Improving Early Concentration Choices: An RCT on Boosting Communication and Cooperative Decision-Making Between Parents and Children

Last registered on June 23, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Improving Early Concentration Choices: An RCT on Boosting Communication and Cooperative Decision-Making Between Parents and Children
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0016269
Initial registration date
June 22, 2026

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
June 23, 2026, 8:51 AM EDT

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Maximilian Müller
Affiliation
Toulouse School of Economics
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Lea Cassar
PI Affiliation
Universität Regensburg
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PI Name
Christina Felfe
PI Affiliation
Universität Konstanz
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PI Name
Karoline Ströhlein
PI Affiliation
Universität Regensburg
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-06-02
End date
2028-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Education, Gender
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.
Abstract
In this project, we will examine how we students and parents can be supported when making early educational choices such as choosing students' field of concentration.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Cassar, Lea et al. 2026. "Improving Early Concentration Choices: An RCT on Boosting Communication and Cooperative Decision-Making Between Parents and Children." AEA RCT Registry. June 23. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16269-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2025-09-16
Intervention End Date
2027-05-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1) MAIN OUTCOME: Choice of concentration (at end of 6th grade)
- Zweig I: Maths, Natural Sciences
- Zweig II: Commerce
- Zweig IIIa: Foreign Languages
- Zweig IIIb: Music-creative
- Zweig IIIc: Nutrition and health
- Zweig IIId: Social (Services)

2) FUTURE CONSEQUENCES (to be specified before collection of follow-up data after at least 1 school year in a given concentration)

Examples:
A) Performance in school, motivation, and well-being or satisfaction with school
B) Aspirations for time after 10th grade (in private and public condition):
- Whether to continue schooling, do vocational training, or start working immediately
- Preferred field of vocational training: (Option 1: Bau, Produktion & Verkehr ("Construction); Option 2: Dienstleistungen, Gesundheit & Soziales ("Services"); Option 3: Wirtschaft, Verwaltung & Kultur ("Business"); Option 4: Naturwissenschaften, IT & Technik ("STEM")
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
a) Beliefs about different occupations for vocational training after 10th grade
b) Beliefs about continuing school vs. doing vocational training after 10th grade
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
We are repeatedly collecting students' subjective expectations for a) vocational training in the 4 fields of vocational training introduced above and b) continuing school vs. doing vocational training vs. starting to work (without further education) after 10th grade. We will use these beliefs to estimate students' internal affinity towards the different options (via estimating discrete choice models and then predicting individual affinities given these estimates).

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Please see more once trial is over.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer.
Randomization Unit
Schools are randomized into treatment and control.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
66 schools.
Sample size: planned number of observations
Students in control and treatment schools in treated cohorts: 9,900 - 10,560 students Adding oldest (and never-treated) cohort: 14,850 - 15,840 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
33 schools control, 33 schools treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethikkommission bei der Universität Regensburg
IRB Approval Date
2025-05-26
IRB Approval Number
23-3352_2-101
Analysis Plan

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