Title: Beyond the Lecture Hall: Using Curriculum Reform to Foster Productive Engagement Among University Students in Uganda
Authors: Dr. Arinaitwe Julius, Musiimenta Nancy
Volume: 10
Issue: 2
Pages: 404-412
Publication Date: 2026/02/28
Abstract:
This cross-sectional quantitative study examined how curriculum reform initiatives could foster productive engagement among university students in Uganda, addressing the persistent challenge of passive, lecture-based instructional approaches that limited student participation and failed to develop critical competencies required for the 21st-century workplace. Data were analyzed using univariate analysis (frequencies, means, standard deviations), bivariate analysis (Pearson correlations, independent samples t-tests), and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test hypothesized relationships between curriculum reform dimensions and student engagement. Univariate results revealed that overall student engagement remained moderate to low (M=2.87, SD=0.92), with absorption showing the lowest dimension score (M=2.76, SD=0.99), while active learning methods demonstrated the weakest curriculum characteristic rating (M=2.63, SD=1.04), indicating limited implementation of student-centered pedagogies across Ugandan universities. Bivariate analyses demonstrated statistically significant positive correlations between all curriculum variables and student engagement (r ranging from .571 to .623, p<.01), with private universities showing significantly higher engagement and more progressive curriculum practices than public institutions, though with modest effect sizes (Cohen's d ranging from 0.21 to 0.30). The SEM analysis revealed excellent model fit (?²/df=2.23, CFI=0.942, TLI=0.931, RMSEA=0.054, SRMR=0.048) and demonstrated that curriculum reform variables collectively explained 59.2% of variance in student engagement, with active learning methods exerting the strongest direct effect (?=.312, p<.001), followed by curriculum relevance (?=.246, p<.001), learning environment (?=.203, p<.001), and assessment diversity (?=.187, p<.001). Mediation analyses revealed that learning environment partially mediated the relationship between active learning methods and engagement, while active pedagogies partially mediated the relationship between curriculum relevance and engagement, indicating synergistic interactions among curriculum dimensions. The study concluded that strategic, holistic curriculum reform addressing pedagogical transformation, content contextualization, assessment innovation, and learning environment enhancement represented powerful mechanisms for cultivating productive student engagement in Ugandan universities.