To Examine Teachers’ Perception of Co-teaching and Student Achievement

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by McQueen

Study examines teachers’ perceptions of co-teaching and how co-teaching affects student achievement between general and special education subgroups in rural schools. A sequential mixed-method design uses questionnaire qualitative themes—collaboration, engagement, professional development and planning, and achievement—alongside quantitative archived data from third to fifth graders. One-way ANOVA post hoc results indicate no significant differences between co-taught and non-co-taught classrooms. Findings support rural leaders with research-based strategies to reduce the achievement gap.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Purpose and Research Approach

Literature Review

History of Special Education

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

Alabama Literacy Act

Inclusion

To Examine Teachers’ Perception of Co-teaching and Student Achievement Tramene Maye, University of West Alabama Rural school leaders are faced with challenges to close the achievement gap between subgroups, mainly general and special education. Schools and school systems face several barriers to move forward with positive trends in the data provided by the Alabama State Department of Education. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' perceptions of co-teaching and the impact it had on student achievement between general and special education subgroups. The study employed a sequential mixed method design. The questionnaire's qualitative data showed the following themes about teachers' perception of co-teaching and student achievement: collaboration, engagement, professional development and planning, and achievement. The quantitative archived data for third, fourth, and fifth graders data showed that there's no significant difference between groups in co-taught and non-co-taught classrooms based on the One-way ANOVA Post Hoc statistical test. The study's findings may assist rural area leaders with researchbased strategies that will help teaching and learning to potentially close the achievement gap between subgroups. Keywords: Achievement Gap, Co-teaching, Rural, Student Achievement, Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) . The focus of this study was to examine teachers’perception of co-teaching and the impact co-teaching has on student achievement in general and special education subgroups. According to Riser-Kositsky (2019), 13.7% of students in the United States ranging in age (3-21) received special education services during the 2017-2018 school year. Alabama currently serves 12.2 percent of the student population with special education services. For over a decade (2007-2018), students identified as special education have increased from 6.5 million to 7 million. Statistical numbers are steadily growing due to the process to be identified if a student should receive services. Special education eligibility is bound by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), but there is no one rule to determining ifa student qualifies (Riser-Kositsky, 2019) . There are currently 13 types of disabilities. The disabilities are as follows: autism, deaf-blindness, developmental delay, emotional disturbance, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, and visual impairment (Riser-Kositsky, 2019) . Therefore, more students are being identified with learning disabilities in rural and urban area schools, and the achievement gap is steadily increasing throughout the summative assessments given yearly. The study focused on examining teachers’perceptions of co-teaching and the impact that co-teaching had on student achievement in general and special education subgroups which sought to answer the question: What are the differences in the perceptions of the impact of coteaching on student achievement between general and special education teachers? Literature Review This section explores related literature that starts from the history of special education to closing the achievement gap between general and special education subgroups. This review starts with an overview of the History of Special Education, progressing into No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), moving toward Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), inclusion, co-teaching, student achievement, teacher perception of students with disabilities, teachers' perception of co-teaching, theoretical framework, and summary. Research-based strategies must be identified to assist schools and overall school systems with student achievement, with an increasing number of subgroups being identified with achievement gaps. The History of Special Education As we know it, in today's K-12 schools, special education

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the study?

The study examines teachers’ perceptions of co-teaching and the impact co-teaching has on student achievement between general and special education subgroups.

What research design does the study use?

The study uses a sequential mixed method design, combining qualitative questionnaire data with quantitative archived data.

What do the quantitative results show about co-taught versus non-co-taught classrooms?

The One-way ANOVA post hoc analysis indicates no significant difference between groups in co-taught and non-co-taught classrooms for third, fourth, and fifth graders.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by McQueen