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Overview
My research interests revolve around three key
themes:
- Diversity and inclusion in early childhood.
I have a particular interest in exploring the ways in which factors
such as race/ethnicity, gender and social class articulate and
impact upon young children's social worlds. My work has been particularly
influenced by the theoretical insights provided by Pierre Bourdieu.
Much of my research in this area has been qualitative and ethnographic
in particular. However, I have been increasingly interested in
the use of quantitative methods and large-scale surveys to examine
broader variations and patterns in relation to young children's
attitudes and identities.
- Evaluation of educational programmes and interventions.
I am particularly interested in evaluating the effectiveness of
educational programmes and interventions, especially through the
use of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Within this I am keen
to develop approaches to undertaking RCTs that are open and inclusive
and where researchers work in partnership with practitioners and
service providers. One specific interest of mine is to develop
approaches to evaluation that are children's rights-based and
where, among other things, children's participation is actively
encouraged in the design, delivery and evaluation of children's
services.
- Quantitative methods and statistics in education.
One of my main interests here is contributing to the development
of research capacity in relation to the use of quantitative methods
in education. Beyond this, I am also interested in the use of
multivariate statistical techniques in the analysis of data from
large-scale surveys and RCTs. I have a particular interest in
the use of multilevel modelling in relation to both types of data
and am just beginning to explore the potential application of
Bayesian methods to the analysis of RCTs.
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Current Projects
Large-Scale Initiatives
Improving
Children’s Lives: An Interdisciplinary Research Initiative
at Queen’s University Belfast
Funders: The Atlantic Philanthropies, R&D Office, Queen's University
Belfast
Una
- A Global Learning Initiative on Children and Ethnic Diversity
Funders: Bernard van Leer Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies
Research Projects
Cluster
Randomised Controlled Trial Evaluation of the Effects of the Sesame
Tree Outreach Pack on 5-6 Year Old Children's Attitudes and Awareness
Sesame Workshop
Cluster
Randomised Controlled Trial Evaluation of the Effects of the Media
Initiative for Children on 3-4 Year ld Children’s Attitudes
Towards Diversity and the Republic of Ireland
Early Years - The Organisation for Young Children
Cluster
Randomised Controlled Trial Evaluation of the Effects of the ‘Eager
and Able to Learn’ Programme on 2-3 Year old Children’s
Early Dispositions Towards Education
Early Years - The Organisation for Young Children
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Recently Completed
Projects
Baseline
Survey and Literature Review Focusing on Educational Outcomes Among
Primary School Children Living in Disadvantaged Areas in Northern
Ireland
Funder: Barnardo's (Northern Ireland)
Baseline
Survey of the Levels of Social Exclusion Among Black and Minority
Ethnic Children in the Southern Area of Northern Ireland
Funder: Southern Area Children and Young People’s Committee
Cluster
Randomised Controlled Trial Evaluation of the Effects of Sesame
Tree on 5-6 Year Old Children's Attitudes and Awareness
Funder: Sesame Workshop
Randomised
Controlled Trial Evaluation of the ‘Time to Read’ Public
Mentoring Scheme Among 9-10 Year Olds
Funder: Business in the Community (Northern Ireland)
Naturalistic
Study of the Effects of Exposure to the Children's Television Series
Sesame Tree on 5-6 Year Old Children’s Attitudes and Awareness
in Northern Ireland
Funder: Sesame Workshop
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