TPC _Journal-Vol6_Issue_3-MTSS-Full_Issue

The Professional Counselor /Volume 6, Issue 3 239 School building leadership and RTI competence (4) (ASCAModel - Leadership Theme) - Principal describes RTI in a positive manner - Principal seems highly knowledgeable about RTI - Other building-level leaders highly knowledgeable about RTI - RTI concerns and challenges are addressed in a posi- tive manner within my school .86 RTI viewed as beneficial (7) - RTI is the best option to support struggling learners and students with social-emotional concerns - RTI is the best option to support students with social- emotional concerns - RTI can improve the outcomes for all students - RTI can improve the behavior outcomes for all students - RTI can inform the process of identifying students with learning disabilities (LD) - RTI data are sufficient in determining whether or not a student has an LD - RTI is a vehicle of promoting culturally responsive practices within my school .84 * Number of items Data Analysis Descriptive statistics were generated to address the first three research questions, while a simulta- neous liner least squares regression model was tested to address the fourth question. Variance Infla- tion Factors (VIF) were calculated to test for multicollinearity in relation to the regression model. All VIFs were under 4, well below the 10 threshold that is used as a rule of thumb to raise concerns regarding multicollinearity (O’Brien, 2007; Stevens, 1992). Additionally, White’s (1980) heteroscedas- ticity test was performed to determine whether the error term in the regression model had constant variance, to avoid using biased standard errors that would lead to invalid inference. Since White’s test indicated the existence of heteroscedasticity (χ 2 = 164.13; p < .01), the regression model was esti- mated with White’s correction for the standard errors. Results Descriptive Statistics Research question 1: What are school counselors’ beliefs regarding RTI? Sixty-three percent of the respondents agreed and 13% strongly agreed with the statement that RTI can improve the aca- demic outcomes of all students. Fewer participants indicated that RTI can improve the behavioral outcomes for all students (53% agreed and 9% strongly agreed). Seventy-five percent of participants agreed or strongly agreed that RTI is the best option to support struggling learners, while only 49% agreed or strongly agreed that RTI is the best option to support students with social and emotional concerns. Only half of the respondents (54%) agreed or strongly agreed that RTI is a vehicle of pro- moting culturally responsive practices. The majority of participants agreed or strongly agreed that their school principal described RTI in a positive manner, but only 57% reported that they viewed their principal as highly knowledgeable about RTI. The same percentage of respondents (57%) agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that building leaders in general seemed knowledgeable,