Defining Co -Teaching Practices in Inclusive Elementary Classroom Settings in South Korea

250 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2004.This study was designed to examine the perspectives of teachers and administrators regarding co-teaching practices in inclusive elementary school settings in South Korea. Specifically, this study focused on teachers' and administrators' (currently or previously engaged in co-teaching practice) perceptions of the purpose, characteristics, implementation, effectiveness, and barriers to co-teaching. A total of 80 special and general educators as well as 19 administrators at elementary schools located in Seoul and Kyounggido, South Korea participated in the study. Participants completed either the Dimensions of Co-teaching Survey-Revised for Teachers (DCS-R/T) or Principals (DCS-R/P). Forty-one participants were interviewed to gain in-depth information about their co-teaching experiences. Perceptions of all participants were compared based on their positions. Overall, participants reported that co-teaching was beneficial to teachers and students alike. They reported that students with and without disabilities benefited socially and academically. Teachers also improved their teaching skills and received professional support from each other. Some participants regarding the effectiveness of co-teaching, however, raised concerns. In addition, there was not a strong linear relationship between how important teachers perceived characteristics (associated with good co-teaching in the U.S.) to be and how often they implemented these characteristics in their co-teaching situations. In addition, significant differences were found on survey data on importance, effectiveness, and challenges of co-teaching practice across participants.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD