School-based Prevention of Teacher Violence Against Children: A Cluster-randomized Controlled Trial in Zambia

NCT07773961 | Recruiting DMC

• 2 other identifiers: ICC-T Zambia84010706
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 700
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child UN General Assembly, 1989), outlawed violence against children worldwide. Yet, 75% of all children worldwide - experience violence while growing up (Know Violence in Childhood, 2017). In Low- and Middle-Income countries prevalence rates at home and at school are higher (Hoeffler, 2017), with particularly high rates in Africa (Hecker et al., 2018; Nkuba, Hermenau, \& Hecker, 2018; Hillis et al., 2016). Violence against children is related to negative mental health outcomes, lower quality in the child-adult relationship, lower cognitive functioning, and emotional and behavioural problems that begin in childhood and may persist through adolescence until adulthood (Berlin et al., 2009; Gershoff \& Grogan-Kaylor, 2016; Hecker et al., 2016; Kim \& Cicchetti, 2010; Majer et al., 2010; Mills et al., 2011; Newbury et al., 2018; Wilson et al., 2009). The present study focuses on violent discipline in schools, as (1) many children are subjected to violent discipline at school on a regular basis, and (2) teachers justify violent discipline since they want to encourage better academic performance and maintain children's discipline (Masath et al., 2022). As in other African countries (Hecker et al., 2018; Nkuba, Hermenau, \& Hecker, 2018; Hillis et al., 2016), violent discipline is prevalent in Zambian schools, despite its prohibition in 2022 (End Corporal Punishment, 2025). With this study we test the intervention Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T; Kirika \& Hecker, 2022) to alleviate violence against children. ICC-T is a manualised 5,5 days training workshop focusing on the basic competencies in the work with children, including non-violent action alternatives. Previous cluster randomized controlled trail studies on ICC-T in Tanzania and Uganda showed that teachers who participated in ICC-T, used significantly less violent discipline measures against children compared to teachers in the control group. The transferability of the intervention to and the effectiveness in the Zambian context remains unclear. Evidence from our research may guide policy makers to implement further measures aiming at ending violence against children.

Conditions

Violence by Teachers

Keywords

violence; violence prevention; corporal punishment; emotional violence; physical violence

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Reduction 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 children in the past week. Higher scores indicate higher levels of violence that is used by teachers. A stronger reduction of violence used by teachers of the intervention group compared to the control group is hypothesized.

  The CTS will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)

• Reduction of children's exposure to emotional and physical violence by teachers

  The Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) supported by pictures will be used to assess children's 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 stronger reduction of exposure to violence in the children of teachers of the intervention group compared to the control group is hypothesized.

  The CTS will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)

Secondary Outcomes (12)

• Change of teachers' attitudes towards emotional and physical violence

  The adapted version of CTS will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)

• Reduction of teachers' perceived stress

  The Teacher Stress Inventory will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)

• Improvement of teachers' relationships with colleagues

  The Teachers' Relationship with Colleagues Scale will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)

• Improvement of teachers' relationships with students

  The Student-Teacher Relationship Scale will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)

• Increase of empathy and change in perspective by teachers

  The Empathy and Change in Perspective Scale will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)

Study Arms (2)

Interaction Competencies with Children

EXPERIMENTAL

ICC-T: 5,5 days 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.

Behavioral: Interaction Competencies with Children

Control

NO INTERVENTION

no intervention

Interventions

Interaction Competencies with Children BEHAVIORAL

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.

Interaction Competencies with Children

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 8 Years - 80 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Schools:
• public primary school (state owned schools, guided by Zambian education policy)
• at least 35 students in the selected grade (3th school grade). o if it has less than 35 students in a grade, then it will be combined with nearby selected public primary school which must be within 15 km from the respective and an equal number from each school cluster will be selected to participate in the study.
• at least 8 but no more than 50 employed teachers. o in case of less than 25 teachers, the selected school will form a school cluster together with another near-by (i.e., within 15 km) public primary school.
• All participants:
• Written informed consent (if underaged by parents (written) \& minors themselves (orally)
• Students:
• being enrolled in third school grade of public primary school.
• being of age between 8 and 13 years.
• Teachers:
• being employed at an eligible school.
• being open to participate in the intervention during school holidays.
• Facilitators:
• Ideally people holding a BA degree in psychology, social work, social sciences
• Interest in the work with children

You may not qualify if:

• Schools:
• Schools participating in the sponsorship program of Save the Children will be excluded.
• Students:
• severe mental disabilities that make it impossible to follow the interview questions.
• Teachers:
• acute intoxication of alcohol, drugs or any other substance which make it impossible to follow the interview questions.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Tobias Hecker, PhD: lead
• Save the Children Zambia: collaborator
• SEPA - Safeguarding & Ethical Programming & Advocacy (Save the Children): collaborator
• Mkwawa University College of Education: collaborator
• Save the Children: collaborator
• Save the Children International: collaborator
• University of Zambia: collaborator
• CUBIC - Center for Utilizing Behavioral Insights for Children (Save the Children): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Field Office Petauke - Save the Children Zambia

Petauke, Eastern Province, Zambia

RECRUITING

Related Publications (14)

• Kirika, A., & Hecker, T. (2022). Interaction Competencies with Children - Development and Theory of Change of a Preventative Intervention for Teachers in the Context of Socially Accepted Violence. Verhaltenstherapie, 32(Suppl. 1), 35-43.

