Implementing co‐teaching with paraprofessionals to provide pre‐Kindergarten students with special rights access to dual language

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how paraprofessionals and other service providers participate in co‐teaching with a certified special education pre‐Kindergarten teacher during dual language (DL) instruction. The study took place in two DL special education preschool classrooms located in an urban public school district in the southwestern US. The district enlisted paraprofessionals as lead Spanish instructors when the lead teacher was not bilingual in Spanish and English to implement the DL programme effectively. Participants were one special education teacher, two paraprofessionals and one teaching artist, who participated in a year‐long professional development programme to employ drama strategies to develop children's Spanish and English literacy skills and promote inclusion. Findings indicated that the participants utilised multiple co‐teaching models to collaborate and meet the needs of their students during English and Spanish instruction. Through co‐teaching, all educators had opportunities to take lead and supporting roles in instruction.