Longitudinal Study of Educational Innovation in Uganda: A Five-Year Analysis from 2021

This longitudinal study addresses the critical need for robust, empirical evidence on the sustainability and impact of educational innovations within Sub-Saharan Africa. It investigates the implementation and outcomes of three distinct pedagogical innovations—mobile learning labs, community-based teacher coaching, and integrated STEM curricula—across a purposive sample of 24 primary and secondary schools in Uganda from 2021 to 2025. Employing a sequential mixed-methods design, the research annually collected quantitative attainment and attendance data from 4,320 pupils, alongside qualitative data from 216 in-depth interviews and 72 focus groups with educators, learners, and community stakeholders. Quantitative data were analysed using longitudinal regression modelling, while qualitative data underwent thematic analysis using NVivo software. Findings from the full five-year period indicate that while initial gains in learner engagement were evident across all interventions, only the community-coached teaching model demonstrated statistically significant, sustained improvements in literacy and numeracy outcomes. The study identifies key contextual factors for sustainability, including consistent local leadership, ongoing professional development, and infrastructural stability, which were frequently compromised in the technology-dependent models. The research underscores that successful innovation in low-resource educational contexts hinges less on technological novelty and more on strengthening human capital and community-embedded support systems. It concludes that for meaningful development, educational policy must prioritise scalable, context-responsive models that build endogenous capacity and resilience.