ABSTRACT
RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION: ITS EFFECT ON LEADERSHIP AND THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN REGULAR EDUCATION AND
SPECIAL EDUCATION
William Eugene LeNeveu, EdD
Texas A&M University-Commerce, 2014
Advisor: Chuck Holt, EdD
This study examined the effect of Response to Intervention (RTI) on the relationship
between special education and regular education and the accompanying changes in the demands
on educational leadership. This study concentrated on RTI at the secondary level as current
research indicates little study has been conducted on the subject at this level. The purpose of this
study was to determine the critical issues in the successful implementation and maintenance of
RTI based school wide improvement efforts.
Response to Intervention (RTI) began as a method to identify at-risk students in need of
special education services. RTI has fast become the means through which all students receive
the instructional remedies necessary to help ensure their success. The process of providing those
remedies dictated the need for increased collaboration between special education and regular
education teachers in order to apply the expertise of special education to all students. Leadership
collaboration and integration of leadership knowledge and responsibilities between special and
regular education must follow as well.
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The changing demands on educational leadership resulting from the widespread
implementation of RTI were investigated. Of particular interest was the contribution to the
collaboration between special education and general education resulting from this broad scale
implementation of RTI. It was the subsequent impact on educational leadership resulting from
the increased collaboration between the two fields of education as they become unified that
motivated the research.
A primarily quantitative research design using survey methods, descriptive statistical
techniques, and open-ended responses was employed. A researcher-generated survey based on
extensive research of literature was used to obtain data. The survey consisted of 38 Likert-scale
questions with a demographic section and four open-ended response questions. The research
was concentrated on secondary schools in a single district in Region 10, one of 20 educational
service areas in the Texas education system. Secondary schools were chosen due to the limited
RTI research at the secondary level available as of 2012.
The results and conclusions resulting from this study are intended to add to the body of
knowledge on RTI assisting educators in meeting the needs of all students while maintaining
high expectations.