REGULAR EDUCATORS PERCEPTIONS OF FACILITATING FRIENDSHIPS OF STUDENTSWITH MODERATE, SEVERE, OR PROFOUND DISABILITIES WITH NONDISABLED PEERS

Regular education teachers of kindergarten through high school age stu dents across Iowa, Nebraska, and Florida were surveyed on their percep tions of facilitating friendships between students with moderate, seve re, or profound disabilities and nondisabled peers. Results indicated that these regular educators believe that. a) such friendships are pos sible; b) they can/should be facilitated by adults, and c) they are be neficial to students with and without disabilities. Teachers perceived that friendships are most likely to develop when students with disabi lities are educated in regular classes for part of the day. By contras t, they perceived that functional life skills and academic skills are most likely to develop when students with disabilities are educated in a special class in a regular school. Regular educators perceived spec ial educators, regular educators (themselves), guidance counselors/sch ool psychologists/social workers, and parents of students with and wit hout disabilities, as having primary adult responsibility for facilita ting these friendships. These regular educators perceived cooperative learning, regular/special educator collaboration, teaching social inte raction skills, and peer tutoring as the most effective strategies the y could use to facilitate friendships; they also indicated a high degr ee of willingness to personally carry out these same strategies. Compa risons are made between these findings and those concerning the percep tions of special educators on friendship facilitation. Practical impli cations for educators as well as future research questions related to facilitating friendships in regular education environments are suggest ed.