Collaboration of General and Special Education Teachers: Perspectives and Strategies

Schools today focus on inclusive models of education for students with disabilities that include higher expectations and increased teacher accountability. Within this inclusion framework, both general and special education teachers have responsibilities for the education of diverse learners. Collaboration skills take time to develop, with many potential barriers that can limit successful teamwork. Therefore, teacher preparation programs have a responsibility for preparing general and special education teachers for collaboration with a focus on strategies to minimize potential barriers and support outcomes for students with disabilities. In order to be more responsive to teacher candidates’ development, a first step is to understand their perspectives about collaboration. This article outlines the hopes and fears of both general and special education preservice candidates regarding collaboration and how their perspectives align with documented views of practicing teachers. Strategies to minimize fears and potential barriers for successful collaboration in school settings are presented.