Prevalence and Characteristics of Co-Teaching and Collaboration for Secondary English Learners: A National Survey

• In Event: Reconceptualizing and Improving the Education of Adolescent English Learners: An Ecological Approach

Abstract

Objectives
Across the nation, “co-teaching” and related forms of teacher collaboration have become increasingly common models implemented at the meso-system level to provide integrated content-area and language instruction to English Learners in secondary settings. While various co-teaching and collaboration models have become better defined and implemented, the exo-systemic patterns–the prevalence of and variations within these practices–are not known. This national survey explores how co-teaching and collaboration models are structured and implemented in diverse educational contexts across the country.

Framework
We ground our study of collaboration and co-teaching in the ecological and sociocultural notion of communities of practice (Wenger, 1998), with a focus on three key features of how content-area and ESL teachers work together: joint enterprise (viewing the education of English Learners as a shared responsibility), mutual engagement (collaborating and teaching side by side), and a shared repertoire (drawing on common practices and pedagogical approaches in designing and enacting instruction for English Learners).

Methods/Modes of inquiry
We utilized Qualtrics to develop an online survey containing both closed- and open-ended questions about district-related demographics, co-teaching and collaboration policies, structures for and forms of co-teaching/collaboration, and experiences implementing these models. Using the Common Core of Data, we created a stratified sample to represent district variation in size, EL% of total student population, and urban/rural locale. We randomly sampled 1,933 districts according to these characteristics and identified EL District Coordinators (title III Directors or equivalents) through online website searches and telephone inquiries. We sent them a personalized link to the survey, which was open for six weeks in May-June 2021.

Data
We received and analyzed data from 216 districts which, taken together, represent varied contexts and locations. Descriptive statistics were run on the overall sample of respondents, and further analyses will be conducted to explore the influence of district characteristics (size, EL%, and urban/rural) on co-teaching and collaboration policies, structures, forms, and implementation experiences.

Results
Initial analysis suggests several important exo-systemic trends in districts’ meso-systems for co-teaching and collaboration. Overall, 68.98% of districts reported having secondary ESL teachers and secondary content teachers who co-teach or collaborate to serve ELs. In the majority of these districts (68.55%), separate planning time is not allotted to teachers for co-teaching/collaboration. In co-teaching specifically, ESL teachers are less likely to co-lead lessons than to assist all students (or EL-only students) than content teachers who more typically lead instruction. Although district professional development and release time are provided in most responding districts (66.67% and 57.41%, respectively), training or guidelines for school administrators are rare (17.59%).

Significance
These data provide a valuable picture of the state of co-teaching and collaboration practices for secondary English learners in U.S. schools, demonstrating their relative frequency, especially in ELA and at the middle school level, but an overall lack of administrative training and separate planning time. Future work will examine the nature of micro-systems in which collaboration and co-teaching practices occur in order to better understand the ecological forces that influence the instruction of educational outcomes for English Learners.

Authors

• Amanda Kibler, Oregon State University

• Martha Castellon Palacios, WestEd