Introduction
Inclusion in teaching and classrooms started in the United States after the enactment of Individual with Disabilities Education Act in 1990. The act required special education students to get their educational instructions in general education settings. Schools and teachers are required to make necessary accommodations to ensure that these students get necessary (Kaplan, 2012). However, the ensuing changes in the format of instructions has resulted to the confusion of roles between general and special education teachers leading to mixed attitudes and perspectives toward teacher’s roles and responsibilities. In this paper, the report offers teachers perspectives on inclusion and makes recommendations on how to enhance co-teaching.
Teachers’ Perspective on Inclusion
Research studies demonstrate that inclusion offers benefits to students with disabilities and assist them grow in critical development areas. Theorists believe that teachers should develop self-efficacy to nurture the belief that they have the ability to teach these students successfully (Hammond & Ingalls, 2003; Horne & Timmons, 2009; Kilanowski-Press, Foote, & Rinaldo, 2010). It is the lack of efficacy that leads to concern and negative perspective regarding inclusion as some lack necessary training and education on how to implement inclusion. For instance, teachers may be effective in inclusion classrooms if they get opportunities to experience success in these areas. Researching teachers’ perspective towards inclusion classroom and education is essential since it allows schools to understand the areas that teacher require support in its implementation so as to attain effectiveness and success.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The study by Horne and Timmons (2009) demonstrates that most teachers have positive perspective on inclusion but express their desire to get support from the school and other areas. In this study, most teachers stated that they lack support and training that is required to implement inclusion in a more successful way. Teachers believe that inclusion can be successful in small classroom sizes and with sufficient time and resources to match the special needs of the students. Further, positive sentiments have also been expressed by teachers if the curriculum is modified.
Another study by Hammond and colleagues indicate that some teachers have negative perspective on inclusion because they do not have sufficient training and collaborative teaching chances (Hammond & Ingalls, 2003). While many teachers in the study said that they have inclusion programs in their schools, majority of them had negative or uncertain attitudes towards inclusion. The study demonstrates that most teachers are not committed fully to the idea of inclusion. Some of the teachers in these studies expressed their concerns about the practical benefits of inclusion for students and teachers (Kilanowski-Press, Foote, & Rinaldo, 2010). They also expressed concerns about the inadequate collaborative opportunities and insufficient training offered to cater for inclusion services and programs.
It is evident that most studies demonstrate the negative attitude that teachers have about inclusion. Again, they do not feel that they are adequately trained and possess the right amount of knowledge to cater for students with special needs. These teachers do not have the confidence to teach students with special needs and in most instances, they would reject these students and prefer regular ones (Boer et al., 2011). The number of students in inclusion classrooms has increased and there is need to encourage teachers and prepare them through relevant training and education to embrace inclusion and co-teaching in schools.
Positive and Negative Co-teaching
Co-teaching involves two educational professionals that work together to cater for a group of heterogeneous learners. For purposes of this report, the focus is on the co-teaching that exists between special and general education instructors as this approach seeks inclusion in relation to the current legislation. In a study by Geraldine Niierengarten and Trudie Hughes (2010) co-teaching teams in schools stated that the success of co-teaching relies on various factors that school administrators need to understand. These include teacher training, training of the administrator, respect and value of teaching and professional development. In this study, teachers were positive that co-teaching can succeed if these factors are addressed by all relevant stakeholders. Further, the study shows that most teachers and students believe that co-teaching offers benefits to both teachers and students.
Positive co-teaching occurs when teachers; both general and special education instructors work as a team to deliver content to students in classrooms. Most studies demonstrate that positive co-teaching is critical to the success of teachers’ delivery in heterogeneous educational settings (Marilyn et al., 2010). Further, co-teaching is a critical aspect and the core of implementing inclusion of students as demanded by the IDEA. Positive co-teaching takes place when teachers work as partners to deliver curriculum to students; whether with or without disabilities. Positive co-teaching takes place when the co-teaching team handles the different levels of cognitive and social and emotional development of their students in inclusion classrooms (Downey, 2017). In such settings, the general education instructor is an expert on the content in the curriculum as designed by the school system’s plan while the special education teacher offers modification and adaptations of the instructional materials so that they can match the students’ learning styles, strengths, and special needs. As such, combining general and special education skills set and expertise enables the teachers to experience a positive attitude towards co-teaching and learning where students with varied abilities attain their academic potential and thrive emotionally.
