Collaborative teacher education can be a solution to creating more unity between general education teachers and special education teachers. However, with every possible solution come challenges. What ideas about inclusion and collaboration do general education faculty and special education faculty bring to the table? How is effectiveness assessed and what is the affect on student outcomes? The success of the program starts with the collaboration of faculty. Brownell, Griffin, Leko & Stephens (2011) suggests that program and course structures can be influenced by how faculty collaborate. Furthermore, they state that partnerships with K-12 schools are important to foster and support preservice teachers in inclusive classrooms.
So much needs to be considered with merging special education and general education programs. Pugach et al states that we need to come to terms with the challenges and build a shared community in order to achieve real collaboration. This is not a process that can be rushed or quickly implemented. Where do we go from here? Brownell et al (2011) suggest that more research is needed in the areas of program coherence in relation to teacher outcomes, the impact of program components on the development of teachers and studies that define and assess the outcomes in teacher education programs.