Influence of Instructional Supervision Roles by Quality Assurance and Standards Officers on the Implementation of Competency-Based Education in Public Junior Schools in Gatanga Sub-County, Murang’a County, Kenya

The purpose of the study was to examine influence of instructional supervision roles by quality assurance and standards officers on the implementation of competency-based education in public junior schools in Gatanga Sub-County, Murang’a County, Kenya. The study’s research question was: How do instructional supervision roles by Quality Assurance and Standards Officers influence the implementation of Competency-Based Education in public junior schools in Gatanga Subcounty, Murang’a County, Kenya? The study was anchored on Systems Theory. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was adopted, combining a descriptive survey with a phenomenological approach. The study targeted 266 respondents (211 teachers, 53 principals, and 2 QASOs), selected through simple random, stratified random, purposive, and census sampling, and achieved a 91.7% return rate: 190 teachers, 53 principals, and 1 QASO. Questionnaires generated quantitative data from teachers, while semi-structured interviews with principals and the QASO generated qualitative data; the two were triangulated thematically. The findings showed that QASOs’ instructional supervision roles positively influenced CBE implementation, with teachers and principals reporting favorable perceptions. Instructional supervision, teacher capacity building, curriculum compliance monitoring, and monitoring and evaluation were significantly associated with CBE implementation. The combined QASO roles explained 35.9% of the variation in CBE implementation, with curriculum compliance emerging as the strongest predictor. Qualitative findings confirmed that QASO supervision enhanced curriculum delivery and teacher support, although limited staffing and resources constrained effectiveness. The study recommends strengthening QASO capacity, visitation schedules, professional development, and feedback mechanisms.