Effects of Curriculum Change on Teaching and Learning in Primary Schools in Zambia: Digital Adaptation Strategies, AI-Supported Implementation, and Teacher Resilience

Mukelabai Precious, Dr. J. Arockia Venice

Curriculum Change; Teaching and Learning; Zambia; Primary Education; AI-Supported Implementation; Digital Adaptation; Teacher Professional Development.

Curriculum change is a complex, multidimensional process that affects the instructional practices, professional identities, and pedagogical relationships of teachers and learners in profound ways. In Zambia, the 2013 revised curriculum introduced sweeping changes to content, language of instruction policy, pedagogical approaches, and assessment frameworks across all school levels changes that continue to generate significant implementation challenges, particularly for primary school teachers in rural and resource-constrained settings. This article examines the effects of curriculum change on teaching and learning in Zambian primary schools, contextualising local findings within global scholarship on curriculum reform, digital adaptation tools, AI-supported teacher professional development, and organisational change management in education. Drawing on a mixed-methods descriptive survey, findings reveal that curriculum change has produced both positive shifts including increased learner-centredness, expanded mother tongue instruction, and stronger competency-based assessment and significant challenges including teacher time pressure, inadequate professional development, resource scarcity, and assessment confusion. The article argues that AI-powered curriculum interpretation platforms, digital teacher professional learning communities, and blockchain-enabled curriculum tracking systems offer promising pathways for supporting effective curriculum change implementation. Policy recommendations are presented.

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