AbstractsEducation Research & Administration

The purpose of this interpretive, qualitative study was to explore how the implementation of response to intervention (RTI) changed teacher perceptions regarding instructional and collaborative practices at one underperforming middle school located in Southern California. Twelve middle school teachers participated in the study. Instruments used to collect data consisted of an online teacher questionnaire, teacher interviews, and artifact analysis. Bandura's theory of social learning and the response to intervention framework served as the conceptual foundation of the study. Data analysis included calculation of descriptive statistics for the questionnaires. Interview transcripts were analyzed with Tesch's process led to the identification of five themes. Theme 1 showed RTI frameworks and structures were critical to the implementation of RTI at this middle school. The second theme focused on the efficacy of implementation. Collaborative practices and teacher knowledge and understanding of the RTI process needed more reinforcement and consistency. Theme 3 focused on student achievement. Teachers indicated varying opinions about how the implementation of RTI had influenced student learning. Teachers felt students in Tiers I and 2 were not mastering grade level standards after two years of implementation. Theme 4 showed that teachers were positive about RTI and believed that all students can learn. Theme 5 showed teachers felt RTI had changed their instructional practices and use of data. Implications of this study included the identification of key processes and documents for consistent training and support for sustainable RTI implementation. Further research is recommended on the topic. Key words: Response to intervention, middle school, student achievement