PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS OF STUDENTS WITH MODERATE, SEVERE, OR PROFOUND DISABILITIES ON FACILITATING FRIENDSHIPS WITH NONDISABLED PEERS

A survey was conducted in which teachers of students with moderate, se vere, or profound disabilities shared their perceptions on facilitatin g friendships between their students and nondisabled peers. Survey par ticipants included teachers across the three states of Iowa, Nebraska, and Florida. Results indicated that teachers believe that these frien dships are possible, they can I should be facilitated by adults, and a re beneficial to students with and without disabilities. They perceive d that friendships are most likely to develop when students with disab ilities are educated in regular classes for part of the day. By contra st, they perceived that other skill development, such as functional li fe skills, is most likely to occur when students are educated in a spe cial class in a regular school. Teachers perceived themselves, regular education teachers, and parents of students with disabilities as need ing to take primary responsibility for facilitating these friendships. Teachers perceived the most effective strategies for facilitating fri endships to be ones involving collaboration, presentation of informati on, cooperative learning, peer tutoring and teaching social interactio n skills, in addition, teachers indicated the highest willingness to p ersonally carry out these same strategies. Future research questions a nd practical implications for facilitating friendships in educational environments are offered.