General and special education teachers in co-teaching. Self-efficacy in collaboration, co-teaching benefits, and teaching practices in inclusive classrooms: a mediation analysis

The main aim of this article is to examine whether self-efficacy in the collaboration between general and special education teachers translates into the quality of teaching practice in co-taught classes and, if so, whether the benefits of co-teaching experienced by teachers mediate this relationship. The study involved 335 special education and general teachers from Polish primary schools. The results show that self-efficacy in collaboration is a predictor of the quality of teaching practice as assessed by teachers of both groups; this relationship is mediated by the benefits experienced from co-teaching. The relationship between efficacy in collaboration and teaching practices is stronger for general than for special education teachers. It is noted that special education teachers experience more benefits from co-teaching than do general education teachers. The implications for practice are discussed.