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Mattonet K, Kabelege E, Mkinga G, Kolwey L, Nkuba M, Masath FB, Hermenau K, Schupp C, Steinert JI, Hecker T. School-based prevention of teacher and parental violence against children: Study protocol of a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Tanzania. BMC Public Health 2024; 24:2367. [PMID: 39217292 PMCID: PMC11365255 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-19888-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2024] [Accepted: 08/26/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Violence against children at home and at school is particularly prevalent in Africa and is associated with adverse and persistent health effects on children. The violence prevention intervention Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T) is an effective tool to reduce violence against children by fostering teachers' non-violent communication and interaction skills. To enhance these effects, in the present study, ICC-T will be extended to parents (ICC-P) aiming to increase children's experience of consistent behavior and application of non-violent discipline strategies between teachers and parents. METHODS To investigate the effectiveness of the school-based combined implementation of ICC-T and ICC-P, a cluster-randomized controlled trial with 16 primary schools in the urban district of Morogoro in Eastern Tanzania will be conducted. Both quantitative (structured interviews) and qualitative (focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, evaluation forms) methods will be used to investigate the effects on teachers' and parents' violence against children in home and school settings. The intervention implementation will be accompanied by a comprehensive process evaluation to assess the implementation quality of and participants' engagement with ICC-T and ICC-P. Potential downstream effects of violence reduction will be investigated by assessing the children's mental health and well-being. DISCUSSION The present study aims to provide evidence for the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of the school-based combined implementation of ICC-T and ICC-P to reduce teacher and parental violence against children and contribute to children's well-being in home and school settings. TRAIL REGISTRATION The clinical trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (ClinicalTrials.gov, 2024) under the identifier NCT06369025 (Hecker, Preventing Physical and Emotional Violence by Parents and Teachers in Public Schools in Tanzania (ICC-T/ICC-P_Tanz) (PreVio), 2024) on April 17, 2024.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Mattonet
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict & Violence (IKG), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, 33501, Germany
| | - Eliud Kabelege
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict & Violence (IKG), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, 33501, Germany
- Department of Educational Psychology and Curriculum Studies, Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Getrude Mkinga
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict & Violence (IKG), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, 33501, Germany
- Department of Educational Psychology and Curriculum Studies, Mkwawa University College of Education (MUCE), Iringa, Tanzania
| | - Lena Kolwey
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict & Violence (IKG), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, 33501, Germany
| | - Mabula Nkuba
- Department of Educational Psychology and Curriculum Studies, Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Faustine Bwire Masath
- Department of Educational Psychology and Curriculum Studies, Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Katharin Hermenau
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict & Violence (IKG), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, 33501, Germany
- Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Protestant Hospital Bethel, University Hospital EWL, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Claudia Schupp
- TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Janina I Steinert
- TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Tobias Hecker
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict & Violence (IKG), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, 33501, Germany.
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Kızıltepe R, Yılmaz Irmak T, Hecker T. Problem-Focused Coping and Teacher Emotional Violence: A Serial Mediation Analysis. JOURNAL OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE 2023; 38:11797-11817. [PMID: 37701990 DOI: 10.1177/08862605231198251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/14/2023]
Abstract
Although school violence is a serious problem, teacher emotional violence that has short- and long-term detrimental effects on children's development is often overlooked. Considering the potential negative effects, it is important to determine teacher characteristics associated with teacher emotional violence, especially in societies where the prevalence rate of emotional violence is high. The current study investigated the role of teacher stress and burnout and favorable attitudes toward emotional violence in the association between problem-focused coping and teacher emotional violence. Between February and June 2019, a cross-sectional study was conducted in 16 randomly selected secondary schools in İzmir, Turkey. In total, 205 secondary school teachers (64.4% females, Mage = 37.20 years) participated in this study. Participants completed questionnaires that assessed their use of emotional violence, favorable attitudes toward emotional violence, stress and burnout, and problem-focused coping. A serial mediation model was conducted. The model indicated that problem-focused coping was not directly associated with teacher emotional violence. Examination of indirect pathways suggested that favorable attitudes toward emotional violence did not mediate this relationship; however, stress and burnout mediated the link between problem-focused coping and emotional violence. In addition, there was a significant indirect effect from problem-focused coping to emotional violence through stress and burnout and favorable attitudes toward emotional violence. The findings indicate a potential role of teacher characteristics in preventing teacher emotional violence.
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López García AI, Scharpf F, Hoeffler A, Hecker T. Preventing Violence by Teachers in Primary Schools: Study Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in Haiti. Front Public Health 2022; 9:797267. [PMID: 35186874 PMCID: PMC8850384 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.797267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
ContextAlthough teacher violence at schools is a serious problem in Haiti, there is a lack of systematic evidence on the effectiveness of school-based interventions in reducing teacher violence in this low-income country.ObjectiveTo test the effectiveness of the preventative intervention Interaction Competencies with Children for Teachers (ICC-T) aiming to reduce teachers' use of violent disciplinary strategies and to improve their interaction competences with children in the Haitian context.Design, Setting, ParticipantsThe study is designed as a two-arm matched cluster randomized controlled trial. The sample consists of 468 teachers and 1,008 children from 36 (community and public) primary schools around Cap-Haïtien (Département du Nord) in Haiti. Data will be collected in three phases, before the intervention, and 6 and 18 months after.InterventionIn the group of intervention schools, ICC-T will be delivered as a 5-day training workshop. Workshop sessions are divided into five modules: 1) improving teacher-student interactions, 2) maltreatment prevention, 3) effective discipline strategies, 4) identifying and supporting burdened students, and 5) implementation in everyday school life.Main Outcome MeasureThe main outcome measure is teacher violence assessed in two ways: (i) teachers' self-reported use of violence, and (ii) children's self-reported experiences of violence by teachers.ConclusionsPrior evaluations of ICC-T had been conducted in sub-Saharan Africa with promising results. This study will test for the first time the effectiveness of this intervention outside the context of sub-Saharan Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Florian Scharpf
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Anke Hoeffler
- Development Research Group, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Tobias Hecker
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- *Correspondence: Tobias Hecker
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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; 21:1930. [PMID: 34689732 PMCID: PMC8543908 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-021-11950-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Background 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. Positive attitudes towards violence and the lack of access to alternative non-violent strategies are likely to contribute to the high levels of teachers’ ongoing use of violence against children in sub-Saharan African countries. 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. Methods The study is a multi-site cluster randomized controlled trial with schools (clusters) as level of randomization and three data assessment points: baseline assessment prior to the intervention, the first follow-up assessment 6 months after the intervention and the second follow-up assessment 18 months after the intervention. Multi-stage random sampling will be applied to select a total number of 72 schools (24 per country). Schools will be randomly allocated to the intervention and the control condition after baseline. 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. Data will be collected using structured clinical interviews. Primary outcome measures are student- and teacher-reported physical and emotional violence by teachers in the past week. Secondary outcome measures include children’s emotional and behavioral problems, quality of life, cognitive functioning, academic performance, school attendance and social competence. Data will be analyzed using multilevel analyses. Discussion This study aims to provide further evidence for the effectiveness of ICC-T to reduce teacher violence and to improve children’s functioning (i.e., mental health, well-being, academic performance) across educational settings, societies and cultures. Trial registration The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.org under the ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04948580 on July 2, 2021.
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