Perceptions of response‐to‐intervention practices: results from a cross‐sectional survey of school‐board directors and support service professionals

The response‐to‐intervention (RtI) model is widely used to support students with special educational needs and their teachers. However, little is known about how educational and health care professionals support the implementation of this model in specific contexts. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of educational and health care professionals ( n  = 101) regarding their involvement in RtI practices in Quebec, Canada. A cross‐sectional online survey was sent to school‐board directors responsible for overviewing support services ( n  = 35), and to professionals implementing those services ( n  = 66). Descriptive and content analyses were performed and perspectives of the two groups were compared. Regarding perspectives of RtI implementation, discrepancies were revealed between directors' perceptions of the involvement of their professionals versus the professionals' reported implementation of the RtI model in practice. Directors reported greater knowledge about RtI (84%) than professionals (72%). Professionals consistently reported lower involvement in supporting RtI implementation than did directors. Coaching was the most frequent activity reported and was mentioned by both directors and professionals as a service provided at all RtI tiers. Results reveal inconsistencies about tiered practices among administrators and school health care professionals, with individuals defining tiers differently and varying in practices implemented at specific tiers. Participants also provided useful suggestions to further implement RtI.