Instructional Materials and Competency Based Education Outcomes in Public Primary Schools in Makueni County, Kenya

In 2016, Kenya launched the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), later renamed Competency-Based Education (CBE), as a strategic step toward achieving Vision 2030, which aims to cultivate a skilled workforce to drive socio-economic development. Education serves as a cornerstone for this ambition, and a study conducted in Makueni County explored how instructional resources shape learning outcomes in primary schools under this new educational framework. Grounded in social constructivism theory, which posits that a supportive learning environment equips learners to navigate global challenges, the research underscored the importance of a well-resourced educational setting. To conduct the study, researchers targeted 10023 teachers and 909 school head-teachers from 909 public primary schools implementing CBE in Makueni County. Through simple random sampling, 90 head-teachers were selected, and 370 teachers from 90 schools were chosen. Data collection involved questionnaires and focus group discussions, with findings analyzed through frequencies, percentages, weighted averages and regression analysis. The results revealed that instructional resources significantly influenced learning outcomes.