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Mooney, Jennifer

Year of Entry: 2012

Email: jmooney06@qub.ac.uk

Project Title:

A Randomised Controlled Trial Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Letterbox Club in Improving Educational Outcomes among Children Aged 7-11 Years in Foster Care In Northern Ireland.

Summary of Research:

My research focuses on an intervention aimed at looked after children in KS2. The Letterbox Club provides books, stationary items and numeracy games to children in public care. Children receive a parcel a month for six months in a bid to increase their reading and numeracy scores. Materials are sent to the child’s place of residence, in parcels addressed to the child, and how the materials are used is up to them.

Past evaluations on the project show encouraging results in terms of connecting with the materials and increasing test scores. However these evaluations focused on qualitative data and did not include a control group for comparison.  This current study will include a large quantitative study, consisting of pre and post tests for both intervention and control groups. Testing will occur in April, November and again in April and will be followed up by qualitative interviews with the foster children.

Personal Statement:

Since graduating in 2009 I have worked as a teacher in inner city schools, where many of the pupils are in kinship or foster placements. As a teacher I was acutely aware that many children are at risk of academic underachievement, and not enough interventions exist to target these groups. I completed a MEd in Special Needs and Inclusion in 2012.

Research Centre:

Centre for Effective Education

Supervisors:

Prof Paul Connolly, Dr Karen Winter