Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Melissa McCart

Abstract

Many high school students with disabilities receive instruction in a cotaught classroom. Despite the consistent implementation of this service delivery model, students with disabilities are inconsistently demonstrating content mastery in ELA and math on end of course assessments. The goal of this multiple case study was to identify barriers to, facilitators of, and planning and implementation of successful coteaching as perceived by administrators, general education teachers, and special education teachers. Transformational learning theory was explored by participants’ identifying an experience that challenged beliefs of coteaching and how that is reflected in current practice. Research questions sought to explore administrators, general, and special education coteachers’ perceptions regarding both the planning and implementation of coteaching, barriers to, and facilitators of successful coteaching at both school and district level. Twelve participants engaged in a semistructured interview probing their perceptions. NVivo software was used to codify data and identify themes. Common planning was a key theme in both planning and implementation and facilitators of coteaching. Being pulled for coverage was a commonly reported barrier. Recommendations for the successful implementation of coteaching include common planning, explicit expectations, and teacher choice. The results of this study can be used to target professional development to improve understanding of the implementation of coteaching which could further result in increased content mastery as measured by end of course assessments in ELA and math. These improved outcomes could better prepare students with disabilities for educational and employment opportunities upon their graduation from high school.

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