Violence by TeachersEVIDENCENCT04948580
Preventing Violence by Teachers Against Children in Sub-Saharan Africa
A study testing Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T) in people with Violence by Teachers, run by Bielefeld University at 3 sites in 3 countries.
Trial summary
Violence has severe and long-lasting negative consequences for children's and adolescents' well-being and psychosocial functioning, thereby also hampering communities' and societies' economic growth. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 7 to 70 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Violence by Teachers
- What is being tested?
- Interaction 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
- 3,264 participants
- Where
- 3 sitesin 3 countries
- Study dates
- 20 Sep 2021to 31 Jul 2025
- 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 7 to 70 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- All: Written informed consent (if underaged by parents (written) \& minors themselves (oral or written)
- Students: Enrollment in class 3 of primary school or in class 1 of secondary school
- Teachers: All teachers employed at the school
- Schools:
- Public schools
- Mixed-gender schools
- Day schools
- At least 40 students in selected class/stream
Who cannot join
- Acute drug or alcohol intoxication
- Acute psychotic disorder
Trial locations and contacts
3 sites in 3 countries.
3 sites in 3 countries
About this study
Official title: Reducing Violence by Teachers Against Children: A Multi-Site Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of Interaction Competencies With Children - for Teachers (ICC-T) in Primary and Secondary Schools in Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana
Violence has severe and long-lasting negative consequences for children's and adolescents' well-being and psychosocial functioning, thereby also hampering communities' and societies' economic growth. Studies show high prevalence of violence by teachers against children in Sub-Saharan Africa, both in countries where violence is lawful as disciplinary measure at school and in countries where it has been officially banned. In addition to legal and structural factors (e. g. stressful working conditions for teachers), attitudes favoring violence against children as an effective and acceptable discipline method and the lack of access to alternative non-violent strategies are likely to contribute to teachers' ongoing use of violence against children.
Notwithstanding, there are currently very few school-level interventions to reduce violence by teachers that a) have been scientifically evaluated and b) that focus both on changing attitudes towards violence and on equipping teachers with non-violent discipline strategies.
Thus, the present study tests the effectiveness of the preventative intervention Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T) in primary and secondary schools in Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana. Previous studies have provided initial evidence on the feasibility and effectiveness of ICC-T to reduce teacher violence in primary and secondary schools in Tanzania and secondary schools in Uganda. This study aims to provide further evidence for the effectiveness of ICC-T to reduce violence and to improve children's functioning (i.e. mental health, well-being, academic performance) across educational settings, societies and cultures.
Read the detailed description
The study is a multi-site cluster randomized controlled trial with schools (clusters) as level of randomization. Multi-stage random sampling will be applied to select three zones per country (Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana) and one district in each zone. In each district, eight public schools will be randomly selected, resulting in a total number of 72 schools (24 per country). Schools will be stratified based on school type (primary or secondary school) and location (rural or urban), leading to 36 sites or cluster pairs (3 countries x 3 zones x 2 school types x 2 locations). In each site, one school will be randomly allocated to the intervention group (that will receive the ICC-T intervention) and one school to the control group (that will receive no intervention).
At each school, 40 students (stratified by gender) in the third year of primary school or in the first year of secondary/junior high school and all teachers (expected average number: 20) will be recruited. Thus the final sample will comprise 2880 students and at least 1440 teachers.
The study will have three data assessment points: baseline assessment prior to the intervention, the first follow-up assessment six months after the intervention and the second follow-up assessment 18 months after the intervention. In addition, feasibility data will be assessed in the intervention group at the beginning and the end of the intervention.
Primary outcome measures are student- and teacher-reported physical and emotional violence by teachers in the past week. Secondary outcome measures include teachers' attitudes towards violence against students, children's emotional and behavioral problems, quality of life, and cognitive functioning.
- Conditions
- Violence by Teachers
- Being tested
- Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T)
- Keywords
- school violence, teacher violence, intervention, teachers, students, primary schools, secondary schools
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Interaction 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 | 5.5 days with 8 hours of training for teachers aiming at changing attitudes towards violence and equipping teachers with non-violent discipline strategies Receives: Behavioral: Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T) |
| Monitoring condition | No intervention | No intervention |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change of students' exposure to emotional and physical violence by teachers
The Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) will be used to assess students' self-reported experiences of emotional and physical violence by teachers at school in the past week. Higher scores indicate higher levels of violence that is used by teachers. A change of exposure to violence in the intervention group is hypothesized.
Measured: The CTS will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention), T2 (first follow-up, 6 months after intervention) and T3 (second follow-up, 18 months after intervention).
