Implementing National Curriculum REforms through App-based learning for School leaders in secondary Education (INCREASE)

Junior secondary school leaders provide the necessary pedagogical support to foster the effective implementation of the new competence-based curriculum through the organisation of school-based teacher professional development After almost 10 years of absence in the country, VVOB is starting up activities again in Kenya. Since 2017, Kenya has been in the process of implementing a new competence-based curriculum (CBC), resulting in a major nationwide reform spanning all levels of education. The new CBC is currently implemented in early childhood and primary education, while preparations are underway for its implementation at junior secondary level. In consultation with the Ministry of Education (MoE), VVOB will support this next phase of the reform. As part of the reform, the MoE has set up a series of cascade trainings for teachers. To support effective change, teachers require an enabling and supportive school environment too. School leaders play a vital role in this respect, through the organization of school-based teacher continuous professional development (CPD). When provided with close pedagogical support, teachers feel confident to innovate and implement the curricular reform. School leaders in Kenya lack instructional skills however, and have no access to any CPD opportunities in this respect. The current intervention therefore aims at closing this gap. To this end, VVOB will support MoE partners in integrating content on instructional leadership in planned CPD activities, as well as support the development of a dedicated app-based CPD trajectory. Apart from providing crucial content, the app will contain assignments to ensure that school leaders put new knowledge and skills to practice. Lessons learned from the intervention will feed into the development of an evidence-informed strategy for institutionalizing blended modalities of CPD for school leaders. By strengthening school leaders’ instructional leadership skills, VVOB thus aims to ensure the effective implementation of the CBC through the provision of quality teacher professional development at school-level. Ultimately, we aim to foster junior secondary school students’ 21st century competences.