  BACKGROUND

• Gershoff ET, Grogan-Kaylor A. Spanking and child outcomes: Old controversies and new meta-analyses. J Fam Psychol. 2016 Jun;30(4):453-69. doi: 10.1037/fam0000191. Epub 2016 Apr 7.

  PMID: 27055181 BACKGROUND

• Wilson HW, Stover CS, Berkowitz SJ. Research review: The relationship between childhood violence exposure and juvenile antisocial behavior: a meta-analytic review. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2009 Jul;50(7):769-79. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.01974.x. Epub 2008 Nov 5.

  PMID: 19017367 BACKGROUND

• Nkuba M, Hermenau K, Hecker T. Violence and maltreatment in Tanzanian families-Findings from a nationally representative sample of secondary school students and their parents. Child Abuse Negl. 2018 Mar;77:110-120. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.01.002. Epub 2018 Jan 9.

  PMID: 29324272 BACKGROUND

• Newbury JB, Arseneault L, Moffitt TE, Caspi A, Danese A, Baldwin JR, Fisher HL. Measuring childhood maltreatment to predict early-adult psychopathology: Comparison of prospective informant-reports and retrospective self-reports. J Psychiatr Res. 2018 Jan;96:57-64. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.09.020. Epub 2017 Sep 21.

  PMID: 28965006 BACKGROUND

• Mills R, Alati R, O'Callaghan M, Najman JM, Williams GM, Bor W, Strathearn L. Child abuse and neglect and cognitive function at 14 years of age: findings from a birth cohort. Pediatrics. 2011 Jan;127(1):4-10. doi: 10.1542/peds.2009-3479. Epub 2010 Dec 6.

  PMID: 21135010 BACKGROUND

• Masath FB, Hinze L, Nkuba M, Hecker T. Factors Contributing to Violent Discipline in the Classroom: Findings From a Representative Sample of Primary School Teachers in Tanzania. J Interpers Violence. 2022 Sep;37(17-18):NP15455-NP15478. doi: 10.1177/08862605211015219. Epub 2021 May 19.

  PMID: 34011191 BACKGROUND

• Majer M, Nater UM, Lin JM, Capuron L, Reeves WC. Association of childhood trauma with cognitive function in healthy adults: a pilot study. BMC Neurol. 2010 Jul 14;10:61. doi: 10.1186/1471-2377-10-61.

  PMID: 20630071 BACKGROUND

• Kim J, Cicchetti D. Longitudinal pathways linking child maltreatment, emotion regulation, peer relations, and psychopathology. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2010 Jun;51(6):706-16. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02202.x. Epub 2009 Dec 29.

  PMID: 20050965 BACKGROUND

• Hoeffler, A. (2017). Violence Against Children: A Critical Issue for Development. The European Journal of Development Research, 29(5), 945-963.

  BACKGROUND

• Hillis S, Mercy J, Amobi A, Kress H. Global Prevalence of Past-year Violence Against Children: A Systematic Review and Minimum Estimates. Pediatrics. 2016 Mar;137(3):e20154079. doi: 10.1542/peds.2015-4079. Epub 2016 Jan 25.

  PMID: 26810785 BACKGROUND

• Hecker T, Goessmann K, Nkuba M, Hermenau K. Teachers' stress intensifies violent disciplining in Tanzanian secondary schools. Child Abuse Negl. 2018 Feb;76:173-183. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.10.019. Epub 2017 Nov 4.

  PMID: 29112855 BACKGROUND

• Berlin LJ, Ispa JM, Fine MA, Malone PS, Brooks-Gunn J, Brady-Smith C, Ayoub C, Bai Y. Correlates and consequences of spanking and verbal punishment for low-income white, african american, and mexican american toddlers. Child Dev. 2009 Sep-Oct;80(5):1403-20. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01341.x.

  PMID: 19765008 BACKGROUND

• Hecker T, Hermenau K, Salmen C, Teicher M, Elbert T. Harsh discipline relates to internalizing problems and cognitive functioning: findings from a cross-sectional study with school children in Tanzania. BMC Psychiatry. 2016 Apr 29;16:118. doi: 10.1186/s12888-016-0828-3.

  PMID: 27129400 BACKGROUND

Related Links

• Ending Violence in Childhood: Global Report 2017
• Corporal punishment of children in Zambia

Central Study Contacts

Tobias Hecker, Prof. Dr.

CONTACT

+49 521 106-3105; tobias.hecker@uni-bielefeld.de

Lucas Wissmann

CONTACT

lucas.wissmann@uni-bielefeld.de

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 14, 2026
• First Posted: August 19, 2026
• Study Start: May 18, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 31, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2027
• Last Updated: August 19, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: The anonymized data will be made publicly available after completion of the project in 2030.

Locations

ZA (1)