"I Never Truly Thought About Them Having Friends": Equipping Schools to Foster Peer Relationships. (June 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Leigers, Kelly; Kleinert, Harold L.; Carter, Erik W.
• Is Part Of: Rural special education quarterly. Volume 36:Number 2(2017)
• Page Start: 73
• Page End: 83
• Publication Date: 2017-06
• Subjects: peer-mediated interventions -- inclusion -- severe disabilities -- friendships; People with disabilities -- Education -- United States -- Periodicals; People with disabilities -- Education; United States; Éducation spéciale; Handicapé; Milieu rural; États-Unis; Electronic journals; Periodicals; Périodique électronique (Descripteur de forme); Ressource Internet (Descripteur de forme); 371.90973
• DOI: 10.1177/8756870517707711
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 8756-8705

Abstract

Students with severe disabilities often experience limited social participation and few friendships at school. We describe a project to equip school teams to implement peer support arrangements and peer networks focused on friendships, inclusion, and learning. We adopted a phenomenological qualitative approach to learn how participants viewed these interventions within their schools, issues emerging during implementation, and the impact of these interventions. We discuss themes surrounding (a) the impact of the context and structure of the school on implementation, (b) participants' views on professional development related to these interventions, and (c) impact on students, peers, and the broader school community.