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 in the past week. Higher scores indicate higher levels of violence that is used by teachers. A change in the use of violence in the intervention group is hypothesized.
Measured: The CTS will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention), T2 (first follow-up, 6 months after intervention) and T3 (second follow-up, 18 months after intervention)
Secondary outcomes (4)
Change of teachers' positive 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. A change of positive attitudes towards violence in the intervention group is hypothesized.
Measured: The adapted version of CTS will be used at T 1 (baseline, prior to intervention), T2 (first follow-up, 6 months after intervention) and T3 (second follow-up, 18 months after the intervention).)
Change of student's mental health
The Pediatric Symptom Checklist - Youth Report (PSC-Y) will assess students' emotional and behavioral problems. Higher scores indicate higher levels of students' mental health problems. A change of mental health problems in the intervention group hypothesized.
Measured: The PSC-Y will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention), T2 (first follow-up, 6 months after intervention) and T3 (second follow-up, 18 months after intervention)
Change of students' quality of life
The KIDSCREEN-10 will assess students' quality of life. Higher scores indicate higher levels of students' quality of life. A change of quality of life in the intervention group is hypothesized.
Measured: The KIDSCREEN-10 will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention), T2 (first follow-up, 6 months after intervention) and T3 (second follow-up, 18 months after intervention) ]
Change of students' cognitive functioning
Four tasks implemented in the Android application Psych Lab 101 (Neurobehavioral Systems, 2020) will be used to assess children's cognitive abilities including selective attention, working memory, interference control and cognitive control. Higher scores indicate higher levels of students' cognitive abilities. A stronger improvement of cognitive functioning in the intervention group compared to the control group is hypothesized.
Measured: The Psych Lab 101 application will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention), T2 (first follow-up, 6 months after intervention) and T3 (second follow-up, 18 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 posted2 Jul 2021
- Study start20 Sep 2021
- Primary completion31 Dec 2024
- Study completion31 Jul 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)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
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 3,264 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Bielefeld University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Daressalaam University College of Education (DUCE), Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Presbyterian University College Ghana (PUCG)
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Tobias Hecker, PhD, Bielefeld University
- Investigators
- Tobias Hecker, Prof. Dr., Principal investigator, Bielefeld University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04948580
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- HE 8505/1-1
- Acronym
- EVIDENCE
- Status last verified
- Sep 2025
- First submitted
- 28 Jun 2021
- Last updated
- 19 Sep 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Scharpf F, Kirika A, Masath FB, Mkinga G, Ssenyonga J, Nyarko-Tetteh E, Nkuba M, Karikari AK, Hecker T. Reducing physical and emotional violence by teachers using the intervention Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T): study protocol of a multi-country cluster randomized controlled trial in Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda. BMC Public Health. 2021 Oct 24;21(1):1930. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-11950-y.
PubMed 34689732
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 19 Sep 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Reducing Violence by Teachers Against Children: A Multi-Site Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of Interaction Competencies With Children - for Teachers (ICC-T) in Primary and Secondary Schools in Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04948580
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- EVIDENCE / HE 8505/1-1
- Conditions
- Violence by Teachers
- Keywords
- school violence, teacher violence, intervention, teachers, students, primary schools, secondary schools
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 3,264 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Bielefeld UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Daressalaam University College of Education (DUCE), Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Presbyterian University College Ghana (PUCG)
- Study start
- 20 Sep 2021 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 31 Dec 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 31 Jul 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 2 Jul 2021 (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.
Violence has severe and long-lasting negative consequences for children's and adolescents' well-being and psychosocial functioning, thereby also hampering communities' and societies' economic growth. Studies show high prevalence of violence by teachers against children in Sub-Saharan Africa, both in countries where violence is lawful as disciplinary measure at school and in countries where it has been officially banned. In addition to legal and structural factors (e. g. stressful working conditions for teachers), attitudes favoring violence against children as an effective and acceptable discipline method and the lack of access to alternative non-violent strategies are likely to contribute to teachers' ongoing use of violence against children.
Notwithstanding, there are currently very few school-level interventions to reduce violence by teachers that a) have been scientifically evaluated and b) that focus both on changing attitudes towards violence and on equipping teachers with non-violent discipline strategies.
Thus, the present study tests the effectiveness of the preventative intervention Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T) in primary and secondary schools in Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana. Previous studies have provided initial evidence on the feasibility and effectiveness of ICC-T to reduce teacher violence in primary and secondary schools in Tanzania and secondary schools in Uganda. This study aims to provide further evidence for the effectiveness of ICC-T to reduce violence and to improve children's functioning (i.e. mental health, well-being, academic performance) across educational settings, societies and cultures.
