NCT04948580: EVIDENCE

Preventing Violence by Teachers Against Children in Sub-Saharan Africa

Completed NA Last updated 19 September 2025

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T) in Violence by Teachers in 3,264 participants. Completed in 31 July 2025.

Timeline

20 September 2021

Primary endpoint
31 December 2024

31 July 2025

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Bielefeld University
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	double
Primary purpose	prevention
Enrollment	3,264
Start date	20 September 2021
Primary completion	31 December 2024
Estimated completion	31 July 2025
Sites	3 locations across Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana

Drugs / interventions tested

• Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T)

Conditions studied

• Violence by Teachers — all drugs for Violence by Teachers →

Sponsor

Bielefeld University

Who can join

Adults 7 to 70, any sex, with Violence by Teachers. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

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.

Publications & conference data

1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. 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.
   Scharpf F, Kirika A, Masath FB, Mkinga G, et al · · 2021 · cited 6× · PMID 34689732 · DOI 10.1186/s12889-021-11950-y