Parental Involvement in Guidance and Counselling and the Implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum in Kenyan Junior Secondary Schools

Kenya's transition to Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) has fundamentally redefined the relationship schools must cultivate with families. Yet one dimension of parental engagement has attracted comparatively little research attention: participation in school-based guidance and counselling. This study examined whether, and how strongly, parental participation in guidance and counselling is associated with effective CBC implementation in public junior secondary schools in Sotik Sub-County, Bomet County, Kenya. Theoretically anchored in the Multidimensional Engagement Theory of Fredricks, Blumenfeld, and Paris (2004), the study used a convergent parallel mixed-methods design drawing on 398 respondents — headteachers, teachers, students, and parents. Quantitative data from structured questionnaires were analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation; qualitative data from semi-structured headteacher interviews were analysed thematically. The study tested the null hypothesis that parental participation in school-based guidance and counselling has no statistically significant association with effective CBC implementation. Among the 100 parent respondents, only 25.0% participated regularly in guidance and counselling activities (composite M = 2.05, SD = 0.74 on a five-point scale). Where participation occurred, its associations with student outcomes were notable: 82.4% of student respondents rated parental G&C participation as effective or very effective in improving school attendance, and 70.6% affirmed its role in enhancing decision-making quality. Pearson correlation confirmed significant positive associations across all three CBC outcome indicators (r = .59 composite, p < .05), supporting rejection of the null hypothesis. Headteacher interviews identified limited parental CBC literacy, logistical constraints, and inadequate institutional structures as the primary barriers. The study concludes that parental guidance and counselling engagement is a substantially underused lever within CBC implementation systems, and recommends targeted structural interventions to broaden and deepen it.

parental involvement; guidance and counselling; competency-based curriculum; junior secondary schools; Kenya

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