EFFECTIVENESS OF THE RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION (RTI) PROCESS

Effectiveness of the Response to Intervention (RTI) Process



Acknowledgements

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

Abstract

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to develop a comprehensive model of teachers' perceptions of their roles and challenges in Response to Intervention (RTI) within the boundaries of one school district. RTI requires leadership at the district and building levels. There is ample research on RTI and on schools that are implementing RTI; however, there is little research on the relationship of leadership to implementing a coherent and quality RTI program. Therefore, this study examined the systemic challenges and difficulties of RTI spanning the functions of leadership, professional development and the roles of other educators in the RTI process. Extensive structured interviews were conducted with 3 teachers, a school counselor, a school child psychologist, and an administrator employed in a suburban elementary school in south central Arizona. Data were sequentially categorized through open and axial coding to analyze and map the causal conditions that influenced the local implementation and support of RTI programs. The model that emerged emphasized several main factors: the core challenge in teaching in elementary and secondary schools is to enhance children's' unique abilities while also serving the broader needs of a class and a school; professional development for educators is required to provide foundation knowledge about the RTI model; teachers' decision making must be enabled to maximize individualized instruction in their classroom; and it is necessary to have an engaged leadership in implementing successful RTI programs.

Table of contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS2

ABSTRACT3

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION5

Statement of the Problem5

Purpose of the Study5

Justification/ Importance6

Research Questions6

CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW8

III. SUMMARY/CONCLUSION17

REFERENCES19

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION

Statement of the Problem

It has been concluded that a successful Response to Intervention Process should be a comprehensive service delivery system. Some school districts are not fulfilling the requirements to complete a successful response to intervention process. There are some school districts that do not quite understand how to perform the process correctly. If the school districts perform the response to intervention process correctly there would be a high success rate, and there would be a less amount of students being referred to special services.

It has been proven that in some school districts there are some school administrators and teachers that do not know their responsibilities and roles that must be fulfilled during this process to help make the process successful. This paper is designed to help with these problems and clear up all confusion. This paper will analyze the response to intervention, and examine the role of administrators and teachers during this process.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges, perception, and difficulties that educators encounter during the process of the RTI model. The goal of this study was to provide educators with intervention resources that will assist them in the classroom. These intervention resources will equip the educators with the tools and assessments ...