Collaboration among professionals is an essential component of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the cornerstone of successful inclusion efforts. Our review of the literature, however, revealed little research documenting the collaborative efforts of general and special education teachers. We included literature in general and special education to determine the fundamental characteristics of successful collaboration, the barriers to collaboration, and the benefits of collaboration for teachers and students. Our findings are organized around the following themes: shared vision; commitment to collaboration; communities of care; frequent, positive, extended interactions; supportive, collaboration leadership; teacher benefits; and student benefits. Finally, we discuss future research issues and implications for teacher education in light of our findings.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Barth, R. (1990). Improving schools from within. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
2.
Berlin, D.F. (1996, April). Teacher Action Research: The Impact of Inquiry on Curriculum Improvement and Professional Development. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, NY.
3.
Book, C.L. (1996). Professional development schools. In J. Sikula, T. J. Buttery , & E. Guyton (Eds.) Handbook of research on teacher education (2nd ed., pp. 194-210). New York: MacMillan.
4.
Brookhart, S.M., & Loadman, W.E. (1992). School university collaboration: Across cultures . Teaching Education, 4(2), 53-68.
5.
Campbell, D.R. (1988). Collaboration and contradiction in a research and staff-development project. Teachers College Record, 90, 99-121.
6.
Camine, D., & McLaughlin, M.J. (1995). Developing Guidelines for Research Use: Identifying Research Needs, Increasing Accessibility of Research, and Transferring Research into Practice. Paper presented at the Annual U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs Project Directors' Conference, Washington, D.C.
7.
Chalfant, J.C., & Pysh, M.V.D. (1989). Teacher assistance teams: Five descriptive studies on 96 teams. Remedial and Special Education, 10, 49-58.
8.
Clark, C.M., & Peterson, P.I. (1986). Teachers' thought processes . In M. C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching, (3rd ed., pp. 255-296). New York: Macmillan.
9.
Connelly, M.F., & Clandinin, J.D. (1990). Stories of experience and narrative inquiry. Educational Researcher, 19, 2-14.
10.
Corbett, N.L. (1996). The planning and interactive decisions of Project PART interns: A descriptive study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Florida, Gainesville.
11.
Cuban, L. (1992). Curriculum stability and change. In P. W. Jackson (Ed.), Handbook of research on curriculum (pp. 216-247). New York: Macmillan .
12.
da Costa, J.L. (1993, April). A Study of Teacher Collaboration in Terms of Teaching-Learning Performance. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Atlanta, GA.
13.
da Costa, J.L. (1995). Teacher collaboration: A comparison of four strategies . The Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 41, 407-420.
14.
da Costa, J.L. & Riordan, G. (1996, April). Teacher Efficacy and the Capacity to Trust . Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, NY .
15.
Donahue, Z., Van Tassell, M.A., & Patterson, L. (1996). Research in the classroom: Talk text and inquiry . Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
16.
Dorsch, N.G. (1996, April). Conflict and Collegiality: A Dialectic of Community-Building in an Interdisciplinary Teaching Team's First Year. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, NY.
17.
Ellis, N.E. (1993). Collegiality from the teacher's perspective: Social contexts for professional development. Action in Teacher Education , 15, 42-48.
18.
Englert, C.S., & Tarrant, K.L. (1995). Creating collaborative cultures for educational change. Remedial and Special Education, 16, 325-336.
19.
Englert, C.S., Tarrant, K.L., & Rozendal, M.S. (1993). Educational innovations: Achieving curricular change through collaboration. Education and Treatment of Children, 16, 441-473.
20.
Feirnan-Nemser, S., & Floden, R.E. (1986). The cultures of teaching. In M. C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching. (3rd ed., pp. 505-526). New York: Macmillan.
21.
Flinders, D.J. (1988). Teacher isolation and the new reform. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 4, 113-130.
22.
Fuchs, D., Fuchs, S., & Bahr, M.W. (1990). Mainstream assistance teams: A scientific basis for the art of consultation. Exceptional Children, 57, 128-239.
