Practices of Coteachers in Inclusive Preschool Classrooms

Abstract

Combined Head Start (HS)-early childhood special education (ECSE) class- rooms are one of several emerging models for inclusive preschool programs; however; few descriptions of coteaching at the preschool level exist. An exploratory study was conducted to begin to identify the practices of HS and ECSE teachers in combined, team-taught classrooms. Two separate observations using an interval recording system were conducted in seven combined HS-ECSE classrooms. The classrooms served between 14 and 20 children, including 4 to 8 children with disabilities. Results indicated that the behaviors of HS and ECSE teachers were fairly similar; with both groups using facilitation rather than direct assistance as their primary teaching method, and redirection rather than discipline to suggest alternative responses to children. Overall, the HS teachers engaged in more teaching behaviors than the ECSE teachers; and the ECSE teachers provided most of the monitoring. Observations also indicated that the coteachers in this study utilized "parallel teaching" and "one teaching, one supporting" models of collaborative teaching. These data provide an initial description of coteaching behaviors in inclusive preschool classrooms. Future research should investigate the relationships of different coteaching styles and child-outcome variables.