Examining the Efficacy of Secondary Mathematics Inclusion Co-Teachers

<p>Current educational policies such as NCLB and IDEA have led to the adoption of inclusive classrooms in schools. This presents challenges to teachers because they are held accountable for the learning experiences of both general and special education students. The situation is especially challenging in high school mathematics inclusion classes where the special education co-teachers may not necessarily possess the content expertise to teach advanced levels of mathematics. Collaboration between co-teachers is necessary in order to successfully plan effective lessons that address the needs of all students. This study provides information about the teacher efficacy of high school mathematics co-teachers. It considers the influence of the amount of collaborative planning time on the efficacy of co-teachers. A quantitative research design was used, with follow-up interviews for further explanation of the findings. <em>The Teacher Sense of Efficacy Survey</em> (TSES) and <em>Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument</em> (MTEBI) were used to gather data from participating co-teachers within a large, urban school district. The findings indicate a significant difference in the mathematics teaching efficacy between the mathematics and special education co-teachers. This examination points to several benefits, such as teacher support structures and adaptive shifts in instructional practices. Implications for further study include the development of a valid instrument that measures the teacher efficacy of collaborating teachers within inclusion classes, further testing of the teacher efficacy of co-teachers using a range of demographics, and a consideration of the application of collective efficacy in co-teaching. Implications for school practice include the examination of the possible impact of content-specific professional development and encouraging distributed leadership, while considering the efficacy of co-teachers in inclusive contexts.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership (Ed.D)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Teacher Leadership for Learning

Year dc:date.available

2011

Author dc:creator

• Rimpola, Raquel Caampued

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Angela Blaver
• Dr. T. C. Chan
• Dr. Wendy Sanchez

• efficacy
• teacher efficacy
• inclusion
• mathematics education
• co-teaching
• collaboration
• Special Education and Teaching

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/etd/457

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu:etd-1458