Abstract

Team teaching, where two teachers teach in the same classroom at the same time, while not a new concept, is increasingly being positioned and repositioned in research and policy literatures as central in advancing a range of valued educational goals. These goals include supporting inclusive learning for all students as well as supporting classroom-based elements of teacher learning and professional development. However, team teaching remains more often encouraged by policymakers than enacted effectively by practitioners. This article focuses on the visibility and viability of students’ learning experiences within a larger team teaching initiative involving 20 teaching dyads in 7 post-primary schools in Ireland, between 2007-2011.The research method adopted an interpretative paradigm to capture the evolving perspectives of participants. Data collection encompassed interviews and observations (n= 9) with three pairs of teachers (n= 6) in two schools involving 34 lower-secondary students. Adopting an inductive approach Positioning Theory offers a framework for theorising learner experiences of teaching and learning in team taught lessons. Findings are discussed in terms of their possible implications for both research, practice and policy vis-à-vis more nuanced understanding and enactment of team teaching.