TPC _Journal-Vol6_Issue_3-MTSS-Full_Issue

The Professional Counselor /Volume 6, Issue 3 247 school counseling courses should emphasize the school counselors’ role, including appropriate and inappropriate tasks (ASCA, 2012). Moreover, field-based practicum and internship courses should require practically-based experiential activities that build leadership and advocacy capacity through data collection and analysis. All graduating school counselors should be required to measure the impact of their work and its contributions to the betterment of students, schools and communities. In such, state standards for the preparation of school counselors should reflect an emphasis on this pivotal skill set. Limitations and Future Directions The aim of the present study was to examine school counselors’ beliefs, perceived levels of pre- paredness and practices regarding RTI in states where this model has been implemented. Inherent in the self-reporting through survey research is the credibility of such reports. As Paulhus and Vazire (2007) noted, “even when respondents are doing their best to be forthright and insightful, their self- reports are subject to various sources of inaccuracy” (p. 228). Participants may have exaggerated or under-reported their lack of preparedness and confidence. In addition, respondents also might have inaccurately remembered their trainings and preparation, therefore imprecisely reporting it in their responses. While results provided a descriptive picture of perceived preparedness and its impact on the degree to which school counselors viewed RTI as beneficial, this study did not investigate possible indirect and total effects that can offer a fuller picture of influences. Future studies should apply structural equation modeling to explore direct, indirect and total effects, and therefore provide fur- ther implications for practice. Additionally, given the developmental differences between elementary, middle and high school students, the focus of school counselors’ involvement in RTI implementa- tion may vary at the different grades. Future studies should examine whether differences exist in the way RTI is viewed by practitioners serving at various school levels so that training can be customized based on specific needs. Lastly, data for this study were collected by surveying school counselors in the 15 states that were reported as implementing RTI fully or partly. It would be beneficial to survey practitioners in states where future implementation of MTSS has been planned so that proactive and well-informed steps can be taken to better prepare school counselors for the effective implementation of such frameworks. There are significant areas of opportunity in MTSS for school counselors. School counselors have the cultivated abilities to lead, advocate and partner with their peers, which can be foundational in the design, implementation and evaluation of MTSS systems. The school counselor is positioned to lead with a vision of creating culturally relevant and evidence-based interventions aimed at reducing the achievement gap. Therefore, school counselor educators must be producers (not just consumers) of data to assist their students in making informed, culturally responsive decisions to support aca- demic, social and emotional learning for all students. Major educational reforms such as RTI should serve as a welcome motivation for improved practice and professional advancement. Politically aware and comprehensively trained school counselors can leverage such educational mandates to access necessary resources and become the innovators and path-charters of their profession. Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure The authors reported no conflict of interest or funding contributions for the development of this manuscript.