Case study: qualitative data collection

• Embedding Talk, Learn, Do (TLD) in Wales trained 333 practitioners across 38 sessions to help 191 parents build confidence, awareness and skills in talking to their children about money.
• Parents were supported through a flexible, light‑touch intervention delivered via one‑to‑one support, group sessions, ad‑hoc activities and virtual delivery.
• The evaluation used mixed methods, including practitioner surveys, interviews, a session observation and organisational case studies.
• Qualitative methods underpinned the evaluation, providing depth, context and explanation, showing how it worked in practice and providing evidence on parent outcomes where survey data were limited. 
• Practitioners reported increased confidence, awareness and skills, while parents found sessions engaging and reported talking to their children about money more often.
• Stakeholders valued TLD but faced barriers to embedding, including low capacity and the need for organisational buy‑in and coordination.

The Embedding Talk, Learn, Do (TLD) in Wales project trained practitioners from a wide range of settings to improve parents’ confidence, awareness and skills in talking to their children about money.

Practitioners received one-off workshops covering relevant concepts and activities, practical tools for use with parents, and were encouraged to cascade the training to colleagues.

The parent intervention was a light‑touch, flexible set of activities delivered through one-to-one support, group sessions, ad hoc activities, and virtual delivery during Covid-19.

The project aimed to:

• increase practitioner skills and confidence to support parents;
• improve parent knowledge, attitudes and behaviours around talking about money; and
• embed TLD within organisations for long‑term sustainability.

Between November 2019 and December 2020, the project delivered 38 practitioner‑training sessions to 333 practitioners and supported at least 191 parents.

• Assess how practitioner training affected practitioner skills, knowledge and confidence, and explore parents’ experiences and perceived impacts.
• Understand implications for embedding the TLD programme by understanding what helped or hindered delivery.

• Practitioner data: mixed-methods involving point‑of‑delivery surveys, follow‑up surveys and qualitative interviews.
• Parent data: mixed-methods involving completed postcard surveys, observation and qualitative interviews.
• Qualitative stakeholder interviews and organisational case studies.

• Practitioners felt positively about the training, and it increased their confidence, awareness and skills for discussing money with families.
• Covid‑19 constrained delivery to parents, but where sessions occurred, parents found them engaging and reported talking to their children about money more often.
• Stakeholders viewed TLD as strategically relevant but saw limited opportunity to embed it in practice.

Qualitative data formed a substantial part of data collection. They were collected through:

• 40 practitioner interviews
• a parent‑session observation with 9 parents
• interviews with 14 parents (and 4 children)
• 20 stakeholder interviews
• 3 holistic organisational case studies which integrated stakeholder, practitioner and parent perspectives.

Quantitative data were also collected, through practitioner surveys conducted immediately following training workshops and around two weeks later. Due to a small sample of parent postcard surveys (15), these were treated as qualitative data.

The surveys found that training improved their skills and confidence to support parents. 

Qualitative data were essential for both evaluation aims noted above. They provided the main evidence on parent outcomes where quantitative data were limited (outcome evaluation).

They explained why and how the programme improved practitioner outcomes and parent experiences, and offered a rich understanding of the organisational conditions needed to embed TLD (key functions of process evaluation). 

Qualitative data showed how practitioners engaged with and applied the training, and why it strengthened their skills, knowledge and confidence.

Practitioner interviews revealed how they interpreted the training content, which elements they found most useful and how they adapted activities for different delivery contexts. These interviews also explained why confidence increased.

The session observation offered evidence of how practitioners delivered the training, illustrating how they facilitated discussions, used TLD resources effectively and supported parents during activities.

The case studies added organisational context, showing how practitioner use of the training varied across different delivery models and how team culture, coordination and organisational structures shaped implementation. They also illustrated how practitioner delivery influenced parents’ experiences and outcomes.

Qualitative data showed how parents experienced the intervention and why it generated positive early outcomes.

The session observation showed parents engaging actively with activities, interacting with practitioners and discussing money with their children during the session, demonstrating an accessible and engaging intervention.

The parent postcards confirmed that parents understood and enjoyed the sessions, found them useful and felt able to participate. This suggested that practitioners created a positive learning environment that supported immediate outcomes.

The parent interviews offered deeper insight into how the intervention resonated with parents. Parents described experiencing positive outcomes of increased awareness of the importance of talking to children about money, greater confidence in doing so, and early behaviour changes (for example, introducing pocket money).

These outcomes were achieved through the combination of practical tools, relatable content and supportive facilitation, which made money conversations feel less intimidating and more natural, helped parents break down complex ideas (such as needs versus wants), and gave parents a new perspective on their role in supporting children’s financial learning.

Qualitative data were used to understand what helped or hindered organisations’ ability to embed the programme.

The stakeholder interviews found support for the programme, showing that organisations valued the TLD model and saw it as aligned with their strategic priorities and practices. They also highlighted significant barriers (such as capacity constraints) and the need for continued organisational buy‑in and follow‑up support to embed delivery.

The practitioner interviews reinforced these findings from a frontline perspective, identifying practical enablers (such as accessible resources) and barriers (such as lack of organisational coordination) that shaped whether practitioners could deliver TLD after their training.

The case studies showed how embedding depended on organisational readiness, team culture and coordinated approaches. They also demonstrated that positive outcomes for practitioners and parents strengthened organisational interest in continuing the programme, while disruptions weakened momentum.

The qualitative findings in the report are grounded in lived experience, and the authors used reporting tools to make the evidence engaging and accessible.

• The report integrates insights from multiple sources into the narrative discussion of findings. These are also used to expand on survey results.
• Case studies bring together practitioner, parent and stakeholder perspectives.
• Details from the session observation are used selectively to show real‑time delivery and parent engagement in the intervention.
• Short, direct quotations from practitioners, parents and stakeholders are used prominently to illustrate key points.

This evaluation highlights how using qualitative data:

• provided outcomes evidence in the absence of adequate quantitative data, as the only meaningful data on parent outcomes was qualitative
• supported causal inference by explaining how and why outcomes occurred that could be attributed to qualities in programme delivery
• Brought the intervention to life through observation and interviews capturing real‑time delivery, and engagement and quotes illustrating experiences and views
• offered a rich, contextualised picture by showing how the programme worked in different organisational settings through case studies which drew from different perspectives
• provided policy and practice relevance, with qualitative data being central to understanding the organisational conditions needed for embedding the programme while considering barriers and enablers.

You can view the full report: Talk Learn Do evaluation: a financial capability intervention for parentsOpens in a new window (PDF, 24MB)

You can also read a summary of the report on our evidence hub.