A School-based Intervention Project to Increase Completion of Upper Secondary School in Norway

COMPLETE - a School-based Intervention Project to Improve Psychosocial Learning Environments and Increase Completion of Upper Secondary School in Norway: a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT03382080

Acronym

COMPLETE

Enrollment

3500

Registered

2017-12-22

Start date

2016-02-01

Completion date

2020-02-12

Last updated

2020-03-25

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Absence, Academic Achievement/Average Grade, Drop Out, Mental Health

Keywords

randomized controlled trial, drop out, upper secondary school, psychosocial learning environments

Brief summary

Drop out from upper secondary school represents a risk for the future health and wellbeing of young people. Strengthening of psychosocial aspects of the learning environment may be an effective strategy to promote completion of upper secondary school. The COMPLETE study is a school based cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating two school-based interventions, namely the Dream School Program (DSP) and the Mental Health Support Team (MHST) among 1st grade upper secondary school students in four counties in Norway. The interventions aim to improve psychosocial learning environments and subsequently school achievements and decrease drop-out and absence. Specifically, the COMPLETE study will 1. Evaluate whether the DSP alone 1. increases completion 2. increases presence 3. improves school achievements 4. improves mental health and wellbeing 2. Evaluate whether the DSP and the MHST combined 1. increase completion 2. increase presence 3. improve school achievements 4. improve mental health and wellbeing The COMPLETE study will also evaluate the effect of the DSP and MHST combined and the DSP alone against secondary outcomes of school satisfaction and loneliness. 3. Evaluate through a process evaluation whether the interventions were implemented in line with guidelines for each of the interventions, and whether the degree of program fidelity has influenced the effect of the interventions on the primary and secondary outcomes.

Interventions

OTHERDream School Program

The Dream School program is a whole school program, involving staff and students, with the aim of creating learning environments where students are confident and experience a sense of belonging, and where mental health is promoted.

OTHERMental Health Support Team

MHST is also a whole school project but aimed at specific students at risk of dropping out. It is a systematisation of the student services through 1. Co-location of services and staff working in services 2. One open door to increase accessibility to the services and staff for students 3. Focus on the transition from lower to upper secondary school 4. Close follow-up of students at risk to ensure tailored help to each student 5. Early intervention and follow up when students starts being absent from school This work demands cross- and multidisciplinary collaborations within the MHST, between MHST and school leadership, and between lower and upper secondary schools.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

15 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* School inclusion criteria: not been or currently involved in either of the Dream School Program or the Mental Health Support Team or similar programs or research projects * Student inclusion criteria: student enrolled at any of the included schools.

Exclusion criteria

* Schools previously or currently involved in either of the Dream School Program or the Mental Health Support Team or similar programs or research projects. * Student

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Change from baseline Mental Wellbeing at 18 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 18 months	Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS), on a 5 point Likert scale from None of the time to All of the time, with higher values indicating a better outcome
Absence	Each participant is assessed after 10 months	Total days and hours absent at closure of first school year in upper secondary school
Academic achievement	Each participant is assessed after 10 months	Average grade at closure of first school year in upper secondary school
Change from baseline Mental Health at 6 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 6 months	Short form of Symptom Check List (SCL-5), on a 4 point Likert scale ranging from Not bothered to Very bothered, with higher values indicating a worse outcome.
Change from baseline Mental Health at 18 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 18 months	Short form of Symptom Check List (SCL-5), on a 4 point Likert scale ranging from Not bothered to Very bothered, with higher values indicating a worse outcome.
Change from baseline Mental Health at 30 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 30 months	Short form of Symptom Check List (SCL-5), on a 4 point Likert scale ranging from Not bothered to Very bothered, with higher values indicating a worse outcome.
Change in Mental Wellbeing from baseline at 6 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 6 months	Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS), on a 5 point Likert scale from None of the time to All of the time, with higher values indicating a better outcome
Drop-out	Each participant is assessed after 10 months	If the student has not complete upper secondary school within five years or if the student quit school and is without any regular activity during the course of the study period, i.e. grade 1-3 of upper secondary school

