TPC _Journal-Vol6_Issue_3-MTSS-Full_Issue

The Professional Counselor /Volume 6, Issue 3 235 a multi-tiered continuum and underscored school counselors’ pivotal role with data. To that end, school counselors must aid in data analysis to help identify students in need, evaluate counseling interventions to determine efficacy, and assist school staff in selecting evidence-based academic and behavioral strategies for students (ASCA, 2014; Ockerman, Mason, & Hollenbeck, 2012). There were some notable efforts to promote school counselor involvement in this educational mandate prior to the publication of the ASCA MTSS position statement, including research conduct- ed by the RTI Action Network (2009), which highlighted how innovative school counselors in three Western states (i.e., Colorado, Oklahoma and Wyoming) integrated their counseling services within an RTI framework. Zambrano, Castro-Villarreal, and Sullivan (2012) noted synergies between school counselors and school psychologists and called for increased collaboration to optimize services for students. Moreover, Ockerman and colleagues (2012) suggested the pairing of comprehensive de- velopmental school counseling programs with RTI has the potential to effectively serve all students, particularly those historically underserved, and to advance the position of the school counselor as a transformational leader. Moreover, the authors called for more robust research regarding the role of the school counselor and evidence-based practices using MTSS. As such, Ockerman et al. (2015) investigated how school counselors in a Midwestern state per- ceived their training and knowledge of RTI and thus their confidence in implementation. Results in- dicated that the majority of school counselors had little confidence in their ability to employ essential roles, including the following: increasing parental involvement, engaging in collaborative practices, and using data to make decisions about student interventions. Overall, having knowledgeable, posi- tive building leaders such as school principal, assistant principals, and deans, in conjunction with a firm understanding of specific school counselor roles and responsibilities, predicted having favorable views of RTI as a means to improve students’ academic and behavioral outcomes. Concomitant with these findings, Betters-Bubon and Ratas (2015) reported that school counselors in a neighboring Mid- western state experienced both positive outcomes (e.g., positive school climate, enhanced perception of the school counselor and increased teacher involvement) and barriers to success (e.g., increased re- cord keeping, lack of training and buy-in, and lack of time to use data effectively) as a result of MTSS implementation. The authors also found that strong administrative support was associated with af- firmative perceptions of MTSS, corroborating the findings of Ockerman et al. (2015). Finally, Bookard (2015) surveyed 35 elementary school counselors in North Carolina, all of whom were designated as RTI chairperson within their schools. School counselors reported a decreased amount of time to com- plete core school counseling responsibilities due to an increased demand to organize, communicate and coordinate logistics on behalf of the RTI team. However, these counselors reported increases in their self-efficacy to perform multiple counseling duties and perceived RTI as having a positive im- pact on student achievement. While these efforts at understanding the impact of RTI/MTSS on the roles and responsibilities of school counselors should be lauded, they remain focused on the state level and therefore may be generalizable only to a particular state or region. Thus, there is an urgent need for research examin- ing school counselors’ preparedness and experiences with RTI/MTSS nationwide, especially in states where this model has been implemented. The present study investigates school counselors’ beliefs, perceived level of preparedness, and practice regarding RTI. Specifically, the following research ques- tions were investigated: (1) What are school counselors’ beliefs regarding RTI? (2) How prepared do school counselors feel regarding their training on the various implementation aspects of RTI? (3) What roles and responsibilities of school counselors changed due to the RTI implementation? (4) Is attitude toward RTI predicted by factors including demographics, as well as perceived confi- dence with various aspects of RTI?