Date of Award
6-19-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Educational Leadership, Ed.D.
First Advisor
Bronwyn MacFarlane
Committee Members
Christina Akbari; Peter Ghazarian
Abstract
This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of general and special education teachers who implemented co-teaching as a model of inclusive instruction for English Learners (ELs) with disabilities in a suburban middle school district. Grounded in Cook and Friend’s (1995) co-teaching framework and informed by sociocultural theory, the study examined how teachers collaborated, negotiated roles, and balanced language development with disability-related supports. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and a Co-teaching Collaboration Survey administered to 12 educators. Thematic analysis revealed that trust and parity support effective co-teaching partnerships, that language-forward scaffolds and interaction-based strategies promote engagement, and that systemic barriers such as limited co-planning time and staffing instability constrain implementation. The study contributes to the limited literature on dually identified students by identifying the structural and relational conditions necessary for equitable access to grade-level instruction through co-teaching. Keywords: co-teaching, inclusive practices, English Learners with disabilities, special education, language development
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Shields, Shawna, "Analysis Of Inclusive Practices Using a Co-Teaching Model on English Learners with Disabilities" (2026). Student Theses and Dissertations. 1167.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/1167
