Improving Children’s Lives

• 20/11/09: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is 20 on 20th November 2009!
• 28/09/09 Professor Gary Ritter Two Day Visit
• 08/09/2009: Two New ICL Research Fellow Posts advertised
• 07/09/2009: CEE team wins national prize for poster presentation
• 14/08/2009: First issue of new journal, 'Effective Education', published
• 17/06/2009: CEE publishes report on one of the largest ever evaluations of pupil mentoring schemes
• 02/06/2009: Six New PhD Studentships Advertised
• 15/05/2009: Queen's and Lifestart offer free support to parents
• 04/05/2009: Seven New ICL Research Fellow Posts Advertised
• 09/04/2009: Director of ICL Advises UNICEF on Evaluation
• 21/02/2009: Research Forum for the Child Establishes New Health-Related Quality of Life SIG

Two New ICL Research Fellow Posts Advertised

Applications are invited for two full-time Research Fellow posts tenable for three years in the first instance. The two posts continue the next phase of investment in Improving Children’s Lives.  Nine full-time staff have already been appointed to the initiative and are located across a range of Centres, Units and Institutes within Queen’s.  The aim of these two additional posts will be to complement this existing work by building research expertise in the two areas shown.  Successful candidates will be expected to develop their own expertise and work with colleagues to help build research capacity across the University and to secure external research funding.  The two posts, and where they are to be located, are:

• Research Fellow (Epidemiological Research), Department of Child Health/Centre for Public Health
• Research Fellow (RCTs and Evaluation Research), Nursing and Midwifery Research Unit

For more information on all of these posts and to apply online please visit http://www.qub.ac.uk/jobs Informal enquiries regarding these posts may be directed to Dr Andy Biggart, Centre for Effective Education, Telephone: (028) 9097 5946 or Email: a.biggart@qub.ac.uk

The closing date for applications is Friday 25 September 2009 at 4 pm.

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First issue of new journal, 'Effective Education', published

The first issue of the new, international journal ‘Effective Education’ has just been published. Improving Children’s Lives Director, Professor Paul Connolly, is the founding editor of the journal and the journal is run from the Centre for Effective Education based within the School of Education at Queen’s. The journal has an impressive international Editorial Board and seeks to play a leading role in shaping the field of research into the effectiveness of educational programs, interventions and differing types of provision. What makes the journal distinctive is its aim of creating a space for critical debate and encouraging new ways of thinking in relation to evaluative research in education.

Published by Routledge Journals (an imprint of Taylor and Francis), the first issue is available to view online for free at the Effective Education journal website. Professor Connolly said: “I am absolutely delighted to see the first issue in print. A lot of hard work has gone into preparing this and I would like to thank all of the members of the Editorial Board, the publishers and also Joanne Mulgrew, at the Centre for Effective Education, who has done a terrific job as the Editorial Assistant for the journal. I am also grateful to The Atlantic Philanthropies for part-sponsoring the journal.”

He continued: “In seeking to promote rigorous, high quality research into the effectiveness of educational programmes and interventions and to do this in an inclusive way that encourages critical debate and dialogue, the journal very much seeks to take forward the work of Improving Children’s Lives in the field of education. Indeed this first issue includes an article by Laura Lundy and Lesley McEvoy that reports on one of the recently completed projects within the Centre for Effective Education that has sought to develop a children’s right-based approach to undertaking outcomes-focused research with children.”

For more information contact: Professor Paul Connolly.

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CEE publishes report on one of largest ever evaluations of pupil mentoring schemes

The Centre for Effective Education at Queen's has just published the findings of one of the largest ever randomised controlled trial evaluations of a pupil mentoring scheme. The trial, involving 734 9-10 year old children from 50 primary schools in Northern Ireland, ran for two years and was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of Business in the Community's Time to Read programme. The programme involved volunteers from local businesses visiting schools once per week to listen to children read.

The evaluation used a mixed methods design and included a qualitative element running alongside the randomised trial. The findings from the qualitative element confirmed the findings of previous evaluations that Time to Read was extremely well received by all of those involved, including the children, teachers and volunteer mentors. There was also a strong belief that the programme was having a positive effect especially in relation to the children's enjoyment of reading and their confidence as readers.