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Change from baseline School satisfaction at 18 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 18 months	Three items from the School Satisfaction Scale, a subscale of the Multidimensional Student's Life Satisfaction Scale. 5 point Likert scale from Completely disagree to Completely agree, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from baseline School satisfaction at 30 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 30 months	Three items from the School Satisfaction Scale, a subscale of the Multidimensional Student's Life Satisfaction Scale. 5 point Likert scale from Completely disagree to Completely agree, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from baseline Loneliness at 6 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 6 months	Loneliness Scale, 5 point Likert scale from Not at all to To a very high degree with higher values indicating a worse outcome.
Change from baseline Loneliness at 18 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 18 months	Loneliness Scale, 5 point Likert scale from Not at all to To a very high degree with higher values indicating a worse outcome.
Change from baseline Loneliness at 30 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 30 months	Loneliness Scale, 5 point Likert scale from Not at all to To a very high degree with higher values indicating a worse outcome.
Change from baseline School satisfaction at 6 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 6, 18 and 30 months	Three items from the School Satisfaction Scale, a subscale of the Multidimensional Student's Life Satisfaction Scale. 5 point Likert scale from Completely disagree to Completely agree, with higher values indicating a better outcome.

Other

Measure	Time frame	Description
Change from baseline Academic competence at 30 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 30 months	Academic Self-Efficacy Scale, a 5 point Likert scale ranging from Completely disagree to Completely agree, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Class climate	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline	Caring Climate Scale, on a 5 point Likert scale, ranging from Strongly disagree to Strongly agree, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from baseline Social competence at 6 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 6 months	Wichstrøm Social Competence Scale, a 4 point Likert scale ranging from Describes me very poorly to Describes me very well, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from 6 month Class climate at 30 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at 6 and 30 months	Caring Climate Scale, on a 5 point Likert scale, ranging from Strongly disagree to Strongly agree, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from 6 month Class climate at 18 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at 6 and 18 months	Caring Climate Scale, on a 5 point Likert scale, ranging from Strongly disagree to Strongly agree, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from baseline Social competence at 30 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 30 months	Wichstrøm Social Competence Scale, a 4 point Likert scale ranging from Describes me very poorly to Describes me very well, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from baseline Social competence at 18 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 18 months	Wichstrøm Social Competence Scale, a 4 point Likert scale ranging from Describes me very poorly to Describes me very well, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from baseline Relatedness at 6 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 6 months	Teacher and Classmate Support Scale, a 5 point Likert scale ranging from Completely disagree to Completely agree, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from baseline Relatedness at 18 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 18 months	Teacher and Classmate Support Scale, a 5 point Likert scale ranging from Completely disagree to Completely agree, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from baseline Relatedness: support at 30 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 30 months	Teacher and Classmate Support Scale, a 5 point Likert scale ranging from Completely disagree to Completely agree, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from baseline Relatedness: peer connection at 6 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 6 months	Positive Youth Development Connection Scale, on a 5 point Likert scale, ranging from Almost never or never true to Always true, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from baseline Peer connection at 18 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 18 months	Positive Youth Development Connection Scale, on a 5 point Likert scale, ranging from Almost never or never true to Always true, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from baseline Peer connection at 30 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 30 months	Positive Youth Development Connection Scale, on a 5 point Likert scale, ranging from Almost never or never true to Always true, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from baseline Autonomy support at 6 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 6 months	Ten items from the Learning Climate Scale, a 5 point Likert scale ranging from Strongly disagree to Strongly agree, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from baseline Autonomy support at 18 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 18 months	Ten items from the Learning Climate Scale, a 5 point Likert scale ranging from Strongly disagree to Strongly agree, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from baseline Autonomy support at 30 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 30 months	Ten items from the Learning Climate Scale, a 5 point Likert scale ranging from Strongly disagree to Strongly agree, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from baseline Academic competence at 6 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 6 months	Academic Self-Efficacy Scale, a 5 point Likert scale ranging from Completely disagree to Completely agree, with higher values indicating a better outcome.
Change from baseline Academic competence at 18 months	Based on self-report in survey assessment at baseline and 18 months	Academic Self-Efficacy Scale, a 5 point Likert scale ranging from Completely disagree to Completely agree, with higher values indicating a better outcome.

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 24, 2026