Building Unity - A Teacher-led Preschool Program to Reduce Ingroup Bias in Early Childhood Education

Last registered on December 20, 2024

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Building Unity - A Teacher-led Preschool Program to Reduce Ingroup Bias in Early Childhood Education
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015039
Initial registration date
December 20, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
December 20, 2024, 3:10 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Affiliation

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
University of Konstanz
PI Affiliation
University of Konstanz
PI Affiliation
University of Konstanz

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2024-02-19
End date
2025-05-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.
Abstract
The main objective of this study is to explore whether fostering socio-emotional skills in preschool children (ages 3-6) can promote social cohesion. Conducted in preschools in Germany, the key component of the intervention among treatment preschools constists of an 8-week, teacher-led comprehensive curriculum that addresses different aspects of social cohesion each week and offers practical advice for handling daily situations. The overarching theme of the program emphasizes that, despite individual differences, we share commonalities, fostering a sense of unity among the children.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Felfe, Christina et al. 2024. "Building Unity - A Teacher-led Preschool Program to Reduce Ingroup Bias in Early Childhood Education." AEA RCT Registry. December 20. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15039-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2024-08-26
Intervention End Date
2025-03-09

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The main outcome variable is the in-group bias in children.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
For children (collected in March/April 2025 with incentivized experiments)
- Perspevtive taking ability
- Belief in similarities
- Time allocation/ Play dates
- Likeability

For preschool teachers (online survey):
- Self-efficacy in pedagogical work
- Teachers view socio-emotional skills as important skills in children
- Experience of positive behavior change in children

Interim Survey (online survey):
During the 8-week program, we provide teachers at the treatment preschools with weekly interim surveys. Each week,
teachers can provide feedback on their satisfaction with the activities, the ease of implementation, and any suggestions for improvements. The interim surveys aim to gather feedback from the teachers and determine who actively implemented the preschool program. We will perform a
heterogeneity analysis to examine whether completing the surveys (and thus conducting the program) results in differential treatment effects compared to not having filled out the interim surveys.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We collected baseline data of children and teachers in February and March of 2024. Following, preschools were randomized into either the treatment or the control group. Treatment preschools receive a three-stage intervention. Interim surveys will be collected in January 2025 to measure compliance. Endline data will be collected in March and April of 2025.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
We randomize our preschools into a treatment and a control group. The randomization is done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Preschools are randomly assigned to either the treatment group (which receives the intervention) or the comparison group (which does not). We create strata of the city areas as well as whether the preschool has an above or below median groupiness of children and an above or below median size.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Clustered at the preschool level. 99 preschools
Sample size: planned number of observations
We plan to reach about 3,500 children as well as 300 teachers in our endline survey.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
50 preschools were randomized into the treatment and 49 preschools into the control group.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB of University of Konstanz
IRB Approval Date
2024-11-15
IRB Approval Number
IRB Statement 39/2024