Preservice Teachers' Perceptions of Coteaching: A Qualitative Study

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2010

Abstract

This study explored preservice teachers' perceptions about coteaching. Two classes of preservice teachers in special education and social studies were paired and asked to modify a lesson plan for students with disabilities. Qualitative data were collected and analyzed, and themes were extracted. Two findings emerged: First, preservice teachers were open minded about coteaching but had concerns about the process. Second, preservice teachers held a “separate spheres” framework about their respective fields. Conclusions suggest that teacher preparation programs must consider how the latent function of their organizations may circumvent their curricular attempts to socialize students into effective coteaching dispositions and practices. Implications for practice include developing content competence in all secondary teachers, providing opportunities to practice collaboration with other teachers and differentiating instruction, and building preservice teachers' awareness of the gap between discourse about schools and their own practices.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1080/01626620.2010.10463539

Additional Files

Share

COinS