Date Approved

12-7-2018

Embargo Period

12-9-2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ed.D. Doctor of Education

Department

Educational Services & Leadership

College

College of Education

Advisor

Wassell, Beth A.

Committee Member 1

Michener, Catherine

Committee Member 2

Morettini, Brie

Keywords

Educator Belief Systems, Effective Literacy Interventions, Espoused Beliefs versus Theories in Use, Response to Intervention

Subject(s)

Response to intervention (Learning disabled children); Language arts--Remedial teaching

Disciplines

Elementary Education | Language and Literacy Education

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine if Argryis and Schon's (1974) Theory-of-Action framework could be used as a viable professional development tool to improve teachers' professional practices when providing Tier II literacy interventions within the context of a Response to Intervention (RTI) program in an elementary school. This multicase study sought to understand more deeply the espoused beliefs and theories-in-use of four elementary literacy interventionists' when delivering intensive literacy interventions to students not reading on grade level within the context of the RTI program by using semi-structured interviews, collection of student work, and classroom observations. Discrepancies were found between the interventionists' espoused theories and theories-in-use, therefore, confirming the need for educators to explore alignment between their two theories as a powerful tool for reflection and dialogue. This study contributes to the literature by presenting a description of belief systems and practices, along with identifying barriers potentially affecting implementation of RTI that can be used to implement positive system-wide change.

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