Preventing Physical and Emotional Violence by Parents and Teachers in Public Schools in Tanzania (ICC-T/ICC-P_Tanz)

The study is a two-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial with 16 primary schools (clusters) in the Urban District of Morogoro in Eastern Tanzania as level of randomization. The eligible schools are located in 20 wards (smallest administrative unit). To avoid cross-over effects between the study conditions, only one school per ward will be selected. To select the final sample of schools, 16 out of the 20 wards schools will be randomly selected and then one school from each ward. Then pairs of schools will be randomly formed. These has primarily logistical reasons: Due to the short project period (12 months), the implementation of the intervention will start after completion of the baseline assessment in the first pair of schools and after randomly allocation of the first school to the intervention condition. The selection and allocation of the schools will be performed by an independent researcher neither belonging to the core research team nor involved in data collection process.

At each school, 45 students in the in 5th school grade, 90 parents (45 mothers & 45 fathers = 90 parents) and 25 teacher will be recruited. Thus the final sample will comprise 720 students, 720 parent pairs (720 mothers & 720 fathers) and 400 teachers at baseline across 16 schools.

The study will have two data assessment points: baseline assessment prior to the intervention, the one follow-up assessment three months after the intervention. In addition, feasibility data will be assessed in the intervention group at the beginning and the end of the intervention. The cluster-randomized control trails will additionally be accompanied by a process evaluation.Qualitative information will be collected after intervention training of parents and teachers to complement the quantitative data.

Primary outcome measures are student-, parents- and teacher-reported physical and emotional violence by the parents or teachers in the past week. Secondary outcome measures include adult-child relationship, children's emotional and behavioral problems, quality of life, parents' and teachers' stress level and school climate.

General:

Inclusion criteria

Schools:

• Public primary schools
• at least 45 students in selected class/ stream
• least 25 but no more than 50 employed teacher in selected school.

All participants:

• Written informed consent (if underaged by parents (written) & minors themselves (orally)

Students:

• Enrollment in selected public primary school, age between 9 and 13 years
• living with their caregiver or parents near to the schools

Teachers:

• employed at the selected schools
• aged between 18 and 60 years of age (statutory retirement age)

Parents:

• their child is participating in the study and is enrolled in a study's eligible school,
• social parent (the parent currently taking care of the child independent of the biological relationship to the children; social parents can be biological parents, step-parents, foster parents, relatives, etc.)
• aged between 16 and 80 years of age

Exclusion criteria

(all participants):

• Acute drug or alcohol intoxication,
• acute psychotic disorder
• severe mental disabilities