Assessment Of the Teacher Preparedness on Competency Based Curriculum Performance in Public Junior Secondary Schools in Makindu Sub County, Makueni County, Kenya.

Abstract

This study aimed to assess teacher preparedness on Competency-Based Curriculum performance in public junior secondary schools of Makindu Sub-County, Makueni County, Kenya. The study intended to establish the level of teacher preparedness for effective implementation of CBC in public junior secondary schools in Makindu Sub-County. The research aimed to answer the questions: how teachers’ attitude, Assessment of learners, Information Communication Technology skills and the Instructional resources affect the performance of Competency-Based Curriculum in public junior secondary schools of Makindu Sub-County. The study was specifically conducted within Makindu Ward, Nguumo Ward, and Kikumbulyu South Ward. The study adopted the Concern-Based Adoption Model (CBAM). This research targeted 400 respondents which included: 260 junior secondary school teachers, 136 head teachers and 4 curriculum support officers. The research sampled 120 individuals, consisting of 78 junior secondary school teachers, 41 primary school head teachers, and 1 curriculum support officer. The research simple random sampling and purposive sampling. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data while quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results of the study revealed that most of junior secondary school teachers were not well conversant with the CBC system of education. Also, the findings established that junior secondary teachers were not well prepared to implement CBC. The study revealed that implementation of Competence-Based Curriculum brings benefits to education as it’s tailored to meet individual student’s needs. The results further proved that CBC promotes critical thinking and problem-solving skills among the learners. The findings equally indicated that CBC promotes higher students’ engagement and motivation since it was well aligned with real world skills. Furthermore, it was confirmed that respondents had a positive attitude towards CBC as its benefit outweigh the potential challenges. The study found out that technological aspects significantly influenced CBC implementation. The study revealed that challenges of implementing a Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) can significantly impact its effectiveness. These challenges are designing assessment, conducting assessment, fair grading, individualized assessment, access to assessment materials and enough time for assessment. The study recommended that the ministry of education needs to train and motivate teachers to enable them grasp CBC content and pass the same to learners to enhance holistic development. This study would enhance more positive influence on performance and economic development of the country. Further studies can be carried out in other levels of education like the primary schools, senior secondary schools and universities. This study can also be replicated in other sub-counties and counties to find out how CBC is performing in different places of the country.