Keywords

Co teaching, leadership, urban, special education

Abstract

The recent revisions to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) and the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) promoted a movement toward meaningful inclusion, which has led to an increase in interest in co-teaching (Friend, Cook, Hurley-Chamberlain, & Shamberger, 2010; Nichols, Dowdy, & Nichols, 2010). When co-teaching is effectively executed both students with and without disabilities benefit academically and socially (Friend & Cook, 2007). Researchers indicate that a key factor in effective co-teaching is administrative support (Friend et al.; Dieker & Murawski, 2003; Murawski & Dieker, 2008; Murawski & Dieker, 2004; Scruggs et al., 2007). The purpose of this study was to identify the policies and practices used by effective principals who have led the implementation of co-teaching in their schools. The researcher interviewed three middle school principals in a large urban school district to ascertain the essence of their experiences. The principals were identified as highly effective by their most recent principal evaluation system. The interview data were examined using Hycner's guidelines for phenomenological analysis. Triangulation occurred through a survey and review of documents. The co-teaching teams from the participating principals' schools completed a Likert-type survey. The researcher reviewed the schools' master schedules, School Improvement Plan, and Action Plan. Analysis of the participating principals' interview data has identified themes. These themes included: (a) preparing the setting, (b) preparing co-teaching teams, (c) necessary co-teacher skill sets, (d) utilizing the leadership team, (e) purposeful selection of co-teaching staff, (f) addressing barriers, (g) culture supporting knowledgeable co-teachers, (h) traits of effective co-teachers, (i) expectations of co-teachers, (j) motivating co-teachers, and (k) attaining buy-in through support and culture.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2015

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Martin, Suzanne

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Education and Human Performance

Degree Program

Education

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0005994

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0005994

Language

English

Release Date

December 2015

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Education and Human Performance; Education and Human Performance -- Dissertations, Academic

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