Co-Teaching in an Inclusive Rural School and Teachers’ Sense of Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Inclusive education poses numerous challenges for teachers, especially in rural schools, where resources, opportunities for action, and support are often limited. In such conditions, cooperation between teachers becomes particularly important as a factor supporting effective teaching. The decision to choose this research environment was based on the limited number of research reports on the subject. The study examined cooperation between the class teacher and the co-teacher in an inclusive classroom at the early school education stage in rural schools, and their level of self-efficacy in terms of inclusive education. The research aimed to determine the relationship between the frequency of cooperation between both teachers in the performance of tasks and their sense of self-efficacy. The research was conducted between February and March 2025 using a diagnostic survey method. For this purpose, we used our own scale, Teacher Cooperation in Grades 1–3 of Primary School, and the Polish adaptation of the scale Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practice (TEIP). Sixty-six teachers from schools in the Radom district that provide inclusive education participated in the study. The results show that frequent joint action by both teachers in areas related to diagnosis, planning and monitoring of support, education and therapy, and upbringing results in a high level of self-efficacy. The findings of the study point to the need for supervision for teachers in the area of co-teaching and training covering the issue of cooperation between co-teachers in the area of educational counselling for parents. It is recommended that school principals set conditions and time in the teachers’ timetable to enable joint lesson planning.