An analysis of the effects of multiple setting events on the social behavior of preschool children with special needs.

Chandler et al. (1992) tested three quick classroom tweaks in an inclusive preschool.

They moved the teacher in or out, gave lots of toys or just a few, and paired kids with a socially skilled peer or a typical classmate.

Each mix was tried for one play period; the team watched which combo sparked the most social play in children with social delays.

The winning recipe was simple: teacher absent, few toys, and a socially skilled buddy.

That exact bundle lifted peer interaction during free play more than any other mix.

Changing just one part, like adding more toys, wiped out the gain.

Fingeret et al. (1985) and Odom et al. (1986) already showed that trained peers plus teacher prompts help, but their gains faded once adults stopped cueing.

Chandler et al. (1992) proves you can drop the teacher prompts entirely if you also limit materials and pick the right peer.

Chen et al. (2019) looked at the same inclusive rooms and saw kids with disabilities still playing alone; Chandler et al. (1992) shows a cheap fix—engineer the setting instead of accepting segregation.

Kennedy et al. (1993) used setting events to cut problem behavior in older students; Chandler et al. (1992) extends the idea to social growth in preschool.

You can boost social play tomorrow without new staff or training.

Step out of the circle, put out only two toys, and seat the socially unsure child beside your chatterbox.

Rotate the pairings daily so every child gets a turn as the skilled peer.

One adult move, three minutes of setup, stronger peer networks all year.