Transcript here - F2 Centre

Baseline research for the
development of the Rialto
Learning Community
Dr Michelle Share
Children’s Research Centre
Trinity College Dublin
1 December 2009
1
Presentation purpose
• provide stakeholders with an overview of
the research
• outline key findings & issues for
consideration for future development of
RLC
2
Overview
1. study background and purpose
2. how the research was carried out/who was
involved
3. key findings from:
•
•
•
•
students
parents
OST staff
teachers
4. conclusion: issues for consideration for
development of RLC
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Background: development of the
Rialto Learning Community
• merger of clubs
• areas undergoing regeneration
• evidence and experience about benefit of
the Arts
• evidence on educational need
• alignment with social policy
• evidence on the effectiveness of schoolcommunity OST interventions
4
Study purpose
• baseline data on the provision of out of school
time activities in the Rialto area
- inform development
- evaluation strategy
• young people at Fatima and Dolphin Homework
Clubs aged 11-14 and a comparison group
• well-being (personal, relational and educational)
• level of engagement with and attitudes to OST
services
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Other stakeholders’ views on OST
services
•
•
•
•
parents
teachers
homework club and youth project staff
data collection November 2008 to March
2009
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Overview of methods and
participants
Student survey (n = 142)
(73: RLC; 69: CG)
Focus groups young people (n = 15)
Parent survey (n = 40)
Focus groups parents (n = 6)
Pilot observation of 2 OST
settings
Interviews teachers (n = 11)
School level data collection
(n = 122)
Interviews with OST project leaders (n =
3)
Focus groups OST project staff (n = 13)
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key findings: students
•
•
•
•
student characteristics
level of participation in OST activities
attitudes to school and learning
school data
– attendance
– results in standardised tests
– learning support
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Student characteristics
• 58% girls; 42% boys
• 10-15 years; 81% 11-14 yrs; mean 12.1
years
• 52% primary school
• 48% secondary school
• 99% study group v 81% comparison group
born in Ireland
• 47% study group v 59% comparison group
living in 2 parent households
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Participation in OST activities
• majority positive about
their after school clubs
• social rather than
educational benefits
• positive attitudes toward
staff
• study group very busy
with extracurricular
activities
• prefer community-based
clubs
• non-participation: not
interested in activities/
friends don’t attend
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Participation in spare time activities
80
70
60
%
50
40
30
20
10
0
watch tv
computers
sport/games
music
dance
art and crafts
reading
maths
drama
trips away
activity
Study (n=73)
comparison (n=69)
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Attitudes to school and learning
• vast majority happy at
school
• positive attitudes to
learning
• vast majority received
homework and got it done
on time
• just over half asked for
help with their homework
• study group more likely to
display negative attitudes
to school
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School data
• attendance
• standardised test
results
• learning support
• school behaviour
•122 students (86%)
in 8 schools
• 50% primary; 50%
secondary
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School attendance (primary)
• average number of days missed 17
• missed a higher percentage of school
days than national population (9% v 6%)
• similar to rates of absenteeism for DEIS
schools
• absenteeism greater among boys
• higher rates among study group children
• absence of 20 days or more less positive
attitudes to school
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Number of days missed in primary school
during the year 2007/8 (n = 58)
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
0-4 days
5-9 days
10-14 days
15-19 days
20-29 days 30 days or more
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Number of days missed in primary
school 2007/8
study/comparison group (n = 58)
50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
0-4 days
5-9 days
10-14 days
Study group
15-19 days
Comparison group
20 days or more
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School attendance (secondary)
• missed a higher percentage of school
days than national population (13% v 8%)
• higher rates of serious absence (21% v
16%) (20 days+) but in line with DEIS
schools
• no differences by gender
• little difference between study and
comparison groups
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Percentage of secondary school days missed
2008/9 by study/comparison group
(n = 61)
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
0-4%
5-9%
10-14%
15-19%
20% or more
% of days missed
Study
Comparison
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Standardised test results (reading
literacy)
Primary (Micra-T/ Drumcondra)
• 32% ‘average’ score for reading ability
• 29% ‘below average’
• 27% ‘well below average’
• over represented in ‘below average’ and
under represented in ‘above average’
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Primary school students’ Micra-T Sten scores
compared to expected scores in the national
population (n = 56)
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
well above average
above average
average
Young people in study
below average
National population
well below average
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Numeracy
Primary Sigma-T
• 23% ‘average’
• 39% ‘well-below average’
• 20% ‘below average’
• 13% ‘well-above average’
• study group more likely to score below
average than comparison group (78% v
41%)
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Primary Students’ Sigma-T sten
scores compared to expected scores
in the national population (n = 56)
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
well above average
