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.
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.
being enrolled in third school grade of public primary school.
None
Parallel
Interaction Competencies with Children
BehavioralInteraction 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.
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.
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.
Change of teachers' attitudes towards emotional and physical violence
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.
Reduction of teachers' perceived stress
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.
Improvement of teachers' relationships with colleagues
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.
Improvement of teachers' relationships with students
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.
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Tobias Hecker, PhD
Lead sponsor
Bielefeld University
Sponsor institution
Mkwawa University College of Education
Collaborator
Save the Children Zambia
Collaborator
Save the Children
Collaborator
Save the Children International
Collaborator
University of Zambia
Collaborator
SEPA - Safeguarding & Ethical Programming & Advocacy (Save the Children)
Collaborator
CUBIC - Center for Utilizing Behavioral Insights for Children (Save the Children)
Collaborator