The findings from the randomised trial suggested that the Time to Read programme was having a positive effect on the children's future aspirations. However, the trial was unable to find quantitative evidence that the programme had any effect in relation to the other three outcomes focused on (the children's general levels of self-esteem, their enjoyment of education in general and their reading skills). The report argues strongly that these findings need to be treated with caution. It is stressed that while the trial has been unable to find quantitative evidence that the programme has had an effect in these three specific areas, this does not mean that it is not having effects in other areas.

Dr Sarah Miller, the Principal Investigator for the research, said: "This is an extremely important report that presents the findings of one of the largest and most robust evaluations ever undertaken internationally on volunteer mentoring programmes. For this particular trial, we have found strong evidence of a positive effect in relation to Time to Read increasing children's future aspirations. However the evidence in relation to the other outcomes is inconclusive."

"It is important to note that the design for this evaluation and the outcomes focused on were pre-specified and given before we as a research team were commissioned to undertake the evaluation. As we explain in our report, our findings suggest that the outcomes specified may have been too general in nature and possibly not specific enough to capture the particular effects the Time to Read programme may have been having."

As Dr Miller went on to explain: "The findings from the qualitative interviews indicated, for example, that there was a strong belief that the programme was having a positive effect in relation to improving the children's confidence as readers and also their enjoyment of reading. Unfortunately, the evaluation, as pre-specified, only focused on children's general levels of confidence and also their enjoyment of education in general. There is actually little evidence in the research literature that factors such as general self-esteem are related to educational attainment. However there is much stronger evidence that particular aspects of self-esteem - such as academic self-esteem - are related to how well children do."

In commenting on these findings Professor Paul Connolly, Director of the Centre for Effective Education, said: "This is a very valuable study that not only provides some of the strongest evidence available to date concerning the effects of volunteer mentoring schemes but also contains important lessons for the design and conduct of evaluations in education. We are continuing to work very closely with Business in the Community and are currently exploring the possibility of conducting a second, follow-up evaluation of the Time to Read programme. For this second evaluation we would be involved directly in working with Business in the Community to identify and select the outcomes to use. We would do this in careful consultation with all of the key stakeholders involved and would ensure that the outcomes chosen are more closely matched to the programme and better reflect the current state of the research evidence in this area."

To download copies of the report please click here. For more information please contact Dr Sarah Miller on (028) 9097 5944 or at: s.j.miller@qub.ac.uk

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Queen’s and Lifestart offer free support to parents

Time is running out for parents to access the free advice and support on offer in a study being conducted by jointly by the Institute of Child Care Research and the Centre for Effective Education on behalf of the Lifestart Foundation.

Researchers are looking for parents with babies under 12 months to take part in one of the largest studies of families and parenting ever undertaken on the island of Ireland.

The aim of the Lifestart Study is to evaluate the Lifestart Home Based Parenting Programme.  Those who participate will receive free feedback on their child’s development. Over 300 families have already signed up for the study. The researchers are particularly calling on parents in Derry, Dungiven, Enniskillen, Strabane, Limavady, Lifford, Letterkenny, Newtowncunningham, Inishowen, Donegal Town, Ballymunn (Dublin), Sligo, Offaly and Kildare to take part.

The study, funded by Atlantic Philanthropies, is being led by Dr Sarah Miller from the Centre for Effective Education and Dr Helga Sneddon from the Institute of Child Care Research. Dr Sneddon said: "The Lifestart programme aims to support families, with children aged from birth to five, through the ups and downs of parenting by helping them learn and understand more about their child’s development on a month by month basis.

“Of the 500 families we are seeking to take part in this research, 250 of them will be entered into the Lifestart programme. This will allow us to find out more about their experiences of parenting compared to those who are not involved in the Lifestart programme.

“The Lifestart Study will evaluate how well the Lifestart Home Based Parenting Programme works for parents and children.  Rather than making assumptions about what we think parents need, we are giving them the opportunity to share directly with us their experiences and the type of support they find useful in their role as parents.

“Those families who volunteer to take part in The Lifestart Study will be visited by us in their homes during their child’s first year, again when the child is two, and finally when the child is five years old. Throughout this time, we will talk with mums and dads about their parenting experiences and be able to provide some useful free feedback to them on their child’s development.

