Lived Experiences of Teachers in Implementing Evidence-Based Co-Teaching for Inclusive Classrooms: Basis for a Framework for Advancing Equity and Inclusion

Abstract

This study explored teachers lived experiences of implementing evidence-based co-teaching in inclusive classrooms and used their accounts to inform a framework for advancing equity and inclusion. A qualitative descriptive phenomenological design was employed at Carman Buckner Elementary School, Waukegan Community Unit School District 60, Illinois, United States. Ten general education, special education, and related inclusion-support teachers with direct co-teaching experience were purposively selected. Data from individual semi-structured interviews were examined using Colaizzi’s seven-step phenomenological analysis, including significant-statement extraction, formulated meanings, thematic clustering, exhaustive description, and participant validation. The participants characterized effective co-teaching as an intentional professional partnership involving shared planning and instructional responsibility, differentiated and evidence-based strategies, flexible deployment of co-teaching models, responsive assistance for students with diverse academic and linguistic needs, and ongoing reflection. They also described constraints involving inadequate common planning time, communication difficulties, ambiguous roles, uneven participation, and limited institutional support. Teachers perceived co-teaching as supporting learner participation, access, and belonging, although the study did not independently measure student outcomes. These findings informed the Evidence-Based Collaborative Inclusive Co-Teaching (ECIC) Framework, emphasizing organizational support, equal teacher partnership, responsive instruction, and continuous professional learning. The study contributes a contextualized, experience-based account of conditions needed to sustain collaborative and inclusive teaching.