A School-based Intervention Project to Increase Completion of Upper Secondary School in Norway

NCT03382080 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 20161789
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 3,500
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Drop out from upper secondary school represents a risk for the future health and wellbeing of young people. Strengthening of psychosocial aspects of the learning environment may be an effective strategy to promote completion of upper secondary school. The COMPLETE study is a school based cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating two school-based interventions, namely the Dream School Program (DSP) and the Mental Health Support Team (MHST) among 1st grade upper secondary school students in four counties in Norway. The interventions aim to improve psychosocial learning environments and subsequently school achievements and decrease drop-out and absence. Specifically, the COMPLETE study will

1. 1.Evaluate whether the DSP alone
2. 2.increases completion
3. 3.increases presence
4. 4.improves school achievements
5. 5.improves mental health and wellbeing
6. 6.Evaluate whether the DSP and the MHST combined
7. 7.increase completion
8. 8.increase presence
9. 9.improve school achievements
10. 10.improve mental health and wellbeing
11. 11.Evaluate through a process evaluation whether the interventions were implemented in line with guidelines for each of the interventions, and whether the degree of program fidelity has influenced the effect of the interventions on the primary and secondary outcomes.

Conditions

Drop Out; Absence; Academic Achievement/Average Grade; Mental Health

Keywords

randomized controlled trial; drop out; upper secondary school; psychosocial learning environments

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (15)

• Drop-out

  If the student has not complete upper secondary school within five years or if the student quit school and is without any regular activity during the course of the study period, i.e. grade 1-3 of upper secondary school

  Each participant is assessed after 10 months

• Drop-out

  If the student has not complete upper secondary school within five years or if the student quit school and is without any regular activity during the course of the study period, i.e. grade 1-3 of upper secondary school

  Each participant is assessed after 22 months

• Drop-out

  If the student has not complete upper secondary school within five years or if the student quit school and is without any regular activity during the course of the study period, i.e. grade 1-3 of upper secondary school

  Each participant is assessed after 34 months

• Drop-out

  If the student has not complete upper secondary school within five years or if the student quit school and is without any regular activity during the course of the study period, i.e. grade 1-3 of upper secondary school

  Each participant is assessed after 58 months

• Absence

  Total days and hours absent at closure of first school year in upper secondary school

  Each participant is assessed after 10 months

• Absence

  Total days and hours absent at closure of second school year in upper secondary school

  Each participant is assessed after 22 months

• Absence

  Total days and hours absent at closure of third school year in upper secondary school

  Each participant is assessed after 34 months

• Academic achievement

  Average grade at closure of first school year in upper secondary school

  Each participant is assessed after 10 months

• Academic achievement

  Average grade at closure of second school year in upper secondary school

  Each participant is assessed after 22 months

• Academic achievement

  Average grade at closure of third school year in upper secondary school

  Each participant is assessed after 34 months

• Change from baseline Mental Health at 6 months

  Short form of Symptom Check List (SCL-5), on a 4 point Likert scale ranging from Not bothered to Very bothered, with higher values indicating a worse outcome.

  Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 6 months

• Change from baseline Mental Health at 18 months

  Short form of Symptom Check List (SCL-5), on a 4 point Likert scale ranging from Not bothered to Very bothered, with higher values indicating a worse outcome.

  Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 18 months

• Change from baseline Mental Health at 30 months

  Short form of Symptom Check List (SCL-5), on a 4 point Likert scale ranging from Not bothered to Very bothered, with higher values indicating a worse outcome.

  Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 30 months

• Change in Mental Wellbeing from baseline at 6 months

  Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS), on a 5 point Likert scale from None of the time to All of the time, with higher values indicating a better outcome

  Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 6 months

• Change from baseline Mental Wellbeing at 18 months

  Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS), on a 5 point Likert scale from None of the time to All of the time, with higher values indicating a better outcome

  Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 18 months

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Change from baseline School satisfaction at 6 months

  Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 6, 18 and 30 months

• Change from baseline School satisfaction at 18 months

  Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 18 months

• Change from baseline School satisfaction at 30 months

  Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 30 months

• Change from baseline Loneliness at 6 months

  Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 6 months

• Change from baseline Loneliness at 18 months

  Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 18 months

Other Outcomes (18)

• Change from baseline Social competence at 6 months

  Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 6 months

• Change from baseline Social competence at 30 months

  Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 30 months

• Change from baseline Social competence at 18 months

  Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 18 months

Study Arms (3)

Dream School Program (DSP)

EXPERIMENTAL

The Dream School Program is a whole school program, involving staff and students, with the aim of creating learning environments where students are confident and experience a sense of belonging, and where mental health is promoted.

Other: Dream School Program

DSP and Mental Health Support Team

EXPERIMENTAL

A combination of the universal Dream Schoop Program (see description above) and the selective/indicative intervention Mental Health Support Team which is aimed at specific students at risk of dropping out of upper secondary school. It is a systematization of the student services through 1. Co-location of services and staff working in services 2. "One open door" to increase accessibility to the services and staff for students 3. Focus on the transition from lower to upper secondary school 4. Close follow-up of students at risk to ensure tailored help to each student 5. Early intervention and follow up when students starts being absent from school

Other: Dream School Program; Other: Mental Health Support Team

Control

NO INTERVENTION

The control group are upper secondary schools who run classes and the school as usual, and do not introduce new programs similar to the Dream School or Mental Health Support Team during the project period.

Interventions

Dream School Program OTHER

The Dream School program is a whole school program, involving staff and students, with the aim of creating learning environments where students are confident and experience a sense of belonging, and where mental health is promoted.

Also known as: Drømmeskolen (Norwegian name)

DSP and Mental Health Support Team; Dream School Program (DSP)

Mental Health Support Team OTHER

MHST is also a whole school project but aimed at specific students at risk of dropping out. It is a systematisation of the student services through 1. Co-location of services and staff working in services 2. "One open door" to increase accessibility to the services and staff for students 3. Focus on the transition from lower to upper secondary school 4. Close follow-up of students at risk to ensure tailored help to each student 5. Early intervention and follow up when students starts being absent from school This work demands cross- and multidisciplinary collaborations within the MHST, between MHST and school leadership, and between lower and upper secondary schools.

Also known as: Nærværsteam (Norwegian name)

DSP and Mental Health Support Team

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 15 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may not qualify if:

• Schools previously or currently involved in either of the Dream School Program or the Mental Health Support Team or similar programs or research projects.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Bergen: lead
• Oxford Research: collaborator
• Nordland Research Institute: collaborator
• Voksne for Barn: collaborator
• Bodin Upper Secondary School: collaborator
• Troms county: collaborator
• Nordland county: collaborator
• Sogn og Fjordane county: collaborator
• Hordaland County: collaborator

Related Publications (1)

• Larsen T, Urke HB, Holsen I, Anvik CH, Olsen T, Waldahl RH, Antonsen KM, Johnson R, Tobro M, Brastad B, Hansen TB. COMPLETE - a school-based intervention project to increase completion of upper secondary school in Norway: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health. 2018 Mar 9;18(1):340. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5241-z.

  PMID: 29523124 DERIVED

Related Links

• COMPLETE project web site

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Psychological Well-Being

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personal Satisfaction; Behavior

Study Officials

• Torill B Larsen, PhD

  University of Bergen

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 30, 2017
• First Posted: December 22, 2017
• Study Start: February 1, 2016
• Primary Completion: October 31, 2019
• Study Completion: February 12, 2020
• Last Updated: March 25, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-03