Foundation phase teachers’ viewpoints on the viability of response to intervention in their school context

Abstract

The purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore and describe foundation phase teachers’ viewpoints on the viability of response to intervention (RTI) in their school context. The conceptual framework supporting this study was guided by sociocultural and social constructivist perspectives on learning and included the concepts of mediation, zone of proximal development, scaffolding and differentiated instruction which are concepts that underpin an RTI approach. Guided by an interpretivist paradigm, this qualitative case study provided insight into the viewpoints of nine foundation phase teachers on whether they believed an RTI approach could be viable within their own school context. The findings suggest that the participants envision numerous challenges in the implementation of RTI in their school context. They believe that a lack of resources and challenges associated with the curriculum could potentially prevent the effective implementation of RTI components and therefore decrease the viability of RTI in their school context. The participants believe that if certain challenges, such as a lack of time and a lack of qualified teaching staff, could be addressed and overcome, then an RTI approach could become viable in their school context. They believe an effective RTI implementation could yield benefits associated with improved overall learning in the classroom. Furthermore, the participants believe that RTI could potentially result in a reduced need for financial resources to pay for referrals to learner support specialists, which they currently perceive as a challenge in their learner support practices.