Titolo della tesi: Impact of cooperative co-teaching relationships on student achievement outcomes in the 7th grade inclusion mathematics class
Since the inception of the No Child Left Behind law in 2002, much attention has been paid to its effects on the special education population of students. This law, as well as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA), required school districts in the United States to include students with special needs in general education classrooms to provide an atmosphere of least restricted environment (LRE). This practice has come to be known as inclusion which has become the forefront of educating students with special needs in United States’ public schools. Inclusion continues to be a controversial practice and matter of debate within educational circles with varying attitudes among teacher towards this practice. Research has found that in order for the model of inclusion to be carried out successfully, a key ingredient is cooperative communication and collaboration between the special education and general education teachers. If teacher collaboration is emphasized as the key to success in the inclusion model, it is important to assess the effects of a cooperative co-teaching relationship among inclusion classroom teachers. Specifically, this study asks, does a cooperative relationship between regular education and special education teacher in the 7th grade inclusion mathematics classroom have a positive effect on student achievement as measured by the North Carolina End-of Grade (EOG) Mathematics test? The participants in this study are 276 teachers practicing the inclusion co-teaching model, 138 regular education mathematics teachers and 138 special education teachers. The study assesses all Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools seventh grade inclusion mathematics classrooms. The pools of student participants that are being assessed are 3,447 seventh grade students in the inclusion mathematics classrooms. Teachers were first given Teacher Collaboration Assessment Survey (TCAS) to assess whether or not their relationship with their co-teacher was deemed cooperative or uncooperative. Then data was collected after the students in the inclusion classes took their End-of-Grade Mathematics standardized test. Results from the survey showed that that inclusion teaching pair have a collaborative relationship in the 7th grade mathematics class. This collaborative relationship is positively correlated with student achievement outcomes on the NC EOG math test. These findings have important implications for schools and educators who work in inclusive classrooms and suggest that fostering collaboration among inclusion teaching pairs can have a positive impact on student outcomes. With the intense implementation of the inclusion model since No Child Left Behind, further research aimed on collaboration and student achievement should focus on the co-teaching relationship as many of American children are learning in the inclusion classroom, whether or not they are classified as regular education, or special education.