Title

Randomised Controlled Trial Evaluation of ‘Doodle Den’, an After-Schools Programme to Improve Literacy Among 5-6 Years Olds in Tallaght, Dublin

Research Team

Dr Andy Biggart (Joint PI), Dr Liam O’Hare (Joint PI), Professor Paul Connolly, Dr Karen Kerr , Professor Carol McGuinness .

Timescale

September 2008 – December 2011

Funder

Tallaght West Child Development Initiative

Aims and Objectives

To evaluate the effectiveness of an out-of-schools programme – ‘Doodle Den’ – in improving literacy skills among 5-6 year olds.

Methodology

A randomised controlled trial was used for the main evaluation. Approximately 210 children from seven schools were referred each year and randomly assigned to the programme or the control group. The programme ran for 36 weeks throughout the school year. The first cohort of children began in October 2008 and there were two successive cohorts of 210 children in October 2009 and October 2010. The main analysis was based on pooling the 630 children together. Programme delivery and fidelity were also monitored through the year and in-depth qualitative data gathered through interviews with children, teachers and parents regarding their experiences of and perspectives on the programme.

Outputs

Interim reports were provided to the funders in September of each year and a final draft report was delivered to the funders in early 2012. A copy of the report, when finalised, will be available on the website.

Further Information

For further information please contact Dr Andy Biggart