The invisible hand is a metaphor that refers to teachers’ impact on the classroom peer ecology. Although teachers have the capacity to organize the classroom environment and activities in ways that contribute to students’ social experiences, their contributions are often overlooked in research on students’ peer relations and the development of social interventions. To address this, researchers have begun to focus on clarifying strategies to manage classroom social dynamics. The goal of this article is to consider potential contributions of this perspective for understanding the social experiences of students with disabilities and to explore associated implications for the delivery of classroom-focused interventions to support their adaptation. Conceptual foundations of classroom social dynamics management and empirical research on the peer relationships of students with disabilities are outlined and the potential of the concept of the invisible hand is discussed in relation to other social support interventions for students with disabilities.

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Although there have been several advances in the development of evidence-based practices (EBPs) to support students with disabilities, many rural schools struggle to use EBPs. Rural schools may experience challenges that constrain their potential to provide support for the implementation of EBPs. Furthermore, there may be a mismatch between EBPs and the circumstances, resources, and needs of many rural schools. Directed consultation is an intervention support framework designed to adapt the use of EBPs by using local data and stakeholders’ insights to align strategies to the unique features and needs of rural schools, teachers, and students. This article considers the use of directed consultation to support the individualization and intensification of intervention for students with disabilities in rural schools. The establishment of rural research-practitioner partnerships is also discussed with the goal of developing a broad range of directed consultation content and delivery approaches.

Self-determination is essential to promoting successful transitions for students with and without disabilities. Numerous studies have found that positive relationships are central to the ability to be self-determined, thus making relationship building a key area to address to promote successful transitions. This article provides information on strategies, classroom modifications, and curricula that can be used to help students improve their ability to build an increased sense of belonging through positive relationships with others. Strategies are discussed within the context of self-determination to demonstrate how students can increase their ability to establish and maintain positive relationships and their self-determination concurrently.

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