A Quantitative Examination of School Leadership and Response to Intervention
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Authors
Maier Paul, Michael
Issue Date
2015-05
Type
Dissertation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Response to Intervention , RTI , Transformational Leadership , Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire , MLQ
Alternative Title
Abstract
There has been growing dissatisfaction with the ability-achievement method for identifying students with specific learning disabilities that had been used ever since the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) of 1975 (Shinn, 2007). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA, 2004) mandated that states allow school districts to use Response to Intervention (RTI) as an alternative method. For the past ten years principals across the country have been leading schools in making all the changes necessary for successful implementation of RTI. This study sought to provide educational researchers, policy-makers, and professionals with empirical data on how well schools have implemented RTI as well as which leadership behaviors have been associated with successful implementation. Ratings data were collected from school staff in the states of Georgia, New York, and Ohio who were closely involved in the RTI process. This sample, comprised primarily of school psychologists, rated their schools on RTI implementation using the RTI Essential Components Integrity Rubric (National Center on Response to Intervention, 2010) and their school principals on leadership style using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5X (Avolio & Bass, 2009). Descriptive data indicate that while schools have made progress, they have fallen far short of having fully implemented the RTI model. These results indicate that RTI alone may not be a viable method for the identification of students with specific learning disabilities. Multiple regression analysis identified transformational leadership as the predictive factor for RTI implementation, highlighting the importance of effective school leadership for any change initiative.