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THE BOOKWORM CLUBEavan Brady
Trisha Hendsbee
Angus Francis
Michael Justinich
THE BOOKWORM!
ONTARIO, CANADA
Where the Bookworm lives!
HIGHLAND SHORES CHILDREN’S AID, BELLEVILLE, ONTARIO
WHAT IS THE BOOKWORM CLUB?
Literacy program for children living in out-of-home care
Packages mailed personally to the children once a month for 6 months of the year (July-December)
Packages contain developmentally appropriate books, games, and other materials
Closely modelled on the UK-based Letterbox Club
WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE BOOKWORM CLUB?
To improve literacy, motivation for reading, and educational outcomes for children in out-of-home care.
EVOLUTION OF THE BOOKWORM CLUB
2011: Improving Educational Outcomes for Children in Care Learning EventRose Griffiths “The Letterbox Club” (Thank you, Rose!)
2012: Year 1 Pilot12 Children’s Aids Societies in Ontario131 Children and Foster Caregivers (ages 6-13,
English/French)Staffed by volunteers
EVOLUTION OF THE BOOKWORM CLUB (CONT.)
2013: Year 222 Children’s Aid Societies in Ontario532 Children and Caregivers (reading levels 1-8, English/French)Hiring of part-time coordinator to manage the program
2014: Year 3Sustainable program, no longer a pilot project20 Children’s Aid Societies in Ontario1,147 children and caregivers Introduction of e-Reader (KOBO) project Expansion to high school students
2012 2013 20140
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
131
532
1147
NUMBER OF CHILDREN PARTICIPATING IN THE BOOKWORM CLUB: 2012-2014
EVALUATION OF THE BOOKWORM CLUB
Year 1 (2012) & Year 2 (2013)Mixed-methods designQuantitative:
Pre- and post- questionnaires completed by child & foster caregiver
Qualitative:Telephone interviews with foster caregiversLetters from children to the ‘Bookworm’
QUANTITATIVE DATA: KEY VARIABLES MEASURED
1) Child self-esteem
2) Child motivation for reading
3) Child-caregiver relationship (according to child)
4) Child-caregiver relationship (according to foster caregiver)
5) Literacy environment
6) Foster parent educational expectations of child
2012 EVALUATION Quantitative
n = 87 children, n = 87 foster caregivers One of six key variables significantly increased: Child’s motivation for reading
Qualitative: Foster Caregiver Interviews (n = 9) Impact on the child: A sense of belonging & sharing Transfer of learning and developmental matching. The key role of social workers: The importance of evaluation, managing
different experiences Qualitative Children’s Letters (n = 30)
2013 EVALUATION: QUANTITATIVE 467 children and foster caregivers (n=453) pre-tests 330 children and foster caregivers (n=330) post-tests Grouped Data:
Children: according to grade comparison level Foster caregivers: according to education level
Findings: Self-esteem levels significantly decreased for children at grade level Child-foster caregiver relationship (according to foster caregiver) significantly
decreased for high school or less and some college/some university
QUALITATIVE: FOSTER CAREGIVER INTERVIEWS (N = 6)
Key themes:1) Impact on Child’s Reading
2) Child’s Experience of the Bookworm Club
3) Involvement of Foster Family in Supporting Program Experience
4) Suitability of Books & Materials
QUALITATIVE: CHILDREN’S LETTERS TO THE BOOKWORM (N=140)
IMPLICATIONS OF FINDINGS & LESSONS LEARNED Without a control group we cannot infer causality We need to review our goal and outcome measures!
Program development and evaluation: Involve foster caregivers and practitioners Use qualitative results from the 2012 and 2013 evaluations to guide future evaluation Researchers and practitioners: Promote culture of collaboration and understanding
Support for foster caregivers Ensure children who are signed up are suited to program: Reading ability
matches books, unless foster caregiver will work and support child through it, ensure reading level not too far below actual age
POTENTIAL AREAS FOR FUTURE PROGRAM & EVALUATION DEVELOPMENT Children’s love of reading Children’s excitement to receive mail addressed to them Concept of building their own “library” Bookworm Club notations in agency planning documents and other
educational reviews Repeat registrants in the Bookworm Club Sharing of books with siblings/other foster children A sense of being part of a club/larger group Reading behaviours Explore association between foster caregiver-child relationship and
reading among younger children Exploring confidence and self esteem related to developmental assets
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Research can be fun!What you expect to find is not always what you
find. Research is always evolutionary.
Eavan Brady [email protected]
Trisha Hendsbee [email protected]
Angus Francis [email protected]
Michael Justinich [email protected]
www.thebookwormclub.ca
Questions!
