Inclusive and collaborative practices in co-taught classrooms: Roles and responsibilities for teachers and parents

•We studied the roles and responsibilities of 18 co-teaching pairs.•We identified inflexible models of co-teaching with little actual co-teaching practice.•The teaching responsibilities of co-teachers were not complementary but separate.•Supporting teaching was used in most cases.•Parents had an active but ‘intruding’ role.

As a step towards inclusion, co-teaching has received attention in the last two decades. This paper discusses the roles and responsibilities of co-teachers in Greek mainstream classrooms and the input of parents. Using a multiple case study research design, we sought to explore and evaluate co-teaching practices with regard to role understanding, responsibilities in classroom management and the relationship of co-teachers and parents. Our findings provide evidence for separate rather than complementary roles with little actual co-teaching practice. We argue for both political and practical changes regarding co-teachers' and parents' roles, as necessary for the enhancement of co-teaching.