Detailed description
The study is a multi-site cluster randomized controlled trial with schools (clusters) as level of randomization. Multi-stage random sampling will be applied to select three zones per country (Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana) and one district in each zone. In each district, eight public schools will be randomly selected, resulting in a total number of 72 schools (24 per country). Schools will be stratified based on school type (primary or secondary school) and location (rural or urban), leading to 36 sites or cluster pairs (3 countries x 3 zones x 2 school types x 2 locations). In each site, one school will be randomly allocated to the intervention group (that will receive the ICC-T intervention) and one school to the control group (that will receive no intervention).
At each school, 40 students (stratified by gender) in the third year of primary school or in the first year of secondary/junior high school and all teachers (expected average number: 20) will be recruited. Thus the final sample will comprise 2880 students and at least 1440 teachers.
The study will have three data assessment points: baseline assessment prior to the intervention, the first follow-up assessment six months after the intervention and the second follow-up assessment 18 months after the intervention. In addition, feasibility data will be assessed in the intervention group at the beginning and the end of the intervention.
Primary outcome measures are student- and teacher-reported physical and emotional violence by teachers in the past week. Secondary outcome measures include teachers' attitudes towards violence against students, children's emotional and behavioral problems, quality of life, and cognitive functioning.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind (participant, outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| ICC-T | Experimental | Behavioral: Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T)5.5 days with 8 hours of training for teachers aiming at changing attitudes towards violence and equipping teachers with non-violent discipline strategies |
| Monitoring condition | No intervention | –No intervention |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 7 to 70 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (8 listed)
- All: Written informed consent (if underaged by parents (written) \& minors themselves (oral or written)
- Students: Enrollment in class 3 of primary school or in class 1 of secondary school
- Teachers: All teachers employed at the school
- Public schools
- Mixed-gender schools
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Acute drug or alcohol intoxication
- Acute psychotic disorder
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Interaction 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 students' exposure to emotional and physical violence by teachers
Time frame: The CTS will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention), T2 (first follow-up, 6 months after intervention) and T3 (second follow-up, 18 months after intervention).
The Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) will be used to assess students' self-reported experiences of emotional and physical violence by teachers at school in the past week. Higher scores indicate higher levels of violence that is used by teachers. A change of exposure to violence in the intervention group is hypothesized.
Change of teachers' use of emotional and physical violence
Time frame: The CTS will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention), T2 (first follow-up, 6 months after intervention) and T3 (second follow-up, 18 months after intervention)
The Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) will be used to assess teachers' use of emotional and physical violent discipline measures against students in the past week. Higher scores indicate higher levels of violence that is used by teachers. A change in the use of violence in the intervention group is hypothesized.
4 secondary outcomes
Change of teachers' positive attitudes towards emotional and physical violence
Time frame: The adapted version of CTS will be used at T 1 (baseline, prior to intervention), T2 (first follow-up, 6 months after intervention) and T3 (second follow-up, 18 months after the intervention).)
Change of student's mental health
Time frame: The PSC-Y will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention), T2 (first follow-up, 6 months after intervention) and T3 (second follow-up, 18 months after intervention)
Change of students' quality of life
Time frame: The KIDSCREEN-10 will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention), T2 (first follow-up, 6 months after intervention) and T3 (second follow-up, 18 months after intervention) ]
Change of students' cognitive functioning
Time frame: The Psych Lab 101 application will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention), T2 (first follow-up, 6 months after intervention) and T3 (second follow-up, 18 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 19 Sep 2025.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 34689732Scharpf F, Kirika A, Masath FB, Mkinga G, Ssenyonga J, Nyarko-Tetteh E, Nkuba M, Karikari AK, Hecker T. Reducing physical and emotional violence by teachers using the intervention Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T): study protocol of a multi-country cluster randomized controlled trial in Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda. BMC Public Health. 2021 Oct 24;21(1):1930. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-11950-y.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
Related trials for Violence by Teachers
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School-based Prevention of Teacher Violence Against Children in Zambia
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Violence
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, Prof. Dr. principal investigator
Bielefeld University
3 sites in 3 countries: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T) in people with Violence by Teachers, run by Bielefeld University at 3 sites in 3 countries.
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 8 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 19 Sep 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 3 sites in Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda. 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 students' exposure to emotional and physical violence by teachers (time frame: The CTS will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention), T2 (first follow-up, 6 months after intervention) and T3 (second follow-up, 18 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 NCT04948580, which also lists 1 linked publication.
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 19 Sep 2025.