Violence by TeachersICC-T_TzNCT03893851
Preventing Violence by Teachers
A study testing Interactions Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T) in people with Violence by Teachers, run by Bielefeld University at 1 site in Tanzania.
Trial summary
Brief Summary: Violence against children is regarded as a key contributor to poverty and damages lifetime prospects for children in disadvantaged communities. However, physical violence is legally accepted as a disciplinary measure in schools in 68 states worldwide. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 9 to 65 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Violence by Teachers
- What is being tested?
- Interactions Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T)
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 914 participants
- Where
- 1 siteTanzania
- Study dates
- 8 Apr 2019to 31 Dec 2020
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 9 to 65 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- • Written informed consent (if underaged by parents \& minors)
Who cannot join
- • Acute drug or alcohol intoxication
- Acute psychotic disorder
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Reducing Violent Discipline in School Settings Using Interaction Competencies With Children for Teachers (ICC-T): A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in Tanzanian Public Primary Schools
Brief Summary:
Violence against children is regarded as a key contributor to poverty and damages lifetime prospects for children in disadvantaged communities. However, physical violence is legally accepted as a disciplinary measure in schools in 68 states worldwide. For example, in Tanzania, corporal punishment is still lawful at school. It is thus not surprising that recently very high rates of violence (~90%) were found at secondary schools. For children of primary school age, no such information is available from representative samples to date.
Read more
Moreover, in recent studies teachers often report having to resort to violent disciplinary methods referring to a lack of nonviolent disciplinary alternatives . However, only few interventions that aim at equipping teachers with non-violent action alternatives in Sub-Saharan Africa have been implemented, and even fewer have been scientifically evaluated.
Thus, in this study the investigators will implement and assess the efficacy of an intervention aimed at reducing the use of harsh and violent disciplinary measures in schools. Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teacher (ICC-T) aims to enable teachers to use non-violent disciplinary measures and to strengthen their competencies in non-violent interactions. Previously its feasibility and efficacy were proven in secondary schools in Tanzania. The present study aims to adapt ICC-T to, and evaluate its efficacy on, primary school level. The training is expected to improve the teacher-student relationships, change teacher's attitudes towards corporal punishment and their use of violent disciplinary measures.
Read the detailed description
Sampling will be based on a matched cluster randomized controlled trial design. Study participants (i.e. students, teachers) will be recruited from 6 regions in Tanzania. In each region two primary schools from different districts will be included. From each school 80 pupils and minimum 20 teachers will be recruited. The final sample will comprise 960 pupils in the age-range between 9 and 12 years and at least 240 teachers from 12 different primary schools.
From each region one primary schools will be randomly allocated to the intervention group (that will receive the ICC-T intervention training) and the control group (that will receive no training). The study will have two data assessment points: baseline assessment prior to the intervention and follow-up assessment three months after the intervention. In addition, feasibility data will be assessed in the intervention group at the beginning and the end of the intervention.
Study measures will cover the following topics: socio-demographic data, common disciplinary measure used at school, attitudes towards violent discipline measures, students' mental health problems.
- Conditions
- Violence by Teachers
- Being tested
- Interactions Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T)
- Keywords
- violence
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Interactions Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T)Behavioural
Core training components include teacher-student interaction, maltreatment prevention, effective discipline strategies, identifying and supporting burdened students and implementation of the training materials into the school setting.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| ICC-T | Experimental | Interactions Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T) 5.5 days with 8 hours of training for teachers. Core training components include teacher-student interaction, maltreatment prevention, effective discipline strategies, identifying and supporting burdened students and implementation of the training materials into the school setting Receives: Behavioral: Interactions Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T) |
| Control | No intervention | The control schools do not receive any intervention |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change of teachers' use of emotional and physical violence
- The Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) will be used to assess teachers' use of emotional and physical violent discipline measures against students. Higher scores indicate higher levels of violence that is used by teachers. We hypothesize a stronger change of the use of violence in the intervention group compared to the control group.
