The Bookworm Club

1. The Bookworm Club Eavan Brady Trisha Hendsbee Angus Francis Michael Justinich

2. The Bookworm!

3. Ontario, Canada

4. Highland Shores Children’s Aid, Belleville, Ontario Where the Bookworm lives!

5. 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

6. What is the Goal of the Bookworm Club? To improve literacy, motivation for reading, and educational outcomes for children in out-of-home care.

7. Evolution of the Bookworm Club • 2011: Improving Educational Outcomes for Children in Care Learning Event • Rose Griffiths “The Letterbox Club” (Thank you, Rose!) • 2012: Year 1 Pilot • 12 Children’s Aids Societies in Ontario • 131 Children and Foster Caregivers (ages 6-13, English/French) • Staffed by volunteers

8. Evolution of the Bookworm Club (Cont.) • 2013: Year 2 • 22 Children’s Aid Societies in Ontario • 532 Children and Caregivers (reading levels 1-8, English/French) • Hiring of part-time coordinator to manage the program • 2014: Year 3 • Sustainable program, no longer a pilot project • 20 Children’s Aid Societies in Ontario • 1,147 children and caregivers • Introduction of e-Reader (KOBO) project • Expansion to high school students

9. Number of Children participating in the Bookworm Club: 2012-2014

10. Evaluation of the Bookworm Club • Year 1 (2012) & Year 2 (2013) • Mixed-methods design • Quantitative: • Pre- and post- questionnaires completed by child & foster caregiver • Qualitative: • Telephone interviews with foster caregivers • Letters from children to the ‘Bookworm’

11. Quantitative Data: Key Variables Measured • Child self-esteem • Child motivation for reading • Child-caregiver relationship (according to child) • Child-caregiver relationship (according to foster caregiver) • Literacy environment • Foster parent educational expectations of child

12. 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)

13. 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

14. Qualitative: Foster Caregiver Interviews (n = 6) • Key themes: • Impact on Child’s Reading • Child’s Experience of the Bookworm Club • Involvement of Foster Family in Supporting Program Experience • Suitability of Books & Materials

15. Qualitative: Children’s Letters to the Bookworm (n=140)

16. 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

17. 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

18. Final Thoughts: • Research can be fun! • What you expect to find is not always what you find. • Research is always evolutionary.

19. www.thebookwormclub.ca Questions! Eavan Brady ebrady@partcanada.org Trisha HendsbeeTrisha.Hendsbee@durhamcas.ca Angus Francis angus.francis@highlandshorescas.com Michael Justinich michael.justinich@casott.on.ca