Date
12-7-2023
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)
Chair
Janet Deck
Keywords
MTSS, RTI, PBIS, professional development, language and literacy, instruction, child academic engagement
Disciplines
Education
Recommended Citation
Pettit, Robert L., "Exploring the Influence of PBIS, RTI, and MTSS Implementation on Classroom Time, Student Behavior, and Academic Achievement: A Phenomenological Study" (2023). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5047.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5047
Abstract
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover how elementary schools implement evidence-based, multi-tiered programs (i.e., Multi-Tiered System of Support [MTSS]) to improve students’ academic and behavioral successes. Today’s teachers are expected to have a constantly expanding knowledge base and skills that support working within a Multi-Tiered System of Supports, including Response to Intervention (MTSS/RTI). Since the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004 and subsequent regulations that allowed school districts to use alternate processes for determining learning disabilities, implementing Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and Response to Intervention (RTI) frameworks in preschool to 12th grade (PK-12) schools has steadily increased. However, most teachers lack the skills and training to implement them successfully. The focus of recent field-based professional development activities is the current teaching force. Most PK-12 schools, however, require an entering teacher to gain this knowledge and skills during their teacher preparation program. Unresponsiveness to instructional interventions is a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support and Response to Intervention concepts. The Multi-Tiered System of Supports and Interventions (MTSS/RTI) is composed of several tiers that encompass classroom experiences, elucidate interventions, and delineate behaviors that foster learning opportunities. The study investigates behavioral observation to inform steps that could be taken for children who are not responding to elementary school to middle school literacy instruction to fill this information gap in the MTSS-RTI decision-making process and proposes the central research question: How do general education elementary school teachers implement tier one, tier two, and tier three of the MTSS/RTI model while delivering differentiated core curriculum instruction in both academics and behavior?
