Stakeholders and resource preparedness for the implementation of competency-based education in public junior schools in Imenti south sub county, Meru county, Kenya

Abstract

The education sector is undergoing a global transformation with the adoption of Competency-Based Education (CBE), which emphasizes practical skills over traditional content memorization. Kenya's implementation of CBE since 2017 is a major shift in its education system, aiming to equip learners with 21st-century skills for arapidlychangingworld. ImplementationofCBErequiresreadinessintermsofteacher preparedness, availability of infrastructure, parental involvement, and adequate instructional materials. The study, grounded in Systems Theory was guided by the following objectives:to establish the relationship between teachers' preparedness and implementation of CBE in Junior schools, to establish the relationship between infrastructural resources preparedness and CBE implementation in Junior schools, to establish the relationship between parents’ preparedness and CBE implementation in Junior schools and to access the relationship between junior school instructional materials preparedness and CBE implementation. Thestudy adopted a descriptive survey research design. Data was collected through structured questionnaires and interviewschedules.Asamplesizeof279respondents,derivedfromatargetpopulation of 932 using the Yamane formula, included 119 teachers, 40Deputy Head teachers and 119 parents were selected through proportionate stratified sampling and 1 Sub-County director of education was selected purposively. Pilot study was conducted to evaluate the quality of the study instruments.Reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha achieving a value of 0.8, while validity was ensured through expert reviews for face and content validity. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics usingtheSPSS version26 softwareforstatistical computing.The findings revealedthat teachers were moderately prepared to implement CBE. Although many had undergone some training, few had received comprehensive preparation and there was a strong demand for continuous professional development and mentorship. Infrastructural resources in schools were found to be inadequate, with limited classrooms, laboratories and ICT facilities hindering practical learning experiences. Parental preparedness was also found to be low, with many parents lacking sufficient understanding of the curriculum and demonstrating limited engagement in supporting school activities. Instructional materials were not adequately available, with shortages of textbooks, teacher guides, and digital learning tools being common, and delays in distribution further constraining implementation. The study concluded that these gaps in teacher training, infrastructure, parental involvement, and instructional materials continue to undermine effective CBE implementation. It recommended, enhancing teacher professional development, improvinginfrastructural investment, strengtheningparental sensitization, ensuring timely supply of instructional resources and fostering collaborative partnerships among schools, government and communities. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, curriculum developers and school administrators seeking to strengthen the implementation of CBE in Kenya.