Common factors that benefit and hinder the co-teaching partnership in the high school setting

The purpose of this narrative study was to explore the lived experiences of both general and special education teachers in co-teaching relationships at Red Bank Regional High School in order to discover common patterns that benefit and hinder co-teaching partnerships across general and special education teaching roles, departments, and grade levels. Four pairs of co-teachers, eight total teachers, agreed to participate in this study. The co-teaching pairs were selected from four different departments, English Language Arts, History, Science, and Mathematics. Descriptive research, such as having the participants complete a survey, produce graphic elicitation tasks, and participate in an interview were implemented to further understand the current benefits and hindrances of co-teaching partnerships. The results from this study imply that hindrances, such as inconsistent scheduling and having multiple classes to prepare for, override the understood importance of open communication. Although the results suggest that the benefits and hindrances collected from this study are common, additional research is needed to validate the findings of this small sample study