Curriculum reforms shifting from content-based to competency-based education are widespread across Africa, yet successful implementation remains a significant challenge. Assessing the degree to which new curricula are delivered as intended—implementation fidelity—is critical for understanding reform outcomes, particularly in mathematics education. This article develops a theoretical framework for assessing implementation fidelity within competency-based mathematics curriculum reform. It aims to conceptualise the core components of fidelity, identify key influencing factors, and propose a structured approach for evaluation applicable to the Rwandan context and similar settings. The framework is constructed through a synthesis and critical analysis of existing fidelity literature, adapted to the specific demands of competency-based pedagogy and the socio-cultural realities of secondary education in Rwanda. It integrates dimensions of adherence, dosage, quality, participant responsiveness, and programme differentiation. The framework posits that teacher pedagogical content knowledge is the most critical mediating factor for fidelity, directly influencing adherence to interactive, learner-centred methods. A central theme is the inevitable tension between strict adherence and necessary adaptation, where excessive rigidity can undermine the very pedagogical principles the reform seeks to instil. The proposed framework provides a necessary conceptual tool for moving beyond superficial measures of implementation, such as textbook distribution, to analyse the deeper pedagogical shifts required for genuine competency-based mathematics education. Curriculum evaluators should employ the multi-dimensional framework to diagnose specific fidelity gaps. Policymakers and teacher development programmes must prioritise sustained, subject-specific pedagogical training to address the identified knowledge mediator. implementation fidelity, competency-based curriculum, mathematics education, curriculum reform, theoretical framework, teacher development This article provides a novel, contextually-adapted fidelity framework that explicitly links the structural components of fidelity assessment to the pedagogical core of competency-based mathematics, offering a new diagnostic tool for reformers.
Niyigena et al. (Mon,) studied this question.