General Education Teachers' Viewpoints Concerning Response to Intervention

This descriptive case study explored the viewpoints of general education teachers implementing Response to Intervention (RTI). The research question addressed the knowledge and perceptions of the classroom teachers concerning RTI. Participants, 14 second and third grade teachers, participated in interviews near the end of their third year of implementation of RTI. The data were analyzed; codes were assigned, reduced, and reassigned. Ten themes surfaced from the data. Two of the themes addressed the knowledge of RTI held by the participants and discussed how the participants explain RTI and its purpose. Eight of the themes addressed the perceptions of the classroom teachers. The first four of these themes discussed the impact on the teachers themselves, and the remaining four spoke to the impact on the students. Two central categories embodied the ten themes. The central categories spoke to the intent of the teachers to attend to the needs of the individual student and the reliance teachers have on each other.