Establishing Parity in Middle and Secondary Co-taught Classrooms

Co-teaching is one approach for providing instruction in the general education classroom for students with and without disabilities. In this approach, two licensed teachers (usually one general educator and one special educator) teach a diverse group of students. Researchers have confirmed that often co-teachers do not experience parity; that is, they do not share, distribute, and implement tasks equally. Often, the special educator assumes the role of a paraprofessional rather than an equal. This article presents reasons for this lack of parity and provides specific ideas for honoring the expertise of both co-teachers.