By Faridah Nassereka | 4th February 2025
As the curtains closed in on 2024, the Action for Life Skills and Values in East Africa (ALiVE) initiative convened a research co-creation workshop on December 6th. The one-day workshop aimed to consolidate collaborative efforts in generating evidence for integrating life skills and values into Uganda’s Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). The core aim of this workshop was to validate, revise, and contextualise an earlier developed research agenda, ensuring it is robust and contextual to Uganda. The workshop, hosted in partnership with Kyambogo University, was the third in a series of co-creation events held within the region. It brought together diverse stakeholders central to the CBC delivery, including academics, researchers, officials from the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) including Regional Education Learning Initiative – Africa (RELI Africa) - Uganda partners.
ALiVE structured this research while cognisant of curriculum reforms that are an occurrence across East Africa, the significant strides made in CBC delivery including capacity enhancement for teachers, pedagogical and assessment reforms and the challenges in implementation that have continued to manifest including inadequacy of resources and a continued focus and attention on high stake examinations. ALiVE’s collaborative research journey will focus on addressing some of these challenges by uncovering what works in CBC delivery, why, and how, through undertaking qualitative and randomised control trials.
This collaborative effort further reflects ALiVE’s commitment to CBC undertakings, particularly in integrating life skills and values, while amplifying the need for them to be assessed and nurtured. By addressing gaps, capturing best practices, and identifying scalable solutions, the initiative seeks to reinforce efforts for the successful implementation of the CBC and teacher education in life skills and values.
Participants at the one-day research co-creation workshop held at
Kyambogo University on 6th Dec 2024
Unpacking ALiVE’s Proposed
Research Agenda
Having already achieved significant milestones from its
earlier workshops, including the initial identification and brainstorming on
potential research ideas, and reflection on the design of a randomized control
trial (RCT), ALiVE is set to undertake one of such studies in 2025 aimed to
evaluate the most effective strategies for equipping teachers to foster life
skills and values acquisition in the classroom. Targeting evidence generation
to inform CBC implementation, the research agenda further seeks to strengthen
research output of African researchers.
At the workshop, the draft research agenda was presented
which included the RCT design as well as a presentation of the problem
statements, objectives, and research questions. Participants engaged in vibrant
discussions, offering insights to refine the agenda and have it contextualised
to Uganda. The following considerations emerged out of the engagement with the
research agenda:
1. Aligning Research with
National Goals and Agendas
The research should align with the MoES’s research priorities
and address mutual areas of interest related to life skills and values in the
CBC. This alignment will ensure relevance and increase the likelihood of uptake
by policymakers.
2. Leveraging Opportunities
for Collaboration
The diversity of stakeholders involved in this research
collaboration presents opportunities to harness collective expertise and
resources. Such diversity strengthens the research’s effectiveness and
potential for success.
3. Ensuring High-Quality
Research
High-quality
research is critical for creating feedback loops that will inform policy
adaptation and curriculum refinement. Robust evidence generation will help
identify gaps and inform the needed improvements in the CBC’s implementation.
4. Addressing CBC
Implementation Challenges
Challenges such as teacher retooling and reskilling,
misalignment across education levels, and poor coordination are common
hindrances to CBC implementation. The research should focus on
understanding these hurdles and proposing actionable solutions.
5. Investigating
incoherencies in CBC Delivery
There is a need to address the disconnect between CBC
expectations, how teachers deliver it, and how it is assessed. Participants
emphasised the importance of exploring these inconsistencies and identifying
strategies to resolve them.
6. Bridging Academic and
Policy Research
The importance of bridging the gap between academic and
policy research and leveraging on the generated knowledge and translating it to
practical implementation will be an impactful boost in CBC delivery. The need
to close this gap is vital for driving meaningful change in CBC delivery.
Looking Ahead: Building
Evidence for the Future
The proposed research presented at the one-day workshop marks a significant step in ALiVE’s efforts to build a robust evidence base for CBC delivery focusing on life skills and values integration in teacher education. By leveraging diverse expertise, aligning with national priorities, and focusing on high-impact areas, ALiVE aims to shape a research agenda that addresses the real needs of educators, learners, and policy. Through these collaborative efforts, ALiVE is not only focused on identifying CBC gaps but also co-creating solutions. This approach will ensure that the outcomes of the research are actionable and impactful, paving the way for a future where life skills and values are prioritised.
As Uganda continues its CBC journey, research initiatives
like these serve as a beacon of hope, demonstrating the power of collaboration
in transforming education. The diversity embedded in the planned research
process, which will be enriched by various participants including
academicians, Civil Society Organisations, and government officials, is
expected to strengthen both the research process and the aims of the research.
