Co-Teaching Through Organizational and Psychodynamic Lenses: An Integrative Narrative Review of Inclusive Practice

Co-teaching supports inclusive education by placing general and special educators in shared instructional roles. However, the presence of two teachers does not necessarily ensure meaningful collaboration or improved outcomes. This integrative narrative review examines co-teaching as an instructional, organizational, and relational practice. It synthesizes evidence concerning co-teaching models, professional roles, student outcomes, leadership, planning time, and school climate. Systems-psychodynamic concepts are also used cautiously to interpret role ambiguity, authority, dependency, professional identity, and anxiety associated with shared responsibility. Evidence indicates modest but variable academic benefits, strongly influenced by implementation quality. Reciprocal models require protected planning time, explicit role negotiation, professional equality, compatible pedagogical goals, and supportive leadership. Psychodynamic perspectives are interpretive rather than tested interventions, but may explain why technically appropriate models fail when organizational and relational dynamics remain unaddressed. Sustainable co-teaching therefore requires alignment across educational policy, school organization, and the teaching dyad.