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Multi-tiered Systems of Support in Preschool Settings: A Review and Meta-analysis of Single-case Research
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Description: Multi-tiered systems of support provide a framework for matching the needs of a struggling student with an appropriate intervention. Experimental evaluations of tiered support systems in grade schools have been conducted for decades, while evaluations in the field of early childhood education are more recent occurrences due to barriers in translating grade school models of support systems across the various funding sources, curricula, and settings in which early childhood services are provided. To support the field of early childhood education and those involved in the implementation of multi-tiered systems of support, we synthesized the early childhood single-case literature examining interventions implemented within tiered support system frameworks. This review extends findings from a recent meta-analysis of multi-tiered systems of support in preschool settings that synthesized outcomes from group design studies. We discuss our findings from single-case studies with those from the meta-analysis of group design studies. Our data indicate that single-case evaluations of tiered support systems and interventions implemented within tiered support system frameworks do not frequently meet contemporary standards for rigor nor consistently identify functional relations. Recommendations and considerations for future research are discussed.