Title: From Thematic Curriculum to CBC: Two Decades of Curriculum Reform and Implementation Drift in Uganda
Authors: Dr. Arinaitwe Julius, Dr. Twinomujuni Rosebell, Asiimwe Isaac Kazaara
Volume: 10
Issue: 8
Pages: 135-144
Publication Date: 2026/08/28
Abstract:
Uganda has, over the past two decades, undertaken two major curriculum reforms grounded in competency-based education philosophy: the Thematic Curriculum, introduced for lower primary classes (Primary One to Primary Three) in 2007, and the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), rolled out nationally for lower secondary classes (Senior One to Senior Four) beginning in February 2020. Both reforms sought to shift classroom practice away from rote, examination-driven instruction toward learner-centred, competency-oriented pedagogy, yet mounting evidence suggests that implementation of both curricula has progressively drifted away from their original design intent. This study examined the sociodemographic and training profile of teachers implementing the two reforms, the bivariate relationships between reform phase and implementation fidelity, and the structural pathways linking teacher capacity and institutional support to implementation fidelity and curriculum drift. A quantitative, cross-sectional comparative survey design was employed, drawing a stratified random sample of 420 teachers from government and private primary and secondary schools across Uganda's Central, Eastern, Northern, and Western regions. Data were analysed using univariate frequency analysis, bivariate Welch t-tests, one-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation, and structural equation modelling (SEM) estimated by maximum likelihood. Results showed that only 42.4% of teachers reported adequate curriculum training, with CBC teachers substantially less likely to report adequate training (37.3%) than Thematic Curriculum teachers (49.4%). Implementation fidelity differed significantly by curriculum phase (Thematic M = 3.24, CBC M = 2.70; t(380) = 6.52, p < .001, d = 0.64), but not significantly by training-adequacy self-report, school type, or region. The SEM demonstrated excellent model fit (?²(99) = 94.92, p = .597; CFI = 1.00; RMSEA = 0.000) and confirmed that Teacher Capacity (? = 0.51, p < .001) and Institutional Support (? = 0.30, p < .001) significantly and positively predicted Implementation Fidelity, while Implementation Fidelity (? = -0.43, p < .001) and Institutional Support (? = -0.27, p < .001) significantly and negatively predicted Curriculum Drift. The findings support the study's central thesis that curriculum implementation drift in Uganda is structurally rooted in insufficient teacher capacity-building and institutional support, a pattern that recurred, in compressed form, during the CBC rollout despite lessons available from the earlier Thematic Curriculum experience. The study recommends intensified, sustained professional development for CBC teachers, strengthened institutional and material support systems, and the establishment of a standing, longitudinal curriculum-fidelity monitoring framework within Uganda's curriculum governance institutions.