity between general and special educators. These findings were the foundation of recommendations for improving the co-teaching experience as well as suggestions for further research to better understand the co-teaching phenomena.
Metrics
59 File views/ downloads
46 Record Views
Details
- Title
- The evolution of a partnership
- Creators
- R. Lynne Ruvalcaba - DU
- Contributors
- W. Edward Bureau (Advisor) - Drexel University (1970-)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Education (1997-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 6437; 991014632187504721