COLLABORATION AND CO-TEACHING IN HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH: A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY OF TWO URBAN HIGH SCHOOLS

Abstract

Co-teaching is now the most popular instructional approach to serve students with disabilities in the general education environment throughout the United States (Chitiyo, 2017; Murawski & Lochner, 2011; Nierengarten, 2013). However, there is not consistent evidence that proves that co-teaching, as applied currently, will result in measurable academic benefit for students with disabilities in the high school setting (Friend, Cook, et al., 2010; Packard et al., 2011; Van Garderen et al., 2012). This is partially because extensive and ongoing research has not been completed at the secondary level, particularly high school (Chitiyo, 2017; Friend, Cook, et al., 2010; Packard et al., 2011. Further, the implementation of co-teaching varies from school to school (Chitiyo, 2017; Kilanowski-Press et al., 2010). Scholars suggest that the configuration of secondary schools in the United States, especially high schools, makes co-teaching far more difficult to implement than in elementary levels (Friend, Cook, et al., 2010; Isherwood, Barger-Anderson & Erickson, 2013; Packard et al., 2011). Due to the gaps and discrepancies in the literature, scholars recommend more research on co-teaching in the secondary school setting (Nierengarten, 2013; Shamberger et al., 2013; Van Garderen et al., 2012). Additionally, researchers advocate for further investigation into the conditions that are necessary for co-teaching to work consistently across school contexts (Chitiyo, 2017; Friend, Cook, et al., 2010; Kilanowski-Press et al., 2010; Nierengarten, 2013). While structures for co-teaching have been discussed, there is a lack of inquiry into how different factors impact the implementation of co-teaching partner relationships and how that in turn affects the approach teachers take towards co-teaching in high school (Chitiyo, 2017; Friend, Cook, et al., 2010; Packard et al., 2011).