Barriers to Adopting Learner-Centred Methods: Implications for Curriculum Implementation in Gulu City’s Private Secondary Schools

Abstract

This study investigated the barriers to adopting learner-centred methods of teaching and proposed strategies to enhance their use in private secondary schools implementing Uganda’s Lower Secondary Curriculum (LSC) in Gulu City. Although the LSC was introduced to promote meaningful, learner-centred learning, concerns have emerged regarding its practical classroom implementation. Utilising a concurrent triangulation mixed-methods research design, quantitative data were collected from 96 teachers through semi-structured questionnaires. In contrast, qualitative data were collected through interviews conducted across 10 purposively selected schools in the Laro-Pece and Bardege-Layibi Divisions of Gulu City. The quantitative results showed that learner-centred pedagogies, such as project-based learning, group discussions, and debates, were the most frequently employed methods of teaching in Gulu City’s private schools under the new LSC (M = 2.69–2.63). However, resource-intensive methods, such as the flipped classroom (M = 0.73) and contextual learning (M = 0.82), were rarely employed. Second, the results showed that the most significant barriers to the adoption of learner-centred teaching methods include funding constraints (M = 3.95), limited access to educational technology (M = 3.73), insufficient institutional support (M = 3.71), and inadequate teacher training (M = 3.49). The qualitative findings reinforced these results, highlighting low teacher efficacy, lack of pedagogical support, large class sizes, limited instructional time, and weak administrative backing as additional barriers. The administrators further cited budget constraints and competing priorities as significant barriers, reflecting broader systemic and contextual challenges to the effective implementation of LSCs. The study recommends strengthening teacher professional development, increasing the provision of teaching and learning materials, and enhancing institutional support to drive sustained pedagogical innovation in private secondary schools in Uganda.