Title: Action Research as a Gateway to Community Engagement: Are Ugandan Universities Ready?
Authors: Dr. Mategeko Betty
Ahumuza Audrey
Dr. Twinomujuni Rosebell
Volume: 10
Issue: 6
Pages: 139-149
Publication Date: 2026/06/28
Abstract:
Action research has increasingly been promoted as a mechanism through which universities can bridge the gap between academic knowledge production and the practical developmental needs of surrounding communities, yet little systematic evidence exists on whether Ugandan higher education institutions possess the institutional architecture required to sustain it as a genuine gateway to community engagement. This study examined the institutional readiness of Ugandan universities to adopt and sustain action research as a vehicle for structured community engagement, focusing on four hypothesised readiness drivers, namely policy support, staff capacity, funding adequacy, and partnership structures, and their joint influence on action research engagement and overall institutional readiness. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, drawing a stratified sample of 312 respondents comprising academic staff, university management, and community liaison officers from a mix of public and private chartered universities across Uganda. Data were analysed using univariate descriptive statistics to characterise the sample and readiness drivers, bivariate techniques including chi-square tests of independence, independent-samples t-tests, and Pearson correlations to examine associations between readiness drivers and institutional readiness status, and structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the hypothesised pathways linking policy support, staff capacity, funding adequacy, and partnership structures to action research engagement and, in turn, to institutional readiness. The results revealed that funding adequacy was the weakest readiness driver across both public and private universities, while staff capacity and policy support were comparatively stronger but still below levels consistent with full institutional readiness. Bivariate analysis showed statistically significant differences in all four readiness drivers between universities classified as high-readiness and low-readiness, with action research engagement showing the strongest association with overall institutional readiness (Cohen's d = 1.117, p < 0.001). The structural equation model fit the data well (CFI = 1.038, RMSEA = 0.000, chi-square p = 1.000) and confirmed that action research engagement was the strongest direct predictor of institutional readiness (standardised beta = 0.368, p < 0.001), with policy support, staff capacity, funding adequacy, and partnership structures exerting both direct and indirect effects on readiness through action research engagement. The study concluded that Ugandan universities remained only partially ready to use action research as a gateway to community engagement, with structural and financial constraints posing the most significant barriers. It recommended deliberate investment in dedicated community engagement funding lines, the institutionalisation of action research within university policy frameworks and promotion criteria, and the strengthening of formal partnership structures linking universities to community-based organisations and local governments.