Download or read book Early Career Teachers' Perceptions of Their Preparation for and InitialExperiences in Co-Taught Classrooms written by Cynthia Thrasher Shamberger and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many general education and special education teachers report being unprepared for the challenges of serving students with disabilities in the general education classroom (Kloo & Zigmond, 2008; Rea & Connell, 2005) and lacking skills necessary for co-teaching and collaborating within the school community (Grant & Gillette, 2006; Little & Theiker, 2009). The purpose of this study was to survey general and special education teachers (n=149), who were recent graduates of one teacher education program in the southeastern Unites States, on their perceptions of the effectiveness of their teacher education program in preparing them to co-teach. Variables included area of certification, years of experience, co-teaching experience and personal demographics along with descriptions of the extent that co-teaching was perceived to have been discussed, modeled, observed, and coached during the teacher education program and later practiced in classroom settings. Most participants were female, taught at the elementary level, held a bachelor's degree, and had three or less years of teaching experience. Results indicated many graduates had some orientation to co-teaching and perceived the teacher education program as relatively effective in preparing them to co-teach. However, data suggest variation in the amount of exposure to co-teaching preparation, field experiences, and subsequent skill attainment for co-teaching across the program. Additionally, implementation of co-teaching practices varied among participants, as did experiences and satisfaction with the co-teaching model. These findings may inform the teacher education program in future decision making to benefit future teacher candidates by providing enhanced course content and field experiences that focus more directly on acquisition of co-teaching knowledge and skills. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest llc. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.].