23.
Goodlad, J.I. (1990). Teachers for our nation's schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
24.
Grant, C.A., & Secada, W.G. (1990). Preparing teachers for diversity. In W. R. Houston (Ed.), Handbook of research on teacher education (pp. 403-422). New York: Macmillan.
25.
Guskey, T.R. (1985). The effects of staff development on teachers' perceptions about effective teaching. Journal of Educational Research, 78, 378-381.
26.
Guskey, T.R. (1986). Attitude and perceptual change in teachers. International Journal of Educational Research, 31, 627-643.
27.
Hamilton, M.L., & Richardson, V. (1995). Effects of the culture in two schools on the process and outcomes of staff development. The Elementary School Journal, 95, 367-385.
28.
Hargreaves, A. (1992). Cultures of teaching: A focus for change. In A. Hargreaves and M. G. Fullan (Eds.), Understanding teacher development (pp. 216-240). New York: Teachers College Press.
29.
Hargreaves, A. (1994a). Changing teachers, changing times: Teacher's work and culture in the postmodern age. New York: Teachers College Press.
30.
Hargreaves, A. (1994b) Development and desire: A postmodern perspective . In T. R. Guskey & M. Huberman (Eds.), Professional development in education: New paradigms and practices (pp. 9-34). New York: Teachers College Press.
31.
Harris, K.C. (1995). School-based bilingual special education teacher assistance teams. Remedial and Special Education, 16, 337-343.
32.
Hunsaker, L., & Johnston, M. (1992). Teacher under construction: A collaborative case study of teacher change AmericanEducational Research Journal , 29, 350-372.
33.
Kruger, L.J., Struzziero, J., Watts, R., & Vacca, D. (1995). The relationship between organizational support and satisfaction with teacher assistance teams. Remedial and Special Education, 16, 203-211.
34.
Lasiter, D.C. (1996, April). Humanitas: Learning Communities that Transform Teachers' Professional Culture. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, NY.
35.
Lewis, C.C., Schaps, E., & Watson, M.S. (1996). The caring classroom's academic edge. Educational Leadership, 54(1), 16-21.
36.
Lipsky. M. (1980). Street-level bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the individual in public services. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
37.
Louis, K.S., Marks, H.M., & Kruse, S. (1996). Teachers' professional community in restructuring schools. American Educational Research Journal, 33, 757-798.
38.
Lunt, I., & Evans, J. (1994, April). Partnerships Between Mainstream Schools in the UK to Enhance Provision for Students with Special Educational Needs . Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Education Research Association, New Orleans, LA .
39.
McIntyre, E., & Kyle, D.W. (1995). Learning about language arts instruction through collaboration. Reading Horizons, 36, 3-22.
40.
Meichtry, Y.J. (1990, October). Teacher Collaboration: The Effects of Interdisciplinary Teaming on Teacher Interactions and Classroom Practices . Paper presented at the 12th annual meeting of Mid-western Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.
41.
Meyers, J., Gelzheiser, L.M., & Yelich, G. (1991). Do pull-in programs foster teacher collaboration ? Remedial and Special Education, 12, 7-15.
42.
Miller, J.L., & Martens, M.I. (1990). Hierarchy and imposition in collaborative inquiry: Teacher-researchers' reflections on recurrent dilemmas. Educational Foundations, 4, 41-59.
43.
Mitchell, I. (1994). School-tertiary collaboration: A long-term view . International Journal of Science Education, 16, 599-612.
44.
Murray, F.B. (1993). "All or none" criteria for professional development schools. Educational policy, 7, 61-73.
45.
Professional development schools (pp. 61-73). Newbury Park, CA: Corwin Press.
46.
Nias, J., Southworth, G., & Yeomans, R. (1989). Staff relationships in the primary school: A study of organizational cultures. London: Cassell Educational Limited.
47.
O'Connor, R., Jenkins, J.R., & Leicester, N. (1992, April). Collaboration Among General and Special Educators: The Influence Teachers Exert on the Process. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Education Research Association , San Francisco, CA.
