This is a qualitative action study to understand how elementary and middle school teachers perceive the misunderstandings of the roles, conflicts, and teaching strategies and how it can affect collaboration in the inclusive classroom between general education and special education teachers in the southeastern United States. The guiding framework for this study is Bandura's social cognitive theory and teacher self-efficacy. Two research questions guided the study: How do general/special education teachers perceive the effectiveness of collaboration with special/general education teachers within the inclusive environment to work with students with disabilities? How do the misunderstandings of the roles, conflicts, and teaching strategies affect the collaboration of the general and special education elementary or middle school teachers within the inclusive classroom? Action research was utilized in this study to facilitate systematic inquiries into teaching and learning processes. A qualitative research methodology was deemed most suitable for examining the collaboration between general education and special education teachers within inclusive environments to allow for a detailed examination of the ineffective collaboration stemming from role misunderstandings, conflicts, and differing teaching strategies. Data was collected in three ways: through semi-structured initial interviews, follow-up interviews, and reflective journaling to gather data from 10 elementary and middle school teachers. This study used a thematic analysis approach to analyze the collected data. Six themes emerged from all data sources to address the research questions: positive outcomes, teacher attitudes, collaboration strategies, misunderstandings of roles and conflicts, teacher content knowledge, and co-planning. Findings revealed that teachers need continuous professional development, administrative support, and adaptable resources to effectively implement inclusive education practices that benefit students with diverse academic needs. [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://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]