Teachers’ Descriptions of Collaboration in Designing and Evaluating Individualized Education Program Services

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how middle school general and special education teachers in the Northeastern region of the U.S. describe their collaboration in the designing and evaluating of IEP services for students with disabilities. It was not known how middle school general and special education teachers describe their collaboration in the designing and evaluating of IEP services for students with disabilities. This study included a non-probability purposive sample of 17 middle school teachers (seven general educators; 10 special educators). The Power of Two Model for Effective Teacher Collaboration was utilized as the conceptual framework that guided the researcher to examine teachers’ collaborative practices which may support the design and evaluation of legally compliant IEPs and improve outcomes for students with disabilities. Using a semi-structured interview guide, 11 teachers participated in the individual interviews and six teachers in a focus group discussion. An inductive thematic analysis was utilized to capture the teachers’ responses and their descriptions of the phenomenon. Analysis of the data revealed four major themes: (1) collective mindset, (2) resources that support decisions and outcomes, (3) shared accountability, and (4) networking and connecting. The findings from this study indicate that although teachers can comprehensively describe their collaborative practices surrounding the design and evaluation of IEPs, the teachers do not feel like the district and school leaders place resources necessary for and aligned with a more purposeful collaboration between and among teachers.Keywords: Effective collaboration, teacher collaboration, IEP services, FAPE, qualitative descriptive research, and thematic analysis.