Establishing Friendships in Early Childhood Inclusive Settings What Roles Do Parents and Teachers Play?

Adult support of 12 specific friendship dyads involving 3- to 5-year-old children with and without developmental delays was investigated through semi-structured interviews with the children's parents and teachers. Most respondents described these friendships as harmonious and important for the emotional benefits that these relationships provided children. Parents and teachers reported supporting the friendships through a variety of strategies, ranging from setting up the social environment to helping friends interact with each other and engaging in home-school communication on the topic of friendship. Findings also indicated that some of these strategies may have been implemented incidentally, rather than being intentionally focused on friendship support. Teachers reported giving information and being asked about or provided with information but did not report asking parents for information relating to specific friendships.