Do learning and teaching materials influence learning outcomes amidst high enrolments? Lessons from Uganda's universal primary education

Education systems in third world countries are grappling with high enrolments of children in schools, amidst dwindling resources. In this article, the authors question whether learning/teaching materials influence learning outcomes in a context where policy is more concerned about enrolment than quality of service. This article is drawn from data collected by UWEZO Uganda in a nationwide household education survey across eighty Ugandan districts in 2011. It focuses on children from sixteen districts, across four regions in Uganda, attending primary level three under Universal primary education. The findings reveal that, although learning and teaching resources are distributed and made available to learners and teachers, they have minimal influence on learning outcomes of learners in both Mathematics and English. Educators and policy makers should therefore deeply engage with the diverse nature of learning and teaching materials in poorly-resourced schools if learning outcomes are to be improved.