New ICC model offers Tanzania evidence-based pathway to ending violence against children in schools and homes

DAR ES SALAAM: A new evidence-based intervention developed through collaboration between Tanzanian and German researchers is offering a practical pathway toward reducing violence against children in Tanzania and potentially beyond.

Known as the Interaction Competencies with Children (ICC) model, the intervention was jointly developed by researchers from Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE), the University of Bielefeld and the University of Konstanz in Germany. The model has already demonstrated promising results in reducing violence and improving children’s wellbeing and academic achievement.

The Tanzanian research team from DUCE comprises Dr Mabula Nkuba, Dr Faustine Masath and Dr Eliud Kabelege, while Professor Tobias Hecker participated from the University of Bielefeld. Together, the researchers developed an intervention designed to address violence by strengthening the way adults interact with children.

ICC is described as a time- and cost-efficient, evidence-based, school-based group intervention that addresses social norms and attitudes while promoting non-violent interaction strategies. Its approach recognises that preventing violence requires more than discouraging physical punishment; it also requires changing beliefs and behaviours that allow violence to become accepted as normal.

The model has been co-developed and tested by Tanzanian experts and adapted to local educational and cultural contexts. It strengthens adult-child relationships through three versions: Interaction Competencies with Children for Teachers (ICC-T), Interaction Competencies with Children for Parents (ICC-P), and Interaction Competencies with Children for Caregivers (ICC-C), particularly in alternative care settings.

Multiple controlled studies have so far demonstrated substantial reductions in violence, alongside sustained improvements in children’s wellbeing and academic achievement. The evidence has encouraged DUCE to pursue wider dissemination of the model, with plans to use in-school implementation across Tanzania, conduct in-house training at DUCE, and incorporate ICC into teacher training at DUCE and other teacher training institutions.

Speaking during an ICC dissemination forum recently held at DUCE, the Director of Basic Education in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST), Mr Abdul Maulid, commended DUCE and its international partners for developing what he described as a transformative model.

“You have shown how research can generate practical, evidence-based solutions to national challenges. This event reflects the core purpose of higher education: producing knowledge that improves lives and contributes directly to national development,” Mr Maulid said.

Representing the Commissioner for Education, Dr Lyabwene Mtahabwa, he stressed the government’s commitment to ensuring that children grow and learn in safe environments.

“Our government strongly believes that every child has the right to grow, learn and thrive in an inclusive, safe and nurturing environment. Violence against children is not only a violation of children’s rights; it is also a barrier to quality education, social cohesion, healthy development and national prosperity,” he said.

“Children who learn in fear cannot fully develop the competencies and attitudes needed to contribute to our nation’s future development,” Mr Maulid added.

His remarks placed the ICC model within Tanzania’s wider education and child-protection agenda. He noted that the government, under President Samia Suluhu Hassan, has undertaken major policy, curriculum and education-sector reforms intended to strengthen education provision and quality across the country.

“These national reforms are well aligned with the National Plan of Action to End Violence Against Women and Children (NPA-VAWC II 2024/2025–2028/2029), which envisions a Tanzania where all children live free from violence,” he said.

Mr Maulid further described the dissemination event as the beginning of a wider national discussion about how effective interventions can be expanded.

“Today’s dissemination is therefore not the end of a research project; it is the beginning of a broader national conversation on scaling what works. I encourage policymakers, local government authorities, education officers, school leaders and development partners to examine the ICC model carefully and consider how it can complement existing national frameworks for child protection and quality education,” he said.

He also outlined areas where the ministry could support expansion of the intervention, including integrating ICC into the national teacher-training curriculum, recognising DUCE as a national training centre and dissemination hub, and supporting the development and testing of a train-the-trainer model for nationwide implementation.

The institutional commitment to the initiative was reinforced by DUCE’s Acting Principal, Professor Amani Lusekelo, who explained that ICC is the outcome of years of collaborative research conducted through the Research Centre for Child Protection and Violence Prevention (CPVP), in partnership with the University of Bielefeld.

“Together, our researchers have designed, adapted, tested and evaluated an evidence-based intervention that promotes positive parenting, strengthens teacher-child relationships and reduces violence in both homes and schools,” Prof Lusekelo said.

“We are particularly proud that this model has been co-created by Tanzanian experts and validated within Tanzanian educational and cultural contexts,” he added.

Prof Lusekelo also acknowledged the University of Bielefeld and Prof Hecker for their longstanding academic partnership, saying the collaboration had helped transform research into a scalable solution with potential to benefit thousands of Tanzanian children.

“Our aspiration is not merely to disseminate research findings, but to build a shared national commitment towards creating safe, nurturing and violence-free environments for every child in the country,” he said.

For Prof Hecker, a key strength of ICC is its focus on helping adults understand that non-violent interaction can replace practices sometimes considered normal forms of discipline.

“The ICC model also addresses social norms and attitudes. Some parents and teachers think it is normal to discipline children through violence, but our research has shown that this is not good because it affects them psychologically,” he said.

“People should understand that violence is rather harmful than helpful. Addressing these negative beliefs, attitudes and norms is another key factor of this model,” Prof Hecker added.

He stressed that the researchers were interested not simply in developing an intervention they believed could work, but in testing its effectiveness.

“We do not only want to know or develop something that we think works. We are scientists, and we have tested the model in some primary and secondary schools, where we received positive feedback, with students telling us that they are experiencing less violence and that interaction with their parents is now better,” he said.

Dr Nkuba, who was actively involved throughout the development of ICC, said DUCE and the University of Bielefeld had worked together for 13 years, with sustained attention to ensuring that every component of the intervention remained practical.

“From the evidence gathered in schools, we came up with tested, evidence-based and evaluated approaches that are acceptable to teachers and parents for training and developing competencies in non-violent discipline strategies as a replacement for corporal punishment in our families and schools,” Dr Nkuba said.

He added that the evidence showed behaviour could be changed through alternative approaches that avoid violence.

“The gathered evidence indicates that it is possible to change the behaviour of our children through the use of alternative and non-violent discipline strategies, as opposed to violent approaches,” he said.

According to Dr Nkuba, the model ultimately seeks to promote positive parenting, strengthen teacher-parent-child relationships and reduce violence in homes and schools.

“All these important components can be successfully achieved using the ICC model,” he said.

The next phase is already taking shape at DUCE, where a short course on Interaction Competencies with Children for Teachers and Parents has been introduced. Through the course, trainees will learn about teacher-student and parent-child interaction, violence prevention, effective discipline strategies, and identifying and supporting children experiencing difficulties.

With research, training and institutional support now converging around the model, ICC is positioned as a practical mechanism for translating evidence into everyday interactions between adults and children, while supporting Tanzania’s broader efforts to create safer, more nurturing learning and family environments.