Measured: - The CTS will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 3 months after intervention).
Change of student's exposure to emotional and physical violence by teachers
- The Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) will assess the students' self-reported experiences of emotional and physical violence by teachers at school. Higher scores indicate higher levels of violence that is used by teachers. We hypothesize a stronger change of exposure to violence in the intervention group compared to the control group.
Measured: - The CTS will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 3 months after intervention
Secondary outcomes (2)
Change of student's mental health
- The Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) will assess students' internalizing and externalizing problems. Higher scores indicate higher levels of students' mental health problems. We hypothesize a stronger change of mental health problems in the intervention group compared to the control group.
Measured: - The SDQ will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 3 months after intervention)
Change of teachers' attitudes towards emotional and physical violence
- Teacher's attitudes towards emotional and physical violence will be assessed with an adapted version of the Conflict Tactic Scale (CTS). Higher scores indicate higher levels of positive attitudes towards violence. We hypothesize a stronger change of positive attitudes towards violence in the intervention group compared to the control group.
Measured: - The adapted version of CTS will be used at T 1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 3 months after intervention)
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted28 Mar 2019
- Study start8 Apr 2019
- Primary completion30 Sep 2020
- Study completion31 Dec 2020
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (2)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Violence by TeachersStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 914 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Bielefeld University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Tobias Hecker, PhD, Bielefeld University
- Investigators
- Tobias Hecker, PhD, Study chair, Bielefeld University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03893851
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- ICC-T-Primary-Tz-2019
- Acronym
- ICC-T_Tz
- Status last verified
- Jan 2021
- First submitted
- 25 Mar 2019
- Last updated
- 27 Jan 2021
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Masath FB, Mattonet K, Hermenau K, Nkuba M, Hecker T. Reducing Violent Discipline by Teachers: a Matched Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial in Tanzanian Public Primary Schools. Prev Sci. 2023 Jul;24(5):999-1010. doi: 10.1007/s11121-023-01550-0. Epub 2023 May 26.
PubMed 37233888Masath FB, Hermenau K, Nkuba M, Hecker T. Reducing violent discipline by teachers using Interaction Competencies with Children for Teachers (ICC-T): study protocol for a matched cluster randomized controlled trial in Tanzanian public primary schools. Trials. 2020 Jan 2;21(1):4. doi: 10.1186/s13063-019-3828-z.
PubMed 31898516
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 27 Jan 2021. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Reducing Violent Discipline in School Settings Using Interaction Competencies With Children for Teachers (ICC-T): A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in Tanzanian Public Primary Schools
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03893851
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- ICC-T_Tz / ICC-T-Primary-Tz-2019
- Conditions
- Violence by Teachers
- Keywords
- violence
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 914 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Bielefeld UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 8 Apr 2019 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Sep 2020 (actual)
- Study completion
- 31 Dec 2020 (actual)
- First posted
- 28 Mar 2019 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Brief Summary:
Violence against children is regarded as a key contributor to poverty and damages lifetime prospects for children in disadvantaged communities. However, physical violence is legally accepted as a disciplinary measure in schools in 68 states worldwide. For example, in Tanzania, corporal punishment is still lawful at school. It is thus not surprising that recently very high rates of violence (~90%) were found at secondary schools. For children of primary school age, no such information is available from representative samples to date.
Moreover, in recent studies teachers often report having to resort to violent disciplinary methods referring to a lack of nonviolent disciplinary alternatives . However, only few interventions that aim at equipping teachers with non-violent action alternatives in Sub-Saharan Africa have been implemented, and even fewer have been scientifically evaluated.
Thus, in this study the investigators will implement and assess the efficacy of an intervention aimed at reducing the use of harsh and violent disciplinary measures in schools. Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teacher (ICC-T) aims to enable teachers to use non-violent disciplinary measures and to strengthen their competencies in non-violent interactions. Previously its feasibility and efficacy were proven in secondary schools in Tanzania. The present study aims to adapt ICC-T to, and evaluate its efficacy on, primary school level. The training is expected to improve the teacher-student relationships, change teacher's attitudes towards corporal punishment and their use of violent disciplinary measures.