Negative co-teaching takes place when teachers; both general and special needs, do not form collaborations and get support from school administration, especially principals. Again, negative co-teaching perspective occurs when co-teaching partners fail to acknowledge their different teaching styles and philosophies and work to benefit from them. In addition, negative perspective in co-teaching develops when co-teachers or partners feel that they are not equal to one another (Kaplan, 2012). In most cases, the special education teacher may struggle to present himself or herself as equals to students, as demonstrated in middle schools. Imperatively, negative attitude in co-teaching is responsible for the negative perception that teachers develop in regards to inclusion teaching, classroom and educational settings. It is important for teachers to change their perception or attitudes towards co-teaching because it is part of the inclusion as mandated by the IDEA.
Recommendations to Better Co-teaching from a Teacher’s Perspective
This report makes these recommendations to enhance teachers’ perspective on Co-Teaching . Firstly, co-teaching is a critical component of inclusion in education after the passage of the IDEA act and all teachers need to embrace it because of the benefits that it offers to students. Therefore, teachers should implement better approaches that enhance their perception to co-teaching. For instance, they need to create teams and partnership so that they can agree on the most appropriate model to deliver the curriculum and address the sensitive needs of students (Kaplan, 2012). For example, implementing an approach where one teacher designs and delivers the lesson while the other offers individualized support and attention to specific students with disabilities may not nurture positive attitude towards co-teaching (Pancsofar & Petroff, 2015). Therefore, teachers must have a collaborative approach that is supported by the school administration and focused on working as teams to design, develop, deliver and assess all components of the curriculum content delivered to students in such settings. Adequate training and knowledge are also critical to achieving a positive and better perspective on co-teaching and inclusion in education as mandated by the existing legislations like IDEA. Conclusion Evidently, inclusion is a critical component of the new approach in education and teachers need to change their attitudes and perspectives so as to implement a successful program designed to meet the different cognitive, social and emotional needs of all students in educational settings. Co-teaching is a key component of implementing inclusion and teachers, administrators and all stakeholders have a responsibility to ensure that teachers get the requisite materials and knowledge through training on how to form effective collaborations and teams to implement it.
References
Downey, J.M. (2017) "Perceptions of co-teaching in the middle school English language arts classroom" (2017).Theses and Dissertations. 2376. http://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/2376
de Boer, A., Pijl Sip, J., & Minnaert, A. (2011). Regular primary schoolteachers’ attitudes toward inclusive education: A review of the literature. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 15(3), 331-353.
Hammond, H., & Ingalls, L. (2003). Teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion: Survey results from elementary school teachers in three southwestern rural school districts. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 22(2), 24-30.
Horne, P. E. & Timmons, V. (2009). Making it work: Teachers' perspectives on inclusion. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 13(3), 273-286.
Kaplan, M. (2012) Collaborative Team Teaching: Challenges and Rewards; Retrieved from
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/collaborative-team-teaching-challenges-rewards-marisa-kaplan
Kilanowski-Press, L., Foote, C. J., & Rinaldo, V. J. (2010). Inclusion classrooms and teachers: A survey of current practices. International Journal of Special Education , 25(3), 43-56.
Marilyn, F., Lynne C., Hurley-Chamberlain, D & Shamberger, C. (2010) Co-Teaching: An Illustration of the Complexity of Collaboration in Special Education, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, Vol.20, No.1, pp.9-27. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10474410903535380?needAccess=true
Nierengarten, G. M., & Hughes, T. (2010). What Teachers Wish Administrators Knew About Co-Teaching in High Schools Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education, 2(6). Retrieved from https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1122&context=ejie
Pancsofar, N. & Petroff, J.G. (2015) Teacher’s experiences with co-teaching as a model for inclusive education. International Journal of Inclusive Education, vol.20, No.10. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13603116.2016.1145264?src=recsys&journalCode=tied20
