Teachers' perception on institutional preparedness for competency based teaching of agriculture in public primary schools in Njoro sub-county of Nakuru county, Kenya

Abstract

Most school leavers lack the necessary competencies for the World of Work (WoW). Therefore, the Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) has been improving the education system to equip learners with the necessary competencies. The introduction of the Competence-Based Education (CBE) system demanded that institutions be ready for its implementation. This study therefore focused on teachers’ perceptions on institutional preparedness in equipping grade four leamers with agriculture-related competencies under the Competence Based Education (CBE) system. The purpose of this was to determine the teachers’ perceptions on adequacy of infrastructure, instructional resources, teacher training, and sustainability plans for instmctional and infrastnictural resources for the teaching and learning of agriculture at grade four. A descriptive research design was used employing a cross-sectional survey method that generated quantitative data. The study targeted 1087 primary school teachers in the Njoro Sub-County. The accessible population was 131 teachers of agriculture from the 96 public primary schools in Njoro Sub- County. A sample size of 96 teachers of agriculture was obtained from the 96 public primary schools. Research experts from the Department of Agricultural Education and Extension and Curriculum Instmction and Education Management validated the research questionnaire. A pilot study Was conducted in the Molo Sub-County where a questionnaire was administered to 31 grade four teachers of agriculture. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to estimate reliability. Alpha coefficient of 0.743 was obtained and accepted as it met the minimum threshold of 0.7 recommended for social sciences. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. The study found that 83.3% of schools had no infrastructural resources. All of the grade four teachers of agriculture had attended CBE training but a considerable proportion (49%) attended sessions, which were theoretical nature. The study observed that 35.4% of institutions had no maintenance schedule for instructional resources. The study, therefore, recommends the MoE facilitate schools in establishing infrastructure for teaching of Agriculture, implement practical based teacher training and sustainability guidelines for instructional resources in CBE to support competence acquisition effectively