This is a funded MbyRes, including a generous stipend and tuition fees, with well-resourced circumstances for a successful scholarship.
Here is an exciting opportunity to study how the newly developed online PERMA Wellbeing Tool is used and evaluated by schools, which could lead to entirely new approaches in helping to improve the mental health and wellbeing of pupils. The PERMA Wellbeing Tool is a questionnaire designed to provide a profile of a child’s wellbeing, which can be used to inform both the design and evaluation of wellbeing interventions.
The selected candidate will apply their research knowledge, skills and ambition to develop a greater understanding of how the PERMA wellbeing tool is used in schools and its impact on the wellbeing of pupils. This project, will allow the student to develop transferable knowledge and skills in this most exciting and active field of children’s mental health and wellbeing research.
This Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarship (KESS) project will be held in the Faculty of Life Sciences and Education at the University of South Wales. KESS is a programme funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) awarded by the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) in the Welsh Government. The MbyRes will be associated with Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Educational Psychology Service. The project will focus on the use of the newly developed PERMA Wellbeing Tool which was introduced to schools in RCT in September 2020. The research will help to identify the barriers and facilitating factors to the use of the tool in schools and will provide evidence of its impact on pupil wellbeing in the Local Authority.
The project is backed by Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) Local Educational Psychology Service, who are committed to engaging in evidence-based practice to support the wellbeing of children, young people and staff. RCT is looking to find innovative and effective ways to promote and support pupil wellbeing utilising creative design and technology.
Programme of research:
The Educational Psychology Service in Rhondda Cynon Taf would like to evaluate the use of the PERMA Wellbeing Tool, to understand how schools use the pupils’ wellbeing profiles and whether these are used to target interventions and evaluate them in practice. The main outcomes of this study will be an evaluation and the development of an action-plan to further develop the PERMA Wellbeing Tool. This could lead to wider applications of the PERMA Wellbeing Tool across South Wales.
The project has the following aims:
- To identify how schools are using the PERMA Wellbeing Tool.
- To understand the experiences of school staff when using the PERMA Wellbeing Tool.
- To identify the facilitators and barriers to school staff using the PERMA Wellbeing Tool as a tool for evidence-based practice.
- To co-create an action plan to inform the development of the PERMA Wellbeing Tool as a tool for analysis and evaluation in Rhondda Cynon Taf.
Data collection is likely to include both quantitative and qualitative methods (analysis of anonymised quantitative data produced from children engaging with the PERMA Wellbeing Tool and qualitative data from interviews with school staff).
Studentship:
The studentship will cover the fees for a full-time MbyRes programme and pay a stipend of circa £11.8k p.a. There is also around £3k project support costs available for consumables, travel, minor equipment, training (including the KESS Grad School) and conference attendance.
The position is available from 1st July 2022
Eligibility of Student:
To be eligible to hold a KESS studentship, you must:
- have a home address in East Wales area (details below)* at the time of registration.
- have the right to take up paid work in the East Wales area* on completion of the scholarship.
- be classified by the University as ‘home’ or ‘EU’ for tuition fees purposes according to the University’s guidelines.
- satisfy University of South Wales’s admissions criteria: see below, qualifications and experience and application process
*East Wales area covers: Vale of Glamorgan / Cardiff/ Newport/ Monmouthshire/ Powys/ Wrexham/ Flintshire
Qualifications and experience:
Eligible applicants will:
- Have a degree (2i or higher) in an appropriate Psychology or Education discipline
- Possess a reasonable understanding of quantitative and qualitative research methods
- Be highly self-motivated, with capacity to learn and develop research methods and data analysis techniques
- Have well-developed and positively collaborative interpersonal skills
- Have an ability to deliver technical reports and communicate findings
- Be willing to travel and work in school settings
Application Process:
To download an application package, please visit: Participant Application Package
For any queries on eligibility, please contact: KESS Team at Research and Innovation Services, University of South Wales: [Email Address Removed] Tel: 01443 482578
For informal enquiries or further programme information, please contact: Dr Deborah Lancatle [Email Address Removed]
Further information at: https://pure.southwales.ac.uk/en/persons/deborah-lancastle
Closing date for applications: midnight Wednesday 18th May 2022
Interviews will be held w/c (TBC)