48.
Oakes, J., Hare, S.E., & Sirotnik, K.A. (1986). Collaborative inquiry: A congenial paradigm in a cantankerous world. Teachers College Record, 87, 545-61.
49.
Pajares, F. (1992). Teachers' beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct. Review of Educational Research, 62, 307-332.
50.
Pugach, M.C., & Johnson, L.J. (1988, April). Peer Collaboration: Enhancing Teacher Problem-Solving Capabilities for Students at Risk. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Education Research Association, New Orleans, LA.
51.
Pugach, M.C., & Johnson, L.J. (1995). Unlocking expertise among classroom teachers through structured dialogue: Extending research on peer collaboration. Exceptional Children, 62, 101-110.
52.
Pugach, M.C., & Warger, C.L. (1996). Curriculum Trends. Special Education and Reform: Refocusing the Conversation. Challenges for the special education-curriculum reform partnership. Columbia University: Teachers College .
53.
Rosenholtz, S.J. (1989). Teachers' workplace: The social organization of schools. New York: Teachers College Press.
54.
Sarason, S.B. (1990). The predictable failure of educational reform . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
55.
Saurino, D. (1996, April). Teacher Team Collaborative Action Researcb . Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Education Research Association, New York, NY.
56.
Schumm, J.S., & Vaughn, S. (1995). Meaningful professional development in accommodating students with disabilities. Remedial and Special Education , 16, 344-353.
57.
Senge, P.M. (1990). The fifth discipline. New York : Doubleday.
58.
Skrtic, T.M. (1991). The Special education paradox: Equity as the way to excellence. Harvard Educational Review, 61, 148-206.
59.
Skrtic, T.M. (1996). Voice, collaboration, and inclusion: Democratic themes in educational and social reform initiatives. Remedial and Special Education, 17(3), 142-57.
60.
Talbert, J.E. (1993). Constructing a school-wide professional community: The negotiated order of a performing arts school. In J. W. Little and M. W. McLaughlin (Eds.), Teachers' work: Individuals. colleagues. and contexts (pp. 164-184). New York: Teachers College Press.
61.
Torres, M.N. (1996, April). Cognitive Individualism: An Impediment to Teachers' Collaborative Intellectual Work. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, NY.
62.
Vogt, L.A., & Au, K.H.P. (1995). The role of teachers' guided reflection in effecting positive program change. Bilingual Research Journal, 19, 101-120.
63.
Voltz, D.L., Elliot, Jr., R.N., & Harris, W.B. (1995). Promising practices in facilitating collaboration between resource room teachers and general education teachers. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 10, 129-136.
64.
Weatherley, R., & Lipsky, M. (1977). Street-level bureaucrats and institutional innovation: Implementing special education reform. Harvard Educational Review, 47, 171-197.
65.
Webb, N. L., & Romberg, T. A. (Eds.). (1994). Reforming mathematics education in America's cities: The urban mathematics collaborative project . New York: Teachers College Press .
66.
Webb, R. (1988). Outstation teams: A collaborative approach to research in schools. British Educational Research Journal , 14, 51-64.
67.
Webb, R.B., & Coral Springs MiddleSchool Faculty (1996). Making teaming work: Lessons from Coral Springs Middle School. University of Florida, Gainesville.
68.
Weinstein, R.S., Madison, S.M., & Kuklinski, M.R. (1995). Raising expectations in schooling: Obstacles and opportunities for change. American Educational Research Journal, 32, 121-159.
69.
Winn, J., & Blanton, L. (1997). The call for collaboration in teacher educational . In L. P. Blanton, C. C. Griffin, J. A. Winn, & M. C. Pugach (Eds.), Teacher education in transition (pp. 1-17). Denver, CO: Love Publishing Company.
70.
Yerian, S.Y., & Grossman, P.L. (1993, April). Emerging Themes on the Effectiveness of Teacher Preparation Through Professional Development Schools. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Atlanta .
