Leading through Contradictions: Cultural–Historical Barriers and Leadership Competency Gaps in Early Childhood Care and Education Center Management Committees of a Refugee Settlement in Uganda

Early childhood care and education (ECCE) in humanitarian contexts depends on service access and local governance quality.This study examines cultural historical barriers and leadership competency gaps among Center Management Committees (CMCs) governing community-managed ECCE centers in Palorinya Refugee Settlement.Guided by Cultural Historical Activity Theory, the study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design.Quantitatively, 261 CMC members completed a 21-item pretest leadership assessment covering seven domains: ECCE leadership knowledge, strategic planning, communication and community engagement, conflict resolution and power dynamics, monitoring and evaluation, collaboration and teamwork, and adaptability and innovation.Mean scores across all domains were below 3.1 on a 5-point scale, with weakest performance in communication and community engagement and conflict resolution.Qualitatively, we analysed six focus group discussions and 18 semi-structured interviews with CMC members, teachers, and local authorities thematically.Findings reveal contradictions between expectations and tools, tensions between formal policy roles and customary authority structures, misalignment between national ECCE frameworks and settlement realities, and leadership identities shaped by displacement, poverty, and trauma.These contradictions explain why competency gaps persist despite training and highlight leadership as a relational, system-embedded practice.The study concludes that strengthening CMC leadership in refugee ECCE requires culturally grounded, trauma-informed, and system-level interventions addressing resource scarcity, policy misalignment, gendered power dynamics, and fragmented governance.Implications are drawn for adapting Uganda's ECCE policy, designing leadership development initiatives, and advancing research linking community governance to children's learning outcomes.