Influence of School-based Factors on Implementation of Competency-based Curriculum in Public Primary Schools in Kajiado North-sub County, Kajiado County, Kenya

Abstract

The government is working tirelessly to ensure that implementation of CBC is achieved by ensuring that it provides some of the infrastructure in schools. However, Kajiado North Sub County is one of the arid and semi -arid area that faces unique challenges and this is not an exception to the implementation of CBC. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate influence of school-based factors on implementation of CBC in public primary schools in Kajiado North Sub-County, Kajiado County. Specifically, the study sought to determine influence of instructional methods, learning resources, teachers’ training and school infrastructure on the implementation of CBC in public primary schools in Kajiado North Sub-County, Kajiado County. The study adopted the constructivism theory. The study used descriptive survey research design. The target schools were 63 public primary schools in Kajiado North Sub County. The study respondents were 63 primary school head teachers, 516 teachers and 3402 grade 4 and 5 pupils. The sample size was 471. The primary data for the study was collected using focus group discussion guide, questionnaires, and interview guide. The researcher obtained a research permit from the National Council for Science and Technology (NACOSTI). The acquired permit was taken to the County Commissioner and the Sub County Director of Education of Kajiado North Sub County. The researcher then booked appointments with the head teachers to administer the questionnaires and conduct the interview. For analysis, data was first coded and entered into SPSS (version 25). Quantitative data was analyzed using both descriptive statistics (percentages, mean score and standard deviation) and inferential statistics. The findings for quantitative data are presented in tables. The qualitative data from the open-ended questions and interview guides were analyzed using thematic content analysis and presented in narrative form. The study found that instructional methods (r=0.738; p=0.001), learning resources (r=0.756; p=0.000), teacher’s training (r=0.792; p=0.000) and school infrastructure (r=0.763; p=0.000) are strongly and positively correlated with implementation of CBC in public primary schools in Kajiado North Sub-County. The study concluded that schoolbased factors; instructional methods, learning resources, teacher’s training and school infrastructure significantly influence implementation of CBC in public primary schools in Kajiado North Sub-County.The study recommends that the primary school administration should come up with strategies to ensure that teachers use experiments and role play which were established to be the least used learning methods. The study also recommends that the government of Kenya should ensure that in primary schools are adequate books in a bid to improve the pupil book- ratio. The study further recommends that the Ministry of Education should increase the period of in-service CBC training for the teachers. The study also recommends that the government should build more classrooms in all public schools to accommodate the high enrolment rates in public primary schools for successful curriculum implementation.