The topic for this research was co-teaching and collaboration between those working in education. The problem addressed was obstacles to co-teaching and how it hindered co-teaching practices in an isolated small school district in rural California. The conceptual framework included social constructivism, collaboration, co-teaching, teacher preparedness, inclusion, differentiated instruction, and teacher self-awareness. A phenomenological qualitative approach was necessary to address the research purpose and the research questions' narrative nature. Qualitative interview data were collected from a total of 13 qualified participants. In total, five teachers, five instructional aides, and three administrators participated in the interviews. The interview questions were designed to solicit participants' lived experiences regarding co-teaching and collaboration. The three research questions included how educators experience obstacles, why they believe co-teaching is unsuccessful, and how obstacles to co-teaching and collaboration can be overcome. The interview responses were coded, and participant themes were identified. In total, ten themes were identified based on participant interview responses. Participants expressed that time, personalities, communication, planning, budget, and staffing were obstacles to co-teaching and collaboration regarding the first research question. Potential implications to research question one included reviewing the master schedule, common planning time for educators, and altering duty days to ensure everyone follows the same schedule. Furthermore, factors such as personalities and communication styles should be considered in designing co-teaching structures. Regarding research question two, participants identified student outcomes and relationships as themes. Implications to these findings include examining factors of successful co-teaching classrooms for implementation and implementing activities that build relationships between co-teachers. Research question three allowed participants to express recommendations for overcoming the obstacles. Participants indicated that the defining roles and expectations and additional training could improve co-teaching within the district. Implications to these findings included administrators defining co-teacher roles and expectations and provided educators with further co-teaching and collaboration training. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]