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

August 14, 2026 updated by: Tobias Hecker, PhD

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.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

We will use a two-armed school-based CRCT including up to 30 primary schools in the Eastern Province of Zambia (Petauke and Lusangazi). The schools will be combined into 12 school clusters, 6 of the 12 school clusters will be randomly allocated to the intervention group, which will receive the ICC-T workshop, and the remaining schools will be allocated to the control group without any intervention. The study will include two data collection phases: (1) a baseline assessment before the intervention allocation, and (2) a follow-up assessment approximately six months after the allocation and delivery of the intervention.

The study will begin with the baseline assessment involving teachers and students in all schools (May-July 2026). Then the intervention period, follows during school holidays (August 2026). The intervention will involve the Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T). Teachers from the selected schools will be trained in ICC-T on 5,5 days consecutively. A local team of ICC-T trainers, trained extensively by our research team, will implement the interventions. Also, all training will take place within school premises. A follow-up assessment with teachers and students will be conducted at all schools approximately six months after the intervention.

Approximately 30-35 randomly selected students from the third year of formal schooling per school cluster will be invited to participate. In addition, 20 to 25 teachers per school cluster will be invited to participate in the present study. This results in a baseline sample size of approximately 400 students and approximately 300 teachers across the 12 school clusters.

Primary outcome measures are student-, and teacher-reported physical and emotional violence by the teachers in the past week. Secondary outcome measures include adult-child relationship quality, attitudes and norms towards violence, children's emotional and behavioral problems, quality of life, peer victimization, teachers' and children's stress level, teachers empathy change in perspective and self-efficacy.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
700

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

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
  • Being open minded and motivated
  • Balance of gender in the team of enumerators

Exclusion Criteria:

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.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
No Intervention: Control
no intervention
Experimental: Interaction Competencies with Children
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
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.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Reduction 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, 6 months after intervention)
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
Time Frame: The CTS will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
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 Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change of teachers' attitudes towards emotional and physical violence
Time Frame: The adapted version of CTS will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
Teachers' 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 stronger reduction of favorable attitudes towards violence of teachers of the intervention group compared to the control group is hypothesized.
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
Time Frame: The Teacher Stress Inventory will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
The Teachers Stress Inventory will assess the perceived stress of teachers reported by teachers. Higher scores indicate higher levels of stress. A stronger decrease of teachers' perceived stress in the intervention group compared to the control group is hypothesized.
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
Time Frame: The Teachers' Relationship with Colleagues Scale will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
Teachers' Relationship with Colleagues with a Subscale of the Teacher Responsibility Scale will assess the relationship of teachers with colleagues reported by teachers. Higher scores indicate better relationships. A stronger increase of teachers' perceived relationship quality with colleagues in the intervention group compared to the control group is hypothesized.
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
Time Frame: The Student-Teacher Relationship Scale will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
The Student-Teacher Relationship Scale will assess the relationship of teachers with students reported by teachers. Higher scores indicate better relationships. A stronger increase of teachers' perceived relationship quality with students in the intervention group compared to the control group is hypothesized.
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
Time Frame: The Empathy and Change in Perspective Scale will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
The Empathy and Change in Perspective Scale will assess the empathy and change in perspective of teachers reported by teachers. Higher scores indicate higher empathy and change in perspective. A stronger increase of teachers' empathy and change in perspective in the intervention group compared to the control group is hypothesized.
The Empathy and Change in Perspective Scale will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
Improvement of teachers' self-efficacy
Time Frame: The Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
The Teachers Sense of Efficacy Scale will assess the teachers' self-efficacy reported by teachers. Higher scores indicate higher levels of self-efficacy. A stronger increase of self-efficacy in the intervention group compared to the control group is hypothesized.
The Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
Decrease of favorable normative beliefs about violence
Time Frame: Beliefs About Punishment by Teachers will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
Beliefs About Punishment by Teachers measured by purpose-build items based on CTS reported by students and teachers. A stronger reduction of favorable normative beliefs about violence in the intervention group compared to the control group is hypothesized.
Beliefs About Punishment by Teachers will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
Improvement of children's mental health
Time Frame: The PSC-Y will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
The adapted Pediatric Symptom Checklist - Youth Report (PSC-Y) supported by pictures will assess children's emotional and behavioral problems reported by children. Higher scores indicate higher levels of children's mental health problems. A stronger decrease of mental health problems in the children of teachers of the intervention group compared to the control group is hypothesized.
The PSC-Y will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
Increase of children's quality of life
Time Frame: The KIDSCREEN-10 will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
The KIDSCREEN-10 will assess children's quality of life reported by children. Higher scores indicate higher levels of children's quality of life. A stronger increase of quality of life in the children of teachers of the intervention group compared to the control group is hypothesized.
The KIDSCREEN-10 will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
Reduction of children's perceived stress
Time Frame: The Perceived Stress Scale for Kids will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
The Perceived Stress Scale for Kids will assess the perceived stress of children reported by children. Higher scores indicate higher levels of stress. A stronger decrease of children's perceived stress in the children of teachers of the intervention group compared to the control group is hypothesized.
The Perceived Stress Scale for Kids will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
Reduction of children's experienced peer victimization
Time Frame: The Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale for Kids will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
The Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale will assess the experienced peer victimization of children reported by children. Higher scores indicate higher levels of peer victimization. A stronger decrease of children's experienced peer victimization in children of teachers of the intervention group compared to the control group is hypothesized.
The Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale for Kids will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
Improvement of students' relationships with teachers
Time Frame: The Teacher-Child Relationship Subscale of People In My Life will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)
The Teacher-Child Relationship Subscale of People In My Life will assess the relationship of students with teachers reported by students. Higher scores indicate better relationships. A stronger increase of students perceived relationship quality with teachers in students of teachers of the intervention group compared to the control group is hypothesized.
The Teacher-Child Relationship Subscale of People In My Life will be used at T1 (baseline, prior to intervention) and T2 (follow-up, 6 months after intervention)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Tobias Hecker, PhD

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Save the Children
University of Zambia
Mkwawa University College of Education
Save the Children Zambia
Save the Children International
SEPA - Safeguarding & Ethical Programming & Advocacy (Save the Children)
CUBIC - Center for Utilizing Behavioral Insights for Children (Save the Children)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 18, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 14, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 14, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 19, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 19, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 14, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • ICC-T Zambia
  • 84010706 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Save the Children International)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

The ICC-T intervention is being tested in various other countries including Haiti, Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda. We will share anonymized data with project partners from the different countries for combined and/or comparative analyses. In addition, we will share anonymized data with other researchers working on prevention of violence against children in school settings for the purpose of conducting synthesizing analyses such as meta-analyses. Finally, the anonymized data collected in the study will be made publicly available in a data repository.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

The anonymized data will be made publicly available after completion of the project in 2030.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF
  • ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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