Relationship Between School Preparedness and Effective Implementation of the Competency Based Curriculum: a Study of Teacher’s Knowledge in Nairobi County

Abstract

Competency-based curriculum was put in place at the same time that Kenya was working hard to reach its Vision 2030 goals, which require a skilled workforce. The goal of the study was to figure out how school readiness affects how well the CBC is put into place. The human capital theory was the basis for the study. The research design was a descriptive survey. The study was done in Nairobi, Kenya. Teachers, education managers, and headteachers were the people this study was meant for. The researcher chose six teachers, one education manager, and one headteacher from 10 schools that were meant to be representative. There were a total of 80 questionnaires sent out, and 65 were filled out and sent back. This is an 81% response rate. Questionnaires were sent to key informants, parents, and teachers in the selected schools to get the needed information. The people who answered the questions were given both structured and unstructured questions with clear instructions. First, all of the field data was checked to make sure it was complete and free of mistakes. Then, the questionnaires were put in order, coded, and put into the computer using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The data was then analyzed. The study made the following conclusion; curriculum development practices adversely affected the effective implementation of CBC because of its inherent inadequacies especially inadequate training of teachers on the appropriate teaching methods and CBC contents. Another conclusion was that physical infrastructure was a challenge to the effective implementation of CBC in Kenyan primary schools. The study also concluded that human capacity negatively affects the effective implementation of CBC because important areas of human capacity that support the implementation of the curriculum were inadequate. Finally, the study concluded that some aspects of implementation techniques promoted the effective implementation of CBC while some other aspects derailed the effective implementation process. The study made the following recommendations based on the findings of the study; there is need for thorough review of the implementation requirements of CBC to ensure the curriculum is well implemented by all stakeholders particularly teachers, parents and students. The study further recommends the swift provision of the requisite resources in all schools especially the public schools which are mainly government funded. Another recommendation is the need for provision of sufficient infrastructure, including telecommunication, internet, lighting, and security to schools to ensure the efficient implementation of the curriculum.