Effects of cooperative teaching in inclusive education

Abstract

Cooperative teaching has been defined as a reconstruction of educational procedures in which two or more educators, in co-active and coordinated manner, use different sets of instructional techniques in order to jointly teach academically and behaviourally diverse groups of students in an integrated educational setting. The aim of this paper is to present the results of previous studies that have examined the effects of this approach to teaching in inclusive educational surroundings. The results of the existing research studies referring to the applicability of co-operative teaching do not allow making unambiguous conclusions about the effectiveness of this approach. Although a moderate, positive effect of the co-operative teaching application on the students' achievements can be observed, the data varies depending on the examined variables. Generally speaking, teachers, parents and children with developmental impairments and their peers of the typical population comprehend the co-operative teaching as a successful model of education, which contributes not only to the academic progress but also to a higher level of self-confidence in students.