Date of Conferral
2021
Degree
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
School
Education
Advisor
Peter Ross
Abstract
Co-teaching has become an increasingly important topic for students with disabilities (SWDs) to access to the general education curriculum. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the instructional effectiveness of co-teaching versus inclusive non-co-teaching classroom instruction for SWDs using Algebra I End of Course (EOC) scores and whether these effects differed by gender. Cook and Friend’s principles of co-teaching provided the framework for the study. The first research question was: is there a significant difference in EOC scores for male SWDs enrolled in Grade 9 Algebra I who receive instruction in co-taught Algebra I classes as compared to male SWDs who receive instruction in inclusive classes without co-teaching. The second research question was: is there a significant difference in EOC scores for female SWDs enrolled in Grade 9 Algebra I who receive instruction in co-taught Algebra I classes as compared to female SWDs who receive instruction in inclusive classes without co-teaching. Participants included 247 ninth-grade Algebra 1 SWDs at a single high school in a rural region of southeastern Georgia. The research design consisted of a posttest only with control group and a test group. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the results. Results showed that co-teaching did not significantly benefit either male or female SWDs in algebra1. The fact that SWDs in inclusive settings who did not receive co-teaching scored higher than those in inclusive settings who did receive co-teaching is significant and has important implications for practice and research. Future research should investigate studies with larger sample size and proficiency of teachers in co-taught educational classes. The results of this study contribute to social change by increasing the knowledge base of preferable instructional settings for algebra 1 courses with SWDs.
Recommended Citation
Williams, Valeree, "Co-Taught Inclusive Classrooms and Algebra I Achievement of Students with Disabilities" (2021). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 11242.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/11242
