Date of Award

1996

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

This study investigated regular educator, special educator, and school principal perceptions of roles and responsibilities within the collaborative/co-teaching model employed by Eastern Illinois Area SpecialEducation Cooperative. The purpose of the investigation was to determine if regular educator, special educator, and school principal perceptions differed significantly toward the implementation of the collaborative/co-teaching model in the areas of administrative support, professional development, instructional practice, impact and promise, professional development, and policy. This investigation was a descriptive study involving a causal-comparative perspective. A total of 1,549 regular educators, special educators, and school principals within 30 of the 31 school districts that comprised the Eastern Illinois Area of SpecialEducation Cooperative were administered The Collaborative/Co-Teaching Survey. A total of 918 regular educators, special educators, and school principals responded to the requests. Questionnaire items one through ten sought demographic/descriptive data from the respondents. Items eleven through thirty-four sought information regarding opinions toward the collaborative/co-teaching model that was employed. An analysis of variance statistical procedure was employed to test for statistical differences for each of seven null hypotheses. Additionally, a chi-squared analysis was employed for null hypothesis six. Significant differences in regular educator, special educator, and school principal perceptions of the roles and responsibilities within the collaborative/co-teaching model were found to exist within the population studied in the Eastern Illinois Area SpecialEducation Cooperative (EIASE). These differences specifically occurred in the areas of administrative support, instructional practice, professional development, and impact and promise. Five of the seven null hypotheses were rejected. Regular educators were concluded to view the collaborative/co-teaching model less positively than did special educators and school principals. Special educators were more inclined to respond favorably to the criteria needed for successful implementation of the collaborative/co-teaching model as supported by EIASE. School principals were more inclined to view the collaborative/co-teaching model from a pragmatic standpoint.

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