Can a 28-Week kindergarten program teach kids empathy and friendship?
NCT ID NCT06975267
First seen Sep 15, 2026 · Last updated Sep 16, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers are testing whether the Norwegian version of Second Step Early Learning (Småsteg), a 28-week program of daily activities, improves social-emotional learning in kindergarteners compared with free play. About 900 children in 66 kindergartens take part, with whole kindergartens assigned to either the program or play as usual. Parents and teachers rate children's behavior and empathy before, right after, and six months after the program. The study also examines costs and uses a mobile app to track children's activities.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Norwegian version of Second Step Early Learning (Småsteg), a 28-week kindergarten program of daily activities and teacher-led lessons
- What this could lead to
- If it works, kindergartens could gain a structured, teacher-led way to build children's empathy, friendship skills, and emotional control, which may support later school success.
- What could go wrong
- This is a school-based behavioral program, so results depend on how faithfully teachers deliver it. Effects on parent-rated behavior may be modest and could fade after children move to school.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 900 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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May 2026
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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4 to 6 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * All children in the appropriate age group are eligble for inclusion in the study. * Kindergarten with approximately 15 children or more in the age group are eligble for enrollment. Exclusion Criteria: * Kindergartens cannot have implemented the Norwegian version of Second Step Early Learning as an active intervention in their kindergarten for at least the past four years from the start of this study. * Less than 15 participants in the kindergarten.
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Østfold University College
Halden, Østfold fylke, 1757, Norway