School Management Practices and their Influence on Implementation of Competence Based Curriculum in Public Primary Schools, Lang’ata Sub County, Nairobi Kenya

In 2017, Kenyan government through the ministry of education and Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) embarked on major reforms in education. These reforms aimed at introducing Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) to replace the 8-4-4 which was in operation since 1985. CBC went through need assessment and piloting was done in 2017 at grade three before implementation was rolled out in 2018. This move was projected to having a system that was aligned to global changes and new universal trends at the same time being compliant with 2010 Kenyan constitution. Competence Based Curriculum is a system of education which aims at equipping learners with core competencies and core values. Learners compete with themselves and the teacher is a facilitator of learning. This is opposed to exam oriented system of learning which encourages rote learning. The success of this curriculum depends on so many aspects among them the role played by school management. This study sought to establish how supervision of learning programs as a managerial practice influences implementation of Competence Based Curriculum in Lang’ata sub county, Nairobi Kenya. The researcher used Gross curriculum implementation theory of 1971. The study targeted 270 respondents which included 248 teachers, 11 head teachers and 11 curriculum coordinators all drawn from 11 public primary school in Lang’ata sub-county, Nairobi. There were six sampled schools which translated to 6 head teachers, 6 curriculum coordinators and 55 teachers. Mixed methodology was used combined with descriptive survey design. Data collection was through administration of questionnaires and observation checklists. Published research on complacency of school management has revealed some gaps in supervision of educators which has impacted implementation of CBC. Supervision as a managerial practice ensures that teachers do the right thing in implementation of CBC. Supervision is purely an initiative by school management which pushes educators to be ‘hands on’ in their professional conduct. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28. Interpretation revealed that most school managers are not making proper follow up in their supervisory roles which has affected learners’ acquisition of core competencies and core values. A small percentage of the head teachers (16.7%) ensured learners had portfolio. It is also evident that staff meetings served as the major method of conveying information in most institutions (93%). This was confirmed through observation checklists and questionnaires administered. Lack of adequate supervision created huge gaps in; preparation of professional documents, sampling of learners books, monitoring punctuality among others. This study therefore recommends some measures like; having proper supervisory policy by the Ministry of Education and Teachers Service Commission where school heads are kept updated on their roles and responsibilities as supervisors.