COLLABORATION AMONG GENERAL AND SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS

Abstract

The purpose of this mixed quantitative and qualitative study was to measure theperceptions of collaboration between special education (including gifted education)teachers and general education teachers in elementary and middle schools in a suburbanKansas public school district to see if those perceptions fit with what the experts calleffective collaboration. Data were organized by the six factors of effective collaborationthat was identified by the researcher based on the review of the literature:1) team process,2) benefits, 3) administrator support and shared leadership, 4) positive attitude, 5)resources, and 6) professional development.Methodologies used to collect data for the study were both quantitative andqualitative. Quantitative data were collected through online surveys. The surveys weresent to general education, special education, and gifted education teachers who teach inthree elementary schools and three middle schools in the district. Survey data wereanalyzed using chi square tests of equal percentages. Qualitative data were collectedthrough interviews with building administrators, observations of collaboration sessionsbetween special education (including gifted education) teachers and general educationteachers, and follow up interviews with general education, special education, and giftededucation teachers. Administrator and teacher responses to the interview questions andobservation data were analyzed to determine to what extent effective collaborationpractices where in place.The results of the quantitative portion of the study indicate that the generaleducation teachers and administrators believe effective collaboration exists in their buildings while the special education teachers are not in agreement regarding the extentto which effective collaboration exists. The qualitative information collected from theinterviews indicated that most of the teachers and administrators believe that effectivecollaboration exists in their buildings. The observation data collected supports theinformation collected through the interviews regarding effective collaboration.