Priming the Pump: A Case Study of Implementation of Response to Intervention in Preschool
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Authors
McClain, Donna Highsmith
Issue Date
2009-12
Type
Dissertation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Preschool
Alternative Title
Abstract
This qualitative study examined Response to Intervention (RtI) in a rural
preschool program. The researcher sought to understand the implementation of RtI and
how it actually looked in an in vivo setting. Purposeful sampling was used to select the
preschool site, and criterion sampling was used to select participants for interviews.
Two focus group sessions were digitally recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. Ten
preschool staff members including seven regular education pre kindergarten teachers, one
speech language pathologist, and two special education teachers were interviewed. In
addition, eight parents were interviewed individually. Interviews were tape recorded
using a Sony ICD BX 700 digital recorder, and results were transcribed. Other data
sources included continuous field notes and memos maintained by the researcher
classroom observations of interventions, lesson plans maintained by teachers, anecdotal
records, RtI referral forms, and other documents. Data was organized into coded sections
and using the NVivo 8 data analysis computer software, themes were identified.
Categories and themes were analyzed using the grounded theory approach as the
dominant method of analysis via categorical aggregation.
Data analysis through categorical aggregation indicated that the following factors
appeared to positively impact RtI implementation in preschool: knowing childrens
backgrounds, frequent contact with parents, and getting help from special education
personnel. Factors negatively impacting the process included the following: increasing
demands on teacher time, managing red tape and legal issues, lack of clear guidance with
too much ambiguity, and concerns about accountability. RtI resulted in fewer referrals to
special education, but the long term ramifications are not known.