The Status of Implementation of the Reviewed Uganda Lower Secondary Curriculum: The Teachers’ Perspective

Abstract

The Uganda lower secondary curriculum underwent critical review following concerns of an obsolete, subject-centered and examination-oriented curriculum that did not meet the 21st Century needs. Consequently, a Competence-Based Curriculum was developed and rolled out for implementation in January 2020. This article presents the status of the implementation of the curriculum through an exploration of the concerns of Ugandan secondary school teachers about this transition. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model offers an a priori theoretical framework through which the concerns of these teachers are analysed. 383 teachers from selected Ugandan Government secondary schools were interrogated regarding their experiences with the implementation of the CBC by use of a structured questionnaire. Their qualitative responses were compiled into a database and analysed using content analysis. Results indicate that the curriculum is perceived positively by majority of the teachers. However, management, informational, and refocusing concerns were most prevalent among the teachers. The insufficiency of instructional materials; poor infrastructure; large student to teacher ratios; lack of access to technological devices; and poor or no internet connection in secondary schools presents a serious bottleneck to the effective implementation of the lower secondary curriculum. It is recommended that the Ministry of Education and its affiliate agencies address the resource scarcity, conduct focused teacher trainings, and establish feedback mechanisms with teachers to achieve the overall objectives of the reviewed curriculum.