Benefits for coteachers of students with disabilities: Do contextual factors matter?

摘要

Drawing on Bandura's social learning and social cognitive theory, we empirically investigate contextual factors that may influence perceived benefits of coteaching for teachers. Special and general education coteachers have reported that necessary contextual factors for them to be effective include: sufficient coplanning time, relationship quality, and parity. In this study, 147 special and general education coteachers from suburban and rural schools across the United States responded to the Co-teacher Questionnaire to determine what contributes to their perceived benefits of coteaching students with disabilities. Hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that coplanning (beta = 0.22; p = 0.01) and relationship quality (beta = 0.30; p = 0.01) positively influenced the coteachers' perceived benefits of coteaching (Cohen's f(2) = 0.47), whereas parity was not corroborated to have a significant impact. These not previously empirically studied relationships inform the field by clarifying the importance of the contextual factors for coteachers. Implications for the practitioners and researchers are offered.