YWEP

Evaluation of the An Cosán VCC Young Women’s Education Programme

Overview and Objectives

Recent research has shown that just over 40% of lone parents in Ireland have not completed second level education. Unemployment and underemployment have also been shown to be consistently higher for those who parent alone than for parents in couples. Early school leaving and unemployment have been found to have serious deleterious outcomes for the individual and increases the risk of socioeconomic disadvantage, welfare dependence, deprivation, poverty and consistent poverty. A significant body of research also provides convincing evidence for the association between early school leaving and unemployment and poorer life prospects and quality of life, health problems and mental health difficulties. Employment barriers experienced by young women who parent alone are many and include obstacles to participating in education and achieving qualifications, childcare availability and costs, flexible employment arrangements, adequacy of income and rising living costs.

An Cosán has designed the YWEP for young women who parent alone and who are aged between 18 to 30 years. An Cosán have an established track record in community-education and through their Virtual Community College (VCC) provide accessible learning opportunities. The YWEP offers young women, who have often experienced significant barriers to educational attainment an opportunity, through a substantial programme of education that is aimed at supporting access to well-paid employment and empowering them to achieve their potential and, in turn, support their child’s/children’s developmental potential. The programme is delivered to participants recruited from two sites in Tallaght (Dublin West) and the North East Inner City.

The overarching aim of this research is to assess the effectiveness and explore the implementation of the YWEP.

The specific objectives of this multicomponent research programme were to:

Appraise the evidence-base for the current intervention;
Assess the extent to which the YWEP leads to positive outcomes for young women who parent alone;
Identify and explore the inhibitive and facilitative factors which impact on the implementation, delivery and outcomes of the programme.

Activities/Outputs

The initial focus of the research programme involved familiarisation and preparation and working with An Cosán / The Shanty Educational Programme to inform the development and implementation of the research. This included a desk-based scoping exercise to assess and finalise the proposed methodology. An in-depth appraisal of relevant national and international literature was conducted in order to outline the evidence-base for the YWEP. Designing and implementing a longitudinal (before-and-after) study to assess the effectiveness of the YWEP in promoting positive outcomes in relation to educational attainment, employment/employability, financial health and overall wellbeing amongst young women who parent alone. A parallel process evaluation was conducted to explore the delivery of the YWEP, understand the factors which influence programme success and identify challenges/barriers to programme implementation. A draft evaluation report and a final report will be developed and submitted at the end of the study to The Shanty Educational Project based on the findings of the research.

Impact

This research will aid the understanding of the impact of the programme on the education attainment, employment and general wellbeing of young women (18 – 30 years) who parent alone and present, in a report, the factors which influence, either positively or negatively, the outcomes of the YWEP. It is hoped that this report will highlight the importance of the programme for its participants and aid its future improvements.