Detailed description
Sampling will be based on a matched cluster randomized controlled trial design. Study participants (i.e. students, teachers) will be recruited from 6 regions in Tanzania. In each region two primary schools from different districts will be included. From each school 80 pupils and minimum 20 teachers will be recruited. The final sample will comprise 960 pupils in the age-range between 9 and 12 years and at least 240 teachers from 12 different primary schools.
From each region one primary schools will be randomly allocated to the intervention group (that will receive the ICC-T intervention training) and the control group (that will receive no training). The study will have two data assessment points: baseline assessment prior to the intervention and follow-up assessment three months after the intervention. In addition, feasibility data will be assessed in the intervention group at the beginning and the end of the intervention.
Study measures will cover the following topics: socio-demographic data, common disciplinary measure used at school, attitudes towards violent discipline measures, students' mental health problems.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- Single blind (outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| ICC-T | Experimental | Behavioral: Interactions Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T)Interactions Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T) 5.5 days with 8 hours of training for teachers. Core training components include teacher-student interaction, maltreatment prevention, effective discipline strategies, identifying and supporting burdened students and implementation of the training materials into the school setting |
| Control | No intervention | –The control schools do not receive any intervention |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 9 to 65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- • Written informed consent (if underaged by parents \& minors)
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- • Acute drug or alcohol intoxication
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Interactions Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T)Core training components include teacher-student interaction, maltreatment prevention, effective discipline strategies, identifying and supporting burdened students and implementation of the training materials into the school setting. | Behavioural | ICC-T |
Primary outcome
Change of teachers' use of emotional and physical violence
Time frame: - The CTS will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 3 months after intervention).
- The Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) will be used to assess teachers' use of emotional and physical violent discipline measures against students. Higher scores indicate higher levels of violence that is used by teachers. We hypothesize a stronger change of the use of violence in the intervention group compared to the control group.
Change of student's exposure to emotional and physical violence by teachers
Time frame: - The CTS will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 3 months after intervention
- The Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) will assess the students' self-reported experiences of emotional and physical violence by teachers at school. Higher scores indicate higher levels of violence that is used by teachers. We hypothesize a stronger change of exposure to violence in the intervention group compared to the control group.
2 secondary outcomes
Change of student's mental health
Time frame: - The SDQ will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 3 months after intervention)
Change of teachers' attitudes towards emotional and physical violence
Time frame: - The adapted version of CTS will be used at T 1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 3 months after intervention)
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 27 Jan 2021.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 37233888Masath FB, Mattonet K, Hermenau K, Nkuba M, Hecker T. Reducing Violent Discipline by Teachers: a Matched Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial in Tanzanian Public Primary Schools. Prev Sci. 2023 Jul;24(5):999-1010. doi: 10.1007/s11121-023-01550-0. Epub 2023 May 26.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 31898516Masath FB, Hermenau K, Nkuba M, Hecker T. Reducing violent discipline by teachers using Interaction Competencies with Children for Teachers (ICC-T): study protocol for a matched cluster randomized controlled trial in Tanzanian public primary schools. Trials. 2020 Jan 2;21(1):4. doi: 10.1186/s13063-019-3828-z.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
Related trials for Violence by Teachers
Recruiting
School-based Prevention of Teacher Violence Against Children in Zambia
Violence by Teachers
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Tobias Hecker, PhD study chair
Bielefeld University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Interactions Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T) in people with Violence by Teachers, run by Bielefeld University at 1 site in Tanzania.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 27 Jan 2021. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Tanzania. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Change of teachers' use of emotional and physical violence (time frame: - The CTS will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 3 months after intervention).). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT03893851, which also lists 2 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 27 Jan 2021; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 30 Oct 2026.