Title: Play-based learning interventions and early-grade retention in Ugandan primary schools
Authors: Dr. Arinaitwe Julius, Asiimwe Isaac Kazaara
Volume: 10
Issue: 7
Pages: 293-300
Publication Date: 2026/07/28
Abstract:
This study investigated the influence of play-based learning (PBL) interventions on early-grade pupil retention in Christian-founded primary schools in Uganda, a context in which the biblical understanding of the child as a holistic being - spiritually, socially, cognitively and physically - informs pedagogical philosophy. Guided by a positivist paradigm and a quasi-experimental, cross-sectional comparative design, the study drew a sample of 384 Primary One to Primary Three pupils from twenty Catholic-, Anglican- and Pentecostal/Evangelical-founded schools in central Uganda, stratified into an intervention arm exposed to structured play-based pedagogy and a control arm following conventional, teacher-centred instruction. Data were collected using structured observation checklists, pupil attendance and progression registers, and a teacher/head-teacher questionnaire capturing the degree of Christian values integration into play activities, and were analysed using univariate, bivariate and structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques in SPSS and R (lavaan). Univariate results showed a mean PBL implementation score of 55.8 (SD = 20.2) and an overall retention rate of 69.0 percent. Bivariate analysis revealed a statistically significant association between PBL exposure and retention (?² = 39.45, df = 1, p < .001, ? = 0.32), with pupils in intervention schools retained at 84.5 percent compared with 54.3 percent in control schools, and a significant positive point-biserial correlation between PBL score and retention (r = 0.32, p < .001). The structural equation model demonstrated good fit to the data (?²/df = 2.14, CFI = 0.958, TLI = 0.942, RMSEA = 0.055, SRMR = 0.048) and confirmed that PBL implementation exerted both a significant direct effect on retention (? = 0.27, p < .01) and an indirect effect mediated through pupil attendance (? = 0.61 for PBL?Attendance and ? = 0.30 for Attendance?Retention), while teacher training in play pedagogy and the integration of Christian values into play activities further strengthened attendance and, through it, retention. The study concluded that play-based learning, when deliberately embedded within a Christian ethos of nurturing the whole child, is a statistically robust and practically meaningful lever for reducing early-grade dropout and repetition in Uganda. It recommended scaled-up, church-partnered teacher training in play pedagogy, deliberate integration of biblically grounded values of dignity and belonging into play activities, and routine monitoring of attendance as a proximal indicator of retention risk.