Document is current

Article History

Accepted: 27 August 2023

First Online: 6 September 2023

Declarations

:

: There is no obligatory requirement from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology to obtain formal ethical clearance for this study. However, we took several steps to secure ethical clearance. First, we sent formal invitation letters to selected schools to participate in the study. The prospective schools then attend an online meeting session to receive information regarding the study. The information package consists of the purpose of this study, emphasizing the voluntary nature of participation, the absence of potential harm pertaining to participation, and no consequences for withdrawal at any time. Lastly, we informed the attendees about the availability of help and further information from the research team upon the request of the schools or students on issues related to this study, which would be provided through an online messaging application. There was no reward given to the participants; however, we held a research dissemination seminar upon the completion of the data collection and analysis process, and we invited participating schools’ representatives and other stakeholders, such as parents, local governance, and organizations.

: Informed consent was obtained from all school participant representatives during the data collection process.

: The authors declared that there are no competing or potential conflicts of interest.