Abstract
Disseminating knowledge about instructional strategies in collaboratively taught K–12 classrooms can improve the learning environment for students with disabilities. This literature review identifies ways that co-teaching occurs in general education settings and is facilitated by stakeholders. Research questions were: What evidence-based strategies are utilized in cotaught K–12 inclusive classrooms? And how is the co-teaching initiative supported by the parties responsible for their development, implementation, and success? Evidence-based strategies for the general classroom are described along with stakeholder responsibilities. The comprehensive synthesis of salient sources is US based and limited in applicability. Practitioners might consider the solutions and recommendations presented when navigating co-teaching and inclusive practices. Trends favor the instructional co-teaching approach for infusing inclusive strategies, and support research and application. This analysis contributes to the growing body of research on effective collaborative teaching strategies.
TopIntroduction
The American special education system has long been governed by laws and policies that shape accommodations for special needs students. In a recent survey study of 300 school districts by the RAND Corporation, Diliberti and Schwartz (2023) found that teacher turnover has increased in the United States and is highest in urban and high-poverty areas, typically with the most vulnerable student populations. Staffing shortages were deemed acute for special education teachers. While teaching learners with special needs was posited as a top priority, personnel vacancies prevent K–12 schools from meeting student needs and maintaining teacher quality. Nationally, as of 2022, 15% of public school students (7.2 million) received special education services (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022) in pandemic environments affected by unprecedented turnover in special educators and principals (Diliberti & Schwartz, 2023). Students with disabilities (SWD) cannot be adequately served in light of the diminishing number of special educators, service personnel, and principals (Mason-Williams et al., 2020).
To preserve the educational rights and dignity of SWD, it is expected that they should be in the general classroom to the maximum extent possible. Being schooled in the least restrictive environment (LRE) is a guiding principle in American public education, in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA, 2004) and other federal legislation (see Beninghof, 2020; Friend, 2014). The cotaught model has gained popularity over the past 30 years in light of this requirement.
The purpose of this chapter is to identify ways that co-teaching occurs in general education settings and is facilitated by stakeholders. Accordingly, research questions guiding the synthesis of sources were,
- 1.
What evidence-based strategies are utilized in cotaught K–12 inclusive classrooms?
- 2.
How is the co-teaching initiative supported by the parties responsible for their development, implementation, and success?
The opportunity to analyze current research on teaching partnerships and effective practices in the in K–12 general education classroom motivated this work. By examining collaborative practices and crucial supports for this important instructional endeavor, the authors provide information about inclusive settings in K–12 classrooms. This chapter was penned by researchers of inclusion and disability in public education who work in a US state as a veteran special educator and educational leadership professor.
TopBackground
An overview of special education laws in the United States is warranted to bridge understanding of the national legal context with co-teaching inclusionary practices. During the 1950s and 1960s, the federal government began developing and validating practices for SWD and their families (US Department of Education [USDOE, 2010]). In 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA)—the first federal program to fund the education of SWD in public schools and institutions—was approved. Later, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (EHA) guaranteed a free and appropriate education to SWD. Before EHA, “only one in five SWD” in American public schools was educated (Dudley-Marling & Burns, 2014, p. 14).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Co-Teaching: An instructional practice in which two or more general and special educators partner to educate diverse learners in the general education classroom.
Duet and Map and Navigate: Co-teaching models that include adding, transforming, and complementing as approaches; types of groupings are readiness and mixed readiness.
Universal Design for Learning: A pedagogical framework that is implemented to benefit different learners, and plan activities and tasks for meeting diverse learning needs.
Least Restrictive Environment: Inclusive classrooms that provide greater opportunities for students in special education to be educated and in the same classroom as other children.
Inclusive setting: A general education classroom in which SWD are taught along with their peers, where belonging matters and instruction supports learning and outcomes.
BASICS strategy: A lesson development plan for cotaught inclusive settings serving diverse learners with individual needs.
Differentiated Instruction: A teaching method that customizes instruction for all students by varying instruction based on learner abilities, strengths, interests, and needs.
Inclusion: Including SWD in the general education classroom as fully engaged members of the learning community whose learning needs are addressed, and educational services provided.