The Consulting Role in a Response-to-Intervention Context: An Exploratory Study of Instructional Consultation

Response to intervention (RtI) is an influential system of service delivery in contemporary schools, but the specific role of school consultation in RtI implementation is not clearly defined. Instructional consultation provides a potential meeting point between consultation and RtI practices. Through a mixed-methods approach, this study explored school psychologists' adherence to instructional consultation and perceived benefits and challenges in implementing instructional consultation in a RtI system. Results suggest that while contracting for relational accountability and instructional match were challenging constructs to implement in the RtI system, psychologists viewed them as valuable, potentially filling gaps in RtI problem solving. Data are discussed in consideration of the relation between consultation and RtI, implications for school consultation practice, and avenues for future research.