above average
average
below average
Young people in study
National population
well below average
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Secondary students’ standardised
test results
• majority had reading age below their
chronological age at time of sitting school
entrance exam (2.3 years below actual
age)
• 84% ‘below average’ when they sat school
entrance exam
• no gender or comparison group
differences
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Educational progress and
aspirations
• majority expected to sit the LC exam
• twice as many ‘Don’t know’ in study group (18% v 7%)
• students with literacy difficulties in secondary school less
likely to expect to sit the LC
• those with literacy difficulties in the study group less
likely to have expectations for further education
• 4 out of 10 of study group expect to go on to further
education
• no relationship between educational progress and selfesteem
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School behaviour and learning
support
School behaviour
• 8 out of 122 had received
suspensions
• but higher rate of
suspensions than those
in the national population
• primary (7% v 0.3%);
secondary (7% v 5%)
• boys more likely to be
suspended than girls
Learning support
• 43% had received some
form of learning support
• more likely for boys than
girls
• little difference between
primary and secondary
• one third - Junior
Certificate Schools
Programme
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Key findings: parents
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high level of satisfaction with hw clubs
important in helping children get their homework done
children attend for the activities
boosted confidence
helped with subjects in which parents could not assist
one third of parents unable to get involved
parents reported positive attitudes towards school –
connected and comfortable
• just over half felt that the club connected them with the
school
• changes to space, hours of operation and staffing levels
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He loves it…. and they have the patience and the time and all, well
that’ s what I think, and they put it into the kids. (Parent 2)
I think that they feel at home. They’ve always felt at home in the
homework club. (Parent 1)
I think the homework club is just more real. It meets the child where
the child’s at I think. Whereas school, like, they don’t have the time
to do that, even if they’d like to do it, whereas here the time is
prioritised. As everyone is saying [other parents in the focus group],
it’s not just looking at doing their homework, it’s all the other bits that
fits in a child’s life, do you know that way? So, it’s built around that.
(Parent 6)
I find it brilliant for the kids and my child – they have different
education from us – it really helps. I would be lost and he would be
lost without the homework club (Parent survey comment)
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Key findings: OST practitioners
• importance of establishing a routine of doing
homework
• provision of additional support - exam time
• strong focus on creative arts
• more than just homework support – safety,
listening ear, positive relationships
• limited involvement with parents
• systems within schools as barriers to
progression
• need for better connections between school and
community OST services
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Believe it or not, there’s actually a lot available…now, the quality of which I
would question, but there is a lot available. It’s ridiculous when you’re trying to
organise something because there is majorettes on a Monday, Tuesday, Friday
and Saturday. There’s hip hop on Wednesday, Saturday and then there are
competitions on Sunday. There is training every Tuesday and Thursday, literally
for 9 months of the year. There is Ferrini Youth Club on Friday. There is the
church drop in on Tuesday. And that’s not mentioning anything that the
homework club or the youth project do. (OST leader 1)
I would say the very serious kids, that we haven’t got the resources to, you’re
talking that are 4 to 5 years behind their reading age. None of us would say
that we can get that child back up with the resources that we have now, can get
that child at her reading age in 12 months. (OST leader 1)
They’ve been streamed into all ordinary or foundation subjects, by the time
they even get to secondary school. So, the decisions about their future have
already been made for them. So, you’re dealing then with young people who are
saying that they would like to go onto further education and that the road is very
long for that because they don’t have in school what they need to have to
do that. (OST staff 14)
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Key findings: teachers (1)
• some awareness of what children did after
school
• social benefits
• limited knowledge of the operation of the
homework clubs
• links with clubs mainly related to student
difficulties
• issues of overlap and differing
methodologies
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Key findings teachers (2)
• numerous factors influence educational
outcomes
• parents key
• parents’ past educational experiences
• low level expectations
• difficulties of engaging parents generally
• HSCL teachers and JCSP link with parents
• overlap of community and school-based parent
programmes
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Issues for consideration for the
future RLC
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links with schools and parents
RLC target group
complementary methodologies
actions to improve school attendance
curriculum alignment
innovative work with literacy and
numeracy through the creative arts
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Acknowledgements
• Co-authors Fiona Daly, Sinéad Shannon,
Prof Sheila Greene
• Expert Advisory Committee
• Rialto Learning Community Management
Committee
• Teachers and Principals in local schools
• Staff of Dolphin and Fatima Home work
Clubs and Rialto Youth Project
• Young people and parent participants
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