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11 April 2014

New Collaboration Set to Improve Education Provision for Armed Forces Children

A new collaboration between RCET and the University of Stirling

Ground-Breaking Collaboration to Improve Education Provision for Armed Forces Children in Scotland

A new collaboration between the Royal Caledonian Education Trust (RCET) and the University of Stirling will improve educational support for Armed Forces children.

The RCET and the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science are jointly funding a post-graduate studentship at the University of Stirling. Believed to be the first research of its type to be undertaken in the UK, the study will address the current lack of understanding about the ways in which children of Armed Forces families experience school.

The research will also identify successful school procedures and targeted interventions that can support pupils, particularly during heightened periods of stress such as the deployment of a parent to a conflict zone.

Dr Christine Stephen, School of Education, University of Stirling said:
“This is an under-researched area largely dominated by studies in the US which focus on the impact of stress on the educational attainment and behaviour of children from military families.

“Teachers in the UK currently have little or no evidence to guide their endeavours to offer children from Armed Forces families an educational environment that is sensitive to their needs.”

The RCET, which also provides grants to those in need, says the research will play a pivotal role in its future work to assist schools improve the support they offer to children from Scottish Armed Forces families.

The RCET Education Programme Officer Moira Leslie said: “We know that Armed Forces children who experience frequent moving of home, schools and communities may not perform as well in school as non-mobile Armed Forces children.

“We also have lots of anecdotal evidence to support the view that the stresses of an absent parent to a conflict zone for some children causes anxieties that can influence their learning and behaviour.”

She added: “However we need empirical evidence that will bridge the gaps in our knowledge and provide a compelling case for embracing learning techniques, direct intervention programmes and teacher guidance that will make a difference in schools.”

The research will focus on capturing and analysing children’s perspectives of their educational experiences, using face to face data collection and the use of digital media such as video diaries.

For further details about the studentship and information about submitting an application see www.stir.ac.uk/education/research/studentships/

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