Title: Investigating the misconception that CBC abandons factual knowledge among in-service teachers
Authors: Dr. Arinaitwe Julius, Musiimenta Nancy, Akampurira Sarah
Volume: 10
Issue: 7
Pages: 178-186
Publication Date: 2026/07/28
Abstract:
Since its national roll-out, the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) has been accompanied by a persistent lay belief among practising teachers that the reform discards factual, content-based knowledge in favour of generic skills, thereby weakening learners' command of subject matter. This study investigated the prevalence, structure, and correlates of this misconception among 320 in-service secondary school teachers sampled from government and private schools in Uganda. A cross-sectional analytical design was adopted, and data were collected using a structured, pre-tested self-administered questionnaire comprising a five-item Likert scale that was dichotomised into a binary composite outcome (holding the misconception versus not holding it). Data were analysed in Stata using univariate descriptive statistics, bivariate chi-square tests of association, and multivariable binary logistic regression to identify independent predictors of the misconception while adjusting for confounding. Overall, 55.3% (177/320; 95% CI: 49.9-60.8%) of teachers were classified as holding the misconception, with the highest endorsement recorded for the belief that CBC overemphasises skills at the expense of facts (62.2%). Bivariate analysis revealed statistically significant associations between the misconception and prior CBC orientation/training (p<0.001) and subject area taught (p=0.014), but not with sex, age, teaching experience, school type, location, or academic qualification (p>0.05 for all). After adjustment for covariates in the multivariable logistic regression model, teachers who had not received CBC orientation training had over five times higher odds of holding the misconception compared with trained counterparts (adjusted OR=5.21, 95% CI: 3.08-8.80, p<0.001), a finding that remained the single dominant predictor in the model (McFadden's pseudo Rē=0.139; LLR p<0.001). No other covariate reached statistical significance at the 5% level, although language teachers showed a borderline elevated odds relative to science teachers (aOR=1.86, 95% CI: 0.99-3.51, p=0.055). The study concluded that the misconception is widespread but is substantially explained by inadequate orientation to the pedagogical logic of CBC rather than by demographic or structural teacher characteristics, implying that it is a remediable knowledge gap rather than a fixed attitude. The study recommends scaling up structured, competency-focused CBC orientation and refresher training for all in-service teachers, deliberately embedding explicit messaging on the complementary (not substitutive) relationship between factual knowledge and competency-based assessment within training curricula, and prioritising targeted follow-up support for humanities and language teachers who displayed comparatively higher endorsement of the misconception.