Title: Headteachers' instructional leadership practices in supporting CBC transition in Ugandan secondary schools
Authors: Dr. Arinaitwe Julius, Dr. Twinomujuni Rosebell, Dr. Mategeko Betty
Volume: 10
Issue: 6
Pages: 262-271
Publication Date: 2026/06/28
Abstract:
This studyexamined headteachers' instructional leadership practices and their contribution to the transition to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in Ugandan secondary schools. The Competency-Based Curriculum, rolled out by the National Curriculum Development Centre to replace the knowledge-heavy lower secondary syllabus, places new demands on school leaders to reorganize supervision, staff development, resource allocation, and monitoring systems around competency attainment rather than content coverage. Despite the centrality of headteachers to curriculum reform implementation, limited empirical evidence exists on which specific instructional leadership dimensions most strongly predict successful CBC transition within the Ugandan secondary school context. Guided by instructional leadership theory, the study adopted a cross-sectional correlational design and surveyed 250 teachers and headteachers drawn from government and private, day and boarding secondary schools across four regions of Uganda using a structured questionnaire. Data were analysed using univariate statistics (frequencies, means, and standard deviations), bivariate correlation analysis (Pearson's r), and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test the hypothesized measurement and structural relationships between five instructional leadership dimensions (classroom supervision, staff professional development, curriculum resourcing, goal setting and monitoring, and teacher collaboration) and CBC transition support. Descriptive results showed that boarding schools and government-aided institutions reported comparatively higher mean CBC transition support scores than day and private schools. Bivariate analysis revealed statistically significant positive correlations between all five instructional leadership dimensions and CBC transition support, with classroom supervision showing the strongest association. The SEM results, which demonstrated acceptable model fit indices, confirmed that classroom supervision (? = 0.34, p < 0.001) and staff professional development (? = 0.28, p < 0.001) were the strongest direct predictors of CBC transition support, followed by goal setting and monitoring, curriculum resourcing, and teacher collaboration. The model explained 49% of the variance in CBC transition support. The study concluded that instructional leadership, particularly direct classroom-focused supervisory practices and continuous teacher capacity building, is a critical lever for successful CBC implementation. The study recommends targeted instructional leadership training for headteachers, strengthened school-based teacher professional development structures, and improved resource allocation mechanisms to support competency-based teaching and learning.