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On the feasibility of conducting randomised trials in education: case study of a sex education intervention
Author(s) -
Moore Laurence,
Graham Anna,
Diamond Ian
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
british educational research journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.171
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1469-3518
pISSN - 0141-1926
DOI - 10.1080/0141192032000133712
Subject(s) - intervention (counseling) , psychological intervention , emergency contraception , randomized controlled trial , medical education , medicine , test (biology) , research design , psychology , family medicine , nursing , population , research methodology , family planning , sociology , social science , paleontology , environmental health , surgery , biology
Abstract This article reports on the conduct and results of a randomised controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a teacher‐led intervention to improve teenagers' knowledge of emergency contraception. The trial was successfully conducted in 24 mixed‐sex state secondary schools in Avon, South‐west England. The intervention was popular with both teachers and pupils, and significantly improved pupils' knowledge of emergency contraception. The article uses the emergency contraception trial to demonstrate the feasibility of conducting large‐scale randomised trials in schools. The article focuses particularly on study design, specification of research question, recruitment of schools and method of randomisation to highlight methodological choices that can maximise the feasibility and value of such trials to answer questions regarding the effectiveness of complex educational interventions. The article also highlights the importance of using theory and mixed research methods both to thoroughly develop an intervention before it is tested in a trial, and also to evaluate factors affecting its success within a trial.