Kindergarten teachers' perspectives: classroom ecology, peer interactions, and children with disabilities

This study examined kindergarten teachers’ perspectives about current practices that facilitate peer-related social competence for children with disabilities. Twenty kindergarten teachers participated in four focus groups to gather their thoughts about the roles teachers have in supporting peer interactions and relationships for children with disabilities, the opportunities children with disabilities have to interact with peers in their general education kindergarten classrooms, facilitators and barriers to supporting peer interactions and relationships for children with disabilities, and suggestions teacher had for changes to school environments to promote peer interactions and relationships for children with disabilities during their kindergarten year. Sixteen categories were identified across the four focus group sessions and two key themes emerged: moving beyond class-wide instruction and school-level barriers to providing social interaction interventions