General Education Teachers’ Attitudes and Beliefs about Response to Intervention Implementation: An Elicitation Study

Abstract

Response to Intervention/Instruction (RtI) has been implemented in schools for several years. The framework varies slightly from state to state and district to district. It also varies from school to school within school districts. Teachers are charged with implementing this tiered instructional approach. According to Ajzen’s (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior, a person’s willingness to engage in an activity can be dependent upon their attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control related to that activity. This elicitation study explored general education classroom teachers’ attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions related to the implementation of the RtI process. It also explored the scope and frequency to which teachers report implementing the RtI process. A qualitative study was conducted in the form of an online questionnaire followed by interviews. The questionnaire was used to elicit responses from participants regarding their attitudes toward advantages and disadvantages related to the process, people they believe would approve or disapprove (subjective norms) of their implementation of the process, and circumstances they perceived as allowing implementation or making implementation difficult (perceived behavioral control). Responses were coded into categories and arranged in themes in order to answer the research questions. This study explored general education teachers’ beliefs, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control as related to the implementation of Response to Intervention/Instruction at the pilot/exploratory level. The results for teachers’ perceived advantages and disadvantages of RtI, circumstances that allow for implementation or make implementation difficult, and people who would approve and disapprove of the teachers’ implementation of RtI were reported in the findings. Furthermore, specific data related to some teachers’ implementation of Tier II and Tier III intervention was reported. The findings from this study could help school leaders better understand how teachers’ perceptions and beliefs influence their practices related to RtI implementation. The findings can also help to influence current RtI policies and practices to better assist teachers and students. Furthermore, the results from this study could be used in future research in exploring the possible relationship between teacher beliefs and actual implementation.