“Participating in the study will help us improve early years parenting support and identify gaps in the services available to parents throughout Ireland.  Anyone who is interested in taking part should contact us for more information before the end of June. From Northern Ireland freephone 0800 0855031 or text 07870 509677, from the Republic of Ireland freephone 1800 818 688 or text 08583 48617; or email lifestartstudy@qub.ac.uk”

Pauline McClenaghan, Executive Director of the Lifestart Foundation, said: "This evaluation is very important to Lifestart and to local parents. We believe that the Lifestart Programme is a very useful resource for parents in that it provides them with information and tools to support their child’s learning and development. We at Lifestart are delighted that our programme has been chosen for this study."

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Seven New ICL Research Fellow Posts Advertised

Applications are currently being invited for seven new full-time Research Fellow posts to be located across a range of Centres, Units and Institutes within Queen’s. The seven posts are part of the next phase of investment in Improving Children’s Lives. The aim of the posts will be to build research expertise across the University in relation to a range of differing methods and methodologies. Successful candidates will be expected to develop their own expertise and work with colleagues to help build research capacity across the University and to secure external research funding. The seven posts, and where they are to be located, are:

• Research Fellow (Children's Rights), Centre for Effective Education

• Research Fellow (Epidemiological Research), Department of Child Health/Centre for Public Health

• Research Fellow (Qualitative Research with Children), Family Policy and Child Welfare Research Cluster

• Research Statistician (Epidemiological and Evaluation Research), Institute of Child Care Research

• Research Fellow (Systematic Reviews), Institute of Child Care Research

• Research Fellow (RCTs and Evaluation Research), Nursing and Midwifery Research Unit

• Research Fellow (Longitudinal Research), Cognition, Development and Education Research Cluster

For more information on all of these posts and to apply online please visit http://www.qub.ac.uk/jobs Informal enquiries regarding these posts may be directed to Dr Liam O’Hare, Centre for Effective Education, Telephone: (028) 9097 5973 or Email: l.ohare@qub.ac.uk

The closing date for applications is Friday 29 May 2009.

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Director of ICL Advises UNICEF on Evaluation

Professor Paul Connolly, Director of Improving Children’s Lives and of the Centre for Effective Education at Queen’s, was recently invited by UNICEF to attend a series of meetings at their headquarters in New York to advise on the development of a global communication for development strategy to address violence against children.

UNICEF are considering ways of using the media effectively to promote positive attitudes and behaviour and to reduce violence against young children. The invitation to attend the strategy meetings reflected the growing international reputation that the CEE has acquired for its work in evaluating the effectiveness of early childhood initiatives, including those involving the media. This work includes a major evaluation of the effectiveness of the Media Initiative for Children – Northern Ireland as well as an evaluation of the impact of Sesame Tree, the Northern Ireland version of Sesame Street, on young children’s attitudes and behaviour.

Professor Connolly said: “I was delighted to be invited to these meetings and see this as reflecting international recognition of the groundbreaking evaluative work we are undertaking in this area. Discussions were at a very early stage but a number of very exciting ideas were raised. To be invited to offer advice on research and evaluation and to participate in such meetings at this early stage is an honour.”

For more information please contact Professor Paul Connolly.

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The Research Forum for the Child at Queen’s has established a new Special Interest Group (SIG) which will focus on health-related quality of life (QOL) among children and young people. One of the most recently-developed measures of QOL, used by researchers from a variety of disciplines at Queen’s, is the Kidscreen. In October 2008, these researchers met to discuss their work and share ideas with each other. At Queen’s, the Kidscreen has been used to examine the health-related QOL of children in Northern Ireland including children with disabilities as well as those from minority ethnic communities and from disadvantaged backgrounds. The discussion within the group centred on the key themes of the psychometric properties of the Kidscreen and what the questionnaire is actually measuring.

At its second meeting, in February 2009, the group noted the paucity of journal articles relating to the Kidscreen.  Most common were articles relating to the development of the Kidscreen and its psychometric properties which were produced by the team that designed the measure. To address this deficit, the group is aiming to produce a publication focusing on the use of the Kidscreen in Northern Ireland.

Professor Ulrike Ravens-Sieberer, one of the team that designed the Kidscreen, has been invited to present a paper at the Forum’s seminar in June 2009. She will also be asked to write a foreword for the Queen’s Kidscreen publication.

If you have used the Kidscreen and would like to contribute to the publication, or you are interested in health-related quality of life among children and young people, please contact Katrina Lloyd at: k.lloyd@qub.ac.uk

The next meeting of the group will be held on Friday 20^th March 2009 in Room G6 in the School of Education at 12.00pm.

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