Date
8-2019
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education in Curriculum & Instruction (EdD)
Chair
Elizabeth Hillman
Keywords
Academic Performance, Students with Disabilities, General Education Students, Co-teaching, Inclusion
Disciplines
Education | English Language and Literature | Language and Literacy Education
Recommended Citation
Mitchell, Deborah Cecilia, "A Comparison of Eighth Grade General Education Students’ ELA Scores in Co-teaching and Regular Classrooms" (2019). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 2185.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/2185
Abstract
This causal comparative, ex post facto quantitative study compared the Georgia Milestones English Language Arts (ELA) scores of 8th-grade general education students taught in a co-teaching classroom compared with scores of students taught in a regular classroom. The research focused on a comparison of the academic performance of two groups on statewide standardized assessments in ELA over 2 consecutive years, 2017 and 2018. The study contributes to the limited research regarding student achievement of general education students in co-teaching classrooms. This study was based on Vygotsky’s social development theory. The research questions examined the differences in the academic performance of general education students taught in a co-teaching classroom over a 2-year period, 2017 to 2018. The subjects in this study comprised four 8th-grade English Language Arts classes, n = 238: 125 general education students taught in a co-teaching classroom with 2 certified teachers, and 113 general education students taught in a regular education classroom with one certified teacher. The statewide Georgia Milestones ELA scores from 2017 and 2018 were analyzed using t-tests. The results revealed no statistically significant differences in the scores of the 2 groups in either of the academic years examined, and the null hypotheses were failed to be rejected.
