The Irie Classroom Toolbox, a universal violence-prevention teacher-training programme, in Jamaican preschools: a single-blind, cluster-randomised controlled trial

Abstract

Summary Background Violence is a leading global public health problem, and interventions in early childhood are important in the primary prevention of violence. We tested whether the Irie Classroom Toolbox, a violence-prevention teacher-training programme reduced violence against children by teachers and reduced class-wide child aggression in Jamaican preschools (catering to children aged 3–6 years). Methods We did a single-blind, cluster-randomised controlled trial in 76 preschools in Kingston and St Andrew, randomly selected, using simple randomisation, from 120 eligible preschools. Inclusion criteria were two to four classes of children; at least ten children per class; and located in an urban area. We randomly assigned preschools (1:1) to either the Irie Classroom Toolbox intervention or waiting-list control that received no intervention, using a computer-generated randomisation sequence by an independent statistician masked to school identity. The Toolbox involved training teachers in classroom behaviour management and promoting child social-emotional competence. All assessors were masked to group assignment. All teachers and classrooms in the selected schools participated in the study. Within each school, we used simple randomisation to randomly select up to 12 children aged 4 years for evaluation of child outcomes. The Toolbox intervention was implemented from August to April the following year. Teacher and classroom measures were done at baseline (the summer school term; ie, May to June), post-intervention (after 8 months of intervention; ie, May to June of the following year), and 1-year follow-up (ie, May to June 2 years later). The primary outcomes were observations of violence against children (including physical violence and psychological aggression) by teachers occurring across one full school day, and class-wide child aggression occurring over five 20-min intervals on another school day, all measured at post-intervention and 1-year follow-up and analysed by intention to treat. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN11968472. Findings Between June 22, 2015, and April 29, 2016, (after baseline measurements were completed), we assigned 38 preschools (with 119 teachers) to the Toolbox intervention and 38 preschools (with 110 teachers) to control. 441 children in the intervention schools and 424 in the control schools were included in the evaluation. All schools were included in the post-intervention and follow-up analyses. There were fewer counts of violence against children by teachers in the intervention schools compared with control schools at post-intervention (median counts 3 [IQR 0–11] vs 15 [3–35]; effect size −67·12%, 95% CI −80·71 to −53·52, p<0·0001) and 1-year follow-up (median counts 3 [IQR 0–9] vs 6 [1–16]; effect size −53·86, 95% CI −71·08 to −36·65, p<0·0001). No differences between groups were found for class-wide child aggression at p...

The EmpaTeach intervention for reducing physical violence from teachers to students in Nyarugusu Refugee Camp: A cluster-randomised controlled trial

“…The content of EmpaTeach has important similarities and differences to the rigorously trialled and effective Irie Classroom Toolbox [ 21 ] and Good School Toolkit [ 22 , 40 ] interventions to reduce teacher violence. Similar to these interventions, and as recommended by WHO’s school-based violence prevention guidance [ 41 ], EmpaTeach contains information on alternative discipline techniques and creates social support.…”

“…WHO recommends school-based approaches to improve a range of child and adolescent health outcomes [ 17 , 18 ], but only a handful of evaluations of programmes to prevent violence from teachers to students have been conducted globally [ 19 , 20 ] and, to the best of our knowledge, none in humanitarian settings. Two interventions have been rigorously trialled, and both were proven effective in reducing violence from school staff to students [ 21 , 22 ]; however, both programmes were implemented in low-resource but stable contexts in Uganda and Jamaica. One is a whole-school approach focused on creating a conducive operational culture in schools and encouraging behaviour change for teachers, students, and school administration over 18 months [ 22 ].…”

“…One is a whole-school approach focused on creating a conducive operational culture in schools and encouraging behaviour change for teachers, students, and school administration over 18 months [ 22 ]. The other is focused on teacher skill development and behaviour change over 8 months, with a supported process for teachers to learn positive reinforcement, classroom management strategies, and proactive approaches to prevent child misbehaviours [ 21 ].…”

Effects of a Teacher-Training Violence Prevention Program in Jamaican Preschools on Child Behavior, Academic Achievement, and School Attendance in Grade One of Primary School: Follow up of a Cluster Randomized Trial

“…In addition, through the teacher-training program, preschool teachers were trained to provide a positive, structured classroom environment, with clear rules and expectations, and with behavioral supports to help children meet these expectations. These teacher behaviors promote the development of children's self-regulation skills, and in two recent Jamaican studies, we have found benefits to child self-regulatory competencies from training teachers in classroom behavior management (Baker-Henningham et al, 2019 , 2021 ). Self-regulation has been shown to predict longer-term gains to child outcomes in other studies (Bierman et al, 2008b ; Raver et al, 2011 ).…”

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

“…For instance, in Jamaica, the Irie Classroom Toolbox intervention has been recently evaluated in a cluster-randomized controlled trial in 76 preschools [ 44 ]. The intervention does not explicitly target teachers’ attitudes towards violence but aims to reduce violence against children by promoting teachers’ socio-emotional competence and equipping them with positive non-violent discipline techniques.…”