Influence of Parental Awareness on Competence Based Education Implementation in Public Junior Schools in Makueni County, Kenya

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of parental awareness on CBE implementation in public junior schools in Makueni County, Kenya. The study was guided by Ecological Systems theory. A Mixed Methods Research approach, specifically a Convergent Research Design was adopted. In quantitative approach, the study used cross-sectional survey design while qualitative approach adopted a phenomenology research design. The target population was; 877 public junior schools, 877 Head of institutions, 1,429 teachers, 53,000 junior school learners and 2,631 parents. Simple random sampling was used to sample 88 junior schools, criterion sampling for 88 Head of institutions and 264 parents, stratified random sampling for 286 teachers, proportionate stratified for 381 students and Criterion sampling for 264 parents. Semi-structured questionnaires and observation guide. This study used both descriptive and inferential statistics with the help of SPSS software. Qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis. Findings showed that parental awareness has a positive and statistically significant influence on CBE implementation (B = 1.085, β = 0.489, t = 7.692, p < .001). The recommendations are heads of institutions should enhance school-level financial planning and also give priority to CBE activities in the available budgets. They should also set up regular communication and sensitization programmes to increase parental awareness and involvement. Key words: Parental Awareness; Competency Based Education; Implementation; Junior Secondary Schools