areas > chıld and youth

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The large gaps in child development emerge as early as infancy and has long-term consequences at the individual, family, and societal level. And effective interventions for child and youth outcomes are now being recognized as the key strategy to advance social and economic well-being of countries.   

In our lab, using state-of-the-art methodology, we try to establish a long-term research agenda to promote evidence based-interventions and policies, especially in developing countries, fostering child and youth development by​
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  • Producing the knowledge base through identifying protective and risk factors influencing child and youth development
  • Conducting systematic reviews to create a catalog of effective programs that can be adapted and transported to other countries
  • Examining which program components work which don’t to ensure outcome- and cost-effective interventions
  • Conducting rigorous impact evaluations to promote the dissemination of programs that are shown to be effective

Below are some examples of interventions or policies targeting child and youth outcomes, which can benefit from our research agenda:
  • Parenting interventions to reduce externalizing behavior of children
  • Conditional cash transfer to decrease child poverty
  • A community program to combat child labor
  • A training program for trainers who work with immigrant children under protection
  • Multi-component drug use prevention programs in high schools
  • Family engagement programs to promote early math learning
  • A multiple-services program for youth in the juvenile justice system
  • Home visiting program to prevent child maltreatment​​

Education

Health

Child and Youth

Social Policy

​Workforce Development
Building 21st Century Skills: IEL to evaluate intervention to promote creativity in children 

​Creative thinking has been identified and highlighted as an essential twenty first century skill. IEL, using cognitive tasks and measurement, serves as an independent evaluator of an intervention (funded by İŞGYO) to boost creativity in 8-12 years old children from disadvantaged neighborhoods and aims to contribute to the dissemination of an evidence-based intervention with an improved version. ​​
​Details coming soon...
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Evaluating the Impact of a Learn to Code Program on Children's Cognitive Development

​Little is known about the impact of coding on children’s cognitive development. Using an experimental design, IEL assesses the impact of a 10-week coding program implemented by an education NGO (funded by Google.org). Outcomes such as spatial temporal reasoning, problem solving, and planning skills are being measured by developmental batteries and tasks. 
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​Raising Professional Capacity and Awareness on Autism:
​Impact Evaluation of a ​Teacher Training ​Program
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In this ongoing study, we assess the impact of an autism teacher training program being implemented in 11 cities across North-East Turkey. The study, funded by TANAP (Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project) and implemented by TOHUM Autism Foundation, aims to answer for whom the training works the best, and identify the effective mechanisms of change in order to achieve the most cost and outcome-effective version of the training program. ​
​Details coming soon...
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Long-Term Outcomes of After-School Programs

​Using a matched comparison group evaluation design, we assessed the long-term (10-12 years after program entry) academic and psychological benefits of structured after-school programs implemented by the largest education NGO in Turkey. 
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