Leadership Practices and the Implementation of the Competence-Based Curriculum: A Case Study of Selected Secondary Schools in Nansana Municipality, Wakiso District
Hamidu Lumu
Faculty of Education
Islamic University in Uganda
Email: lumuhamid@gmail.com
Abstract: The introduction of the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) in Uganda represents a shift towards learnercentred, competency oriented education. However, implementation remains uneven across secondary schools, highlighting the importance of school leadership in supporting instructional change. Despite growing research on CBC implementation, limited qualitative evidence explains how leadership practices operate within school contexts. This study explored how leadership practices influenced CBC implementation in three selected secondary schools in Nansana Municipality, Wakiso District. An exploratory qualitative multiple case study design was employed. Participants comprised 24 purposively selected participants: three headteachers, three Directors of Studies, and eighteen teachers. Data were generated through semi structured interviews, focus group discussions, and document analysis and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings revealed that school leaders adopted hybrid leadership practices combining instructional, collaborative, supportive, and supervisory approaches. Leadership supported implementation through instructional supervision, teacher mentoring, professional learning, collaboration, and the creation of supportive organisational conditions for learnercentred pedagogy. However, implementation was constrained by large class sizes, inadequate instructional resources, inconsistent policy guidance, uneven teacher preparedness, and limited professional development opportunities. The study concludes that leadership for curriculum reform is a context responsive organisational process through which leaders build teachers’ professional capacity and support instructional improvement. It recommends strengthening school based professional learning, instructional leadership, and institutional support to enable school leaders and teachers to respond effectively to CBC implementation demands.
