Research Reports

Evaluation of the Media Initiative for Children

A rigorous evaluation has been carried out on the Media Initiative for Children which took the form of a cluster randomised controlled trial, led by the Centre for Effective Education at Queen's University Belfast and in-depth qualitative case studies undertaken by the National Children's Bureau (NCB) and Stranmillis University College.

It involved 74 pre-school settings; 54 from Northern Ireland and 20 from counties Louth and Roscommon in the Republic of Ireland (10 per county).

A total of 1,181 children aged 3-4 years participated in the evaluation, together with 868 parents and 232 practitioners. The trial took place during the academic year 2008/09.

Robust evidence was found that the Media Initiative for Children achieved positive effects regarding children's attitudes and awareness in relation to their:

• Socio-emotional development
• Cultural awareness
• inclusive behaviour

Such effects were consistent across the whole sample of children and no differences were found between:

• Boys and girls
• Catholic and Protestant children
• Children from differing socio-economic backgrounds
• Children in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland