Closing the Knowledge gap? Evaluating Letterbox Club in a Danish context

Last registered on May 07, 2019
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Closing the Knowledge gap? Evaluating Letterbox Club in a Danish context
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0001564
Initial registration date
May 06, 2019

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
May 07, 2019, 10:18 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
Denmark
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Michael Rosholm
Affiliation
Aarhus University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2016-08-01
End date
2016-12-23
Keywords
Education, Welfare
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
The study investigates the effects of a home-based intervention, Letterbox Club, in a Danish context on disadvantaged children's reading and mathematical skills. In Denmark, disadvantaged children, defined as children who receive in-home public interventions or children in foster care, do considerably worse in school than other children. The knowledge gap exists already at school start and it is not reduced during school years.

In Letterbox Club the children receive six packages every third week over the course of 16 weeks. The packages contain reading, writing and mathematical material. The packages also include games and a personal letter to the child from a role model. The effects of the intervention will be evaluated in a randomized control trial.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Rosholm, Michael. 2019. "Closing the Knowledge gap? Evaluating Letterbox Club in a Danish context ." AEA RCT Registry. May 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.1564-1.0
Former Citation
Rosholm, Michael. 2019. "Closing the Knowledge gap? Evaluating Letterbox Club in a Danish context ." AEA RCT Registry. May 07. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/1564/history/46057
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Club Letterbox in a Danish context is inspired by the British Club Letterbox. In the Danish version disadvantaged children receive a package every third week over the course of 16 weeks. The packages contain material for reading and writing, mathematical exercises and games. The packages also include a letter for the child from a role model and a letter to the parents or foster parents, describing the content of the package.
Intervention Start Date
2016-08-22
Intervention End Date
2016-12-05

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The key outcome variable is:
National tests in Danish in grades 3/5
1) Test scores in literacy and maths. This outcome is based on volunteer national tests.
2) Well-being. Measured by the mandatory national wellbeing survey.
3) Strengths and Difficulties. Measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
SDQ
National well-being tests
Nationl tests in Mathematics
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The intervention is implemented in two rounds: In the autumn of 2016 and 2017. All Danish children in 3. or 5. grade who are in foster care or receive a home-based intervention are invited to sign up for the experiment through the municipality.

The randomization is made at individual level. First the individuals are stratified according to the type of public support (home-based intervention versus foster care) and the class level (3. grade versus 5. grade). Afterwards half of the children are randomized into the intervention group, and the other half is randomized into the control group. The experiment is designed as a wait list control design, so that the children in the control group will receive the intervention after the experiment.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
The randomization was done in an office by a computer (in Stata).
Randomization Unit
The randomization was made at individual level
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
325
Sample size: planned number of observations
325
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Intervention group: 160, Control group: 160
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials