This article is possibly the first qualitative research on the USAID-funded School Health and Reading Program (SHRP), implemented in Uganda since 2012. The SHRP program is aimed at scaling up the Thematic Curriculum (TC) reform, which was the first attempt to standardize the use of mother tongues in lower primary schools through child-centred pedagogical practices. SHRP has expanded the TC to additional local languages and districts, providing new learning materials – including specific teaching techniques – and teacher training to support it. However, the implementation of SHRP is marked by the fact that it is a donor-led reform that is perceived by teachers as an external intervention not well suited for Ugandan classroom realities. Our research is a multi-layered analysis of how teachers perceive the reform as its grassroots implementers. We ask how SHRP’s pedagogical emphasis on child-centred pedagogy is linked to it being donor-funded, and how teachers translate this perceived link into their classroom practices. We trace the links between the policy, classroom, and community levels to make concrete suggestions on how the SHRP program can benefit from teachers’ resources and creativity, while highlighting which aspects of mother tongue education the Ugandan Government needs to prioritize on a national level, and which aspects need to be better adjusted on a regional basis.

本文可能是对美国国际开发署（USAID）资助的学校健康与阅读计划（SHRP）的首次定性研究，该计划自2012年起在乌干达实施。SHRP计划旨在扩大主题课程（TC）的改革，这是首次尝试通过以儿童为中心的教学实践，在初中标准化使用母语。SHRP已将TC扩展到其他本地语言和地区，提供了新的学习材料（包括特定的教学技术）和教师培训来支持它。但是，SHRP的实施的特点是，这是一个由捐赠者主导的改革，被教师认为是外部干预，并不完全适合乌干达的课堂现实。我们的研究是对教师如何将改革视为基层实施者的多层分析。我们想知道，SHRP在以儿童为中心的教学法上的教学重点如何与它由捐助者资助相关联，以及教师如何将这种感知的联系转化为他们的课堂实践。我们追踪了政策，教室和社区级别之间的联系，以针对SHRP计划如何从教师的资源和创造力中受益提出具体建议，同时着重强调了乌干达政府需要在国家层面优先考虑哪些母语教育，以及哪些方面需要在区域基础上进行更好的调整。