The Real Project Revisited: A Longitudinal Study, With a Mixed Methods Design, of an Intervention for Academically Able Boys at Homewood School & Sixth Form Centre

Abstract

Homewood School & Sixth Form Centre is a secondary day school academy in rural Kent. A New Philanthropy Capital’s well-being survey in March 2014 highlighted questions about the well-being of high-attaining boys and, in particular, their satisfaction with their friendships. This longitudinal case study reports the use of both qualitative and quantitative data, to measure the impact of the intervention (The Real Project), on both well-being and academic outcomes.

The eight sequential strands of this mixed methods case study occurred over a period of 27 months and are summarized. New Philanthropy Capital’s Well-being Measure was used to survey 30 high-achieving boys in Science. The use of qualitative feedback and survey data was combined with quantitative analysis of public examination results to assess the impact of the project over a 2-year period.

The feedback from participants who took part in the Real Project showed that 95% rated it as good or excellent. A follow-up of their well-being showed improvements in the domains relating to self-esteem and friendships. The analysis of their General Certificate of Secondary Education exam results showed that the boys who had taken part in the real project had superior outcomes to both their own ability band and the year group as a total.

The adoption of a longitudinal view recognizes that teaching practice can have both short-, medium-, and long-term outcomes. The integration of an impact evaluation and an implementation evaluation allows a better understanding of the outcomes and the factors influencing them.

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