Following the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities establishing and developing inclusive education systems is one major current challenge in many European and international contexts. While there is not one model to develop inclusive schools (Dyson 2010), collaboration between professionals is considered highly relevant. For instance, Wallace et al. (2002, 350) state: “a collaborative approach to teaching and support for collaborative practices appears to be an essential part of successful inclusion”.

While previous research underlined the importance and accompanying challenges of inter-professional collaboration with regard to various professional groups (e.g. Easen et al. 2000), collaboration between general and special education teachers appears to be one major topic. In this respect, Cook and Friend (2010, 3) summarize: “Over the past several years, the contribution of collaboration to successful schooling of students with disabilities and other special needs has become increasingly apparent”. Especially with regard to the concept of professional learning communities which refers to more elaborate and intense forms of collaboration, previous research indicated a positive connection between teacher collaboration and student success (Lomos et al. 2012).

Furthermore, teacher collaboration is considered as important for professional and school development (Idel et al. 2012). Ainscow et al. (2010, 9) discuss teacher collaboration as an opportunity for questioning the “taken for granted assumptions” which is considered crucial for developing inclusive practices. With regard to co-teaching, the case study of Rytivaara and Kershner (2012) indicated that the co-teaching context positively influences teachers’ professional development if adequate time for collaboration outside the classroom is provided.

However, results concerning the lack of common planning time or time to collaborate outside the classroom are well-documented (e.g. Scruggs et al. 2007; Arndt/Werning 2013). In this context, the idea of collaboration between general and special education teachers as a “quick fix” has been problematized (Nichols et al. 2010).

Against this backdrop, this paper presents results of an ongoing dissertation project (thesis supervisor: Rolf Werning) on collaboration between general and special education teachers. The study focuses on collaboration at elementary and secondary schools within the national context of Germany. While there is a longer tradition of co-teaching in mainstreaming contexts in other countries (e.g. Cook & Friend 2010), there has been less emphasis on this in the German context due to a strong tradition of separated schooling. Nevertheless, with regard to enhancing inclusive school development the need for collaboration as well as for research in this area has been emphasized following the UN convention.

The dissertation project tries to contribute to a deeper understanding of collaboration between general and special education teachers in inclusive schools. The study aims to analyse how this collaboration is understood within the “particular context” (Kelchtermans 2006, 221) of one particular school and to analyse collaboration across different school context. Related to this, the project tries to analyse the construction of commonality and difference within the collaboration of general and special education teachers in particular. This focus appears especially relevant as both commonality, especially shared perspectives, and difference – of expertise and professional frame of reference (Conderman 2011) – are emphasized within the current discussion of collaboration of special and general education teachers.

The dissertation project is divided in two main parts: The first part focuses on general, special education teachers and school leaders’ views on collaboration between general and special education teachers at ten schools. The second part concentrates on collaboration between general and special education teachers in team meetings. Due to the influence of collaboration outside the classroom on the ways general and special education teachers collaborate in the class (Arndt/Werning 2013; Gurgur/Uzuner 2011), a deeper understanding collaboration in team meetings seems highly relevant.

Ainscow, M./Howes, A./Farrel, P./Frankham, J. (2010). Making Sense of the Development of Inclusive Practices, in: Hick, P./Thomas, G. (Hrsg.): Inclusion and Diversity. Vol. 3. Reprint, Los Angeles, 1–18. Arndt,A./ Werning,R. (2013). Unterrichtsbezogene Kooperation von Regelschullehrkräften und Lehrkräften für Sonderpädagogik. In Werning,R./Arndt,A. (Eds.), Inklusion: Kooperation und Unterricht entwickeln. Bad Heilbrunn, 12-40. Artiles,A./Dyson,A. (2005). Inclusive education in the globalization age. In Mitchell, D. (Ed.), Contextualizing Inclusive Education. Oxfordshire, 37-62. Clarke, A. E. (2009). Situational analysis. Thousand Oaks, Calif. Conderman, G. (2011). Methods for Addressing Conflict in Cotaught Classrooms. Intervention in School and Clinic 46, 221–229. Cook, L. & Friend, M. (2010). The State of the Art of Collaboration on Behalf of Students With Disabilities. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 20(1), 1–8. Dyson, A (2010). Die Entwicklung inklusiver Schulen. Drei Perspektiven aus England. Die deutsche Schule 102, 115-126. Easen, P./Atkins, M./Dyson, A. (2000). Inter-professional Collaboration and Conceptualisations of Practice.Children & Society 14, 355–367. Flick,U. (1997). The episodic interview. http://www2.lse.ac.uk/methodology/pdf/QualPapers/Flick-episodic.pdf. Gurgur,H.;Uzuner,Y. (2011). Examining the implementation of two co-teaching models: team teaching and station teaching. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 589-61. Idel,T.-S;Ullrich,H.;Baum,E. (2012). Kollegialität und Kooperation in der Schule. In Baum,E; Idel,T.-S.; Ullrich,H. (Eds.), Kollegialität und Kooperation in der Schule. Wiesbaden, 9-25 Kelchtermans,G. (2006). Teacher collaboration and collegiality as workplace conditions. Zeitschrift für Pädagogik, 220-237. Rapley,T. (2007). Doing conversation, discourse and document analysis. Los Angeles. Lamnek, S. (2005). Gruppendiskussion. Theorie und Praxis (2., überarb. und erw. Aufl). Weinheim. Lomos, C., Hofman, R. H. & Bosker, R. J. (2012). The concept of professional community and its relationship with student performance. In S. G. Huber & F. Ahlgrimm (Eds.), Kooperation. Aktuelle Forschung zur Kooperation in und zwischen Schulen sowie mit anderen Partnern. Münster, 51–68. Rytivaara, A. & Kershner, R. (2012). Co-teaching as a context for teachers' professional learning and joint knowledge construction. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28(7), 999–1008. Scruggs, T. E., Mastropieri, M. A. & McDuffie, K. A. (2007). Co-Teaching in Inclusive Classrooms: A Metasynthesis of Qualitative Research. Exceptional Children, 73(4), 392–415. Strauss, A. L./ Corbin, J. M. (1990). Basics of qualitative research. Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, Calif. Nichols, J./Dowdy, A./Nichols, C. (2010). Co-Teaching: An Educational Promise for Children with Disabilities or a Quick Fix to Meet the Mandates of No Child Left Behind? Education 130, 647–651. Wallace,T.;Anderson,A.R.;Bartholomay,T. (2002). Collaboration: An Element Associated With the Success of Four Inclusive High Schools. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 349-381