Stakeholder Engagement and Competency-Based Education Implementation in Private Junior Secondary Schools in Kenya: Evidence from Homa Bay County

Various countries have introduced CBE as a national curriculum to equip their labour force with skills and competencies required in the 21st century labour market. Adoption of competency-based education (CBE) in Kenya in 2017 has necessitated the managers of educational institutions in Kenya to modify school resources to conform to the requirements of CBE policy and standards. Resolving the various challenges encountered in the process of implementing CBE not only depends on curriculum design and policies but also on meaningful engagement of stakeholders, such as parents, teachers, and school managers among others. Limited empirical investigations have, however, been conducted to examine the relationship between stakeholder engagement and CBE implementation, especially in private schools at junior secondary school level. This study examined the relationship between stakeholder engagement and CBE implementation at the private JSS level in Homa Bay County, Kenya. The study adopted an explanatory quantitative design and was cross-sectional in nature. The target population comprised of 252 respondents, out of whom 24 participated in the pilot study, while 228 were involved in the main study census; data were collected through structured questionnaires. 224 cases were used in the final analysis, which was conducted using the SPSS program (version 29). The Pearson correlation and simple linear regression showed a strong, positive and statistically significant relationship between stakeholder engagement and CBE implementation (r = .656, p < .001). The regression model was statistically significant, F(1, 222) = 168.065, p < .001, and accounted for 43.1% of the observed variance in CBE implementation (R² = .431). It was then concluded that enhanced stakeholder engagement was associated with better CBE implementation in private JSSs in Homa Bay County. Increased collaboration in decision-making, streamlined two-way communication and regular consultations were recommended following the study findings. Longitudinal studies were also recommended in the future to shed further light on the relationship between the investigated variables since the current study was cross-sectional in nature. Key Words: Competency-Based Education; stakeholder engagement; curriculum implementation; private junior secondary schools; Homa Bay County.