Abstract
PurposeWe tested whether the Good School Toolkit reduces physical violence from peers and school staff toward students with and without disabilities in Ugandan primary schools. MethodsWe conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial, with data collected via cross-sectional surveys in 2012 and 2014. Forty-two primary schools in Luwero District, Uganda, were randomly assigned to receive the Good School Toolkit for 18 months, or to a waitlisted control group. The primary outcome was past week physical violence from school staff, measured by primary 5, 6, and 7 students' (aged 11–14 years) self-reports using the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Child Abuse Screening Tool-Child Institutional. Disability was assessed through the six Short Set Washington Group questions on functioning. Analyses were by intention to treat. ResultsAt endline, 53% of control group students with no functional difficulties reported violence from peers or school staff, versus 84% of students with a disability. Prevalence of past week physical violence from school staff was lower in intervention schools than in the control schools after the intervention, in students with no functional difficulties (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = .41, 95% confidence interval [CI .26–.65]), students with some functional difficulties (aOR = .36, 95% CI .21–.63), and students with disabilities (aOR = .29, 95% CI .14–.59). The intervention also reduced violence from peers in young adolescents, with no evidence of a difference in effect by disability status. ConclusionsThe Good School Toolkit is an effective intervention to reduce violence perpetrated by peers and school staff against young adolescents with disabilities in Ugandan primary schools.
Highlights
We tested whether the Good School Toolkit reduces physical violence from peers and school staff toward students with and without disabilities in Ugandan primary schools
The Good School Toolkit is an effective intervention to reduce violence perpetrated by peers and school staff against young adolescents with disabilities in Ugandan primary schools
We did not find any evidence of statistically significant differences in effects of the intervention between the three student groups, nor any suggestion of nonsignificant trends which would imply that the Toolkit is less effective for students with disabilities. These findings indicate that the Good School Toolkit intervention can be considered effective for reducing violence from staff and peers toward students with some functional difficulties or disabilities
Summary
We tested whether the Good School Toolkit reduces physical violence from peers and school staff toward students with and without disabilities in Ugandan primary schools. Results: At endline, 53% of control group students with no functional difficulties reported violence from peers or school staff, versus 84% of students with a disability. The intervention reduced violence from peers in young adolescents, with no evidence of a difference in effect by disability status. Conclusions: The Good School Toolkit is an effective intervention to reduce violence perpetrated by peers and school staff against young adolescents with disabilities in Ugandan primary schools. The Good School Toolkit, a universally targeted school-based intervention to reduce physical violence from school staff to primary school students, is effective in reducing violence against young adolescents with disabilities
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