Scope of Co-Teachers’ Tasks in Polish Elementary Schools

Abstract

The co-teacher plays a crucial role in supporting students with special educational needs in an inclusive class. Despite interest in this role, few studies have considered their tasks in detail. To the author’s knowledge, this topic has never been investigated from the perspective of Polish primary school teachers. Therefore, the research questions posed in this study relate to the scope and frequency of tasks performed by a co-teacher in an elementary school and their correlation with the teacher’s seniority, professional rank, and qualification in special education. The survey was conducted online between April 2021 and December 2023 using the Forms platform. A total of 200 questionnaires were subject to analysis. The results show that the teachers with higher rankings and a higher level of professionalism were more likely to perform more complex tasks. However, there are still areas they need to work on while co-teaching. These include the use of diagnostic tools and their development. Novice teachers need to develop more complex cooperative- consultative tasks.