The Theoretical-Practical Chasm: A Critical Assessment of the Pedagogical Readiness of Staff Development Fellows for Competence-Based Curriculum Implementation in Zambian Universities

This research presents a critical, evidence-based investigation into a pivotal yet under-examined determinant of higher education reform in Zambia: the pedagogical readiness of Staff Development Fellows (SDFs) to catalyze the national transition to a Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC). It diagnoses a critical “Theoretical-Practical Chasm,” a systemic disjuncture between the formal pedagogical knowledge of SDFs and their applied, contextual capacity to broker authentic CBC implementation across diverse academic disciplines. Employing a transformative sequential mixed-methods design across five public universities, the study integrated a validated Pedagogical Readiness Inventory with in-depth phenomenological interviews and documentary analysis. Findings revealed a profound readiness deficit, marked by a focus on administrative mechanics over philosophical understanding, a legitimacy crisis in mentoring senior faculty, and training divorced from Zambia’s specific infrastructural and epistemological realities. The study’s original contribution lies in theorizing the SDF not as a mere trainer but as a “Pedagogical Broker,” a role requiring sophisticated translation across disciplinary, generational, and cultural boundaries. It concludes that the success of the CBC paradigm hinges on a systemic investment in building this brokerage capacity; without it, the reform risks degenerating into a superficial compliance exercise, perpetuating a cycle of ambitious policy and failed classroom practice.

Staff Development Fellows (SDFs); Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC); Pedagogical Readiness

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