Empowering teachers and schools

Last registered on October 07, 2026
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Empowering teachers and schools
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0019876
Initial registration date
October 05, 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
October 07, 2026, 10:57 AM EDT

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

Locations

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Primary Investigator

Name
Lara Lebedinski
Affiliation
Institute of Economic Sciences
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Sule Alan
PI Affiliation
Cornell University and Bilkent University
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Ana Altaras
PI Affiliation
University of Belgrade - Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Psychology
PI Name
Zorana Jolić
PI Affiliation
University of Belgrade - Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Psychology
PI Name
Olja Jovanović
PI Affiliation
University of Belgrade - Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Psychology and Center for teacher Education
PI Name
Nataša Simić
PI Affiliation
University of Belgrade - Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Psychology and Institute of Psychology
PI Name
Jelena Vranješević
PI Affiliation
University of Belgrade - Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Pedagogy and Andragogy

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2025-10-16
End date
2026-12-30
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
teacher professional development; teacher well-being; teacher identity; teacher belonging; community of practice
JEL code(s)
I20, I31, J24, M53
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We will evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based intervention designed to strengthen teachers' professional identity and improve the school environment through communities of practice. The intervention began in November 2025 and concluded in May 2026. It incorporates structured sessions and practical activities, led by specially trained facilitators, that build communities of practice among teachers centered on collaboration, shared vision, and reflection. The program aims to strengthen teachers' professional identity, improve their well-being, and develop their leadership skills, empowering them as change agents in their schools, with the expectation of improving school climate and, in turn, student performance. The trial covers a total of 51 primary schools in Serbia, with 26 schools assigned to the program and 25 remaining in control. The total sample size is about 1,000 teachers and 5,500 students.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Alan, Sule et al. 2026. "Empowering teachers and schools." AEA RCT Registry. October 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.19876-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

Sponsors

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention utilizes a set of structured sessions and practical activities designed to build communities of practice among primary school teachers. Its overarching goal is to strengthen teachers’ professional identity and well-being, thereby fostering a better school environment and improving student outcomes. The program focuses on building collaborative culture and shared vision among teachers. Specially trained facilitators lead teachers through these sessions - eight held in person and seven online - with participating teachers instructed to dedicate at least 4 hours per month to community-of-practice activities alongside their regular teaching duties, amounting to approximately 24 hours of engagement in total. The program implementation has been ongoing since November 2025 and ended in May 2026.
Intervention Start Date
2025-11-05
Intervention End Date
2026-05-07

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
We will evaluate the effectiveness of the program with respect to:
1. Teacher outcomes
• Socio-emotional competence from TRUST
• Socio-emotional competence from SECTRS
• Psychological well-being
• Teacher identity
• Social network
2. Student outcomes
• School climate
• Trait Emotional Intelligence
• Perceived teacher support
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
We will evaluate the effectiveness of the program with respect to:
1. Teacher outcomes
• Socio-emotional competence from TRUST (ability-based measure). Test of Regulation in and Understanding of Social Situations in Teaching (TRUST) measures teachers’ ability to regulate emotions and effectively manage teacher–student relationships in challenging classroom situations.
• Socio-emotional competence from SECTRS (self-reported measure). The Social-Emotional Competence Teacher Rating Scale (SECTRS) measures teachers’ self-reported socio-emotional competence across four domains: teacher–student relationships, emotion regulation, social awareness, and interpersonal relationships.
• Psychological well-being (self-report measure). The Ryff Psychological Well-Being Scale measures teachers’ psychological well-being.
• Teacher identity. Teachers’ social identity was assessed using three items adapted from the Social Identity Scale.
• Social network.
2. Student outcomes
• School climate. Students’ perceptions of school climate were assessed using the student version of the Delaware School Climate Scale. The instrument measures students’ perceptions of teacher–student relationships, student–student relationships, clarity of expectations, fairness of school rules, school safety, school-wide student engagement, and school-wide bullying.
• Trait Emotional Intelligence. Trait emotional intelligence was assessed using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire – Child Form. It assesses global trait emotional intelligence as a constellation of emotional self-perceptions, including emotion expression, emotion regulation, empathy, adaptability, and well-being.
• Perceived teacher support. Perceived teacher support was assessed using a scale from the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS).

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
We plan to measure:
1. Teacher outcomes
• Belonging
• Job satisfaction
• Stress
• Self-efficacy
2. Student outcomes
• Academic: Mathematics
• Academic: Language
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study involves 51 state primary schools in Serbia. Schools were assigned to the program with a 50% probability, using stratification by degree of urbanization (rural, suburban, central). As a result, 26 schools were allocated to the treatment group and 25 to the control group.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Computer based, random number generator.
Randomization Unit
school level
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
51 schools
Sample size: planned number of observations
1,000 teachers, 5,500 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
26 treatment schools and 25 control schools
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Table 1: Minimum Detectable Effects (MDEs) for standardized outcome measures Significance level /Power /Clusters Control/ Clusters Treatment/ Cluster Size Control/ Cluster Size Treatment/ CV Cluster Size/ ICC/ MDE Primary outcomes Teacher outcomes Socio-emotional comp. TRUST 0.05 0.8 25 26 21 19 0.405 0.003 0.181 Socio-emotional comp. SECTRS 0.05 0.8 25 26 21 19 0.405 0.071 0.275 Psychological well-being 0.05 0.8 25 26 21 19 0.405 0.032 0.227 Teacher identity 0.05 0.8 25 26 21 19 0.405 0.045 0.245 Student outcomes School climate 0.05 0.8 25 26 113 100 0.473 0.003 0.091 Trait emotional intelligence 0.05 0.8 25 26 113 100 0.473 0.088 0.247 Perceived teacher support 0.05 0.8 25 26 113 100 0.473 0.043 0.181
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade
IRB Approval Date
2025-03-04
IRB Approval Number
2025-11
Analysis Plan