EFFECT ASSESSMENT OF RE-TOOLING ON GUIDED WRITING SKILLS INENGLISH IN PUBLIC JUNIOR SCHOOLS IN BOMET CENTRAL SUBCOUNTY, KENYA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66055/2k57y680Keywords:
Re-tooling, Guided Writing Skills, Organization of Content, Intervening VariableAbstract
In many educational settings, the need for continuous teacher development is critical, particularly in improving core skills
like writing. Despite efforts to enhance English language instruction, students in Bomet County were identified to have
had guided writing challenges on organization of content that were considered to be addressed through the commenced
teacher re-tooling. The study aimed to address poor academic performance in English, specifically in organization of
content in guided writing, among 16,744(72.57%) Junior School students in Bomet Central Sub-County who sat the
Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) in November, 2022 and performed Below Expectation in guided
writing in English. To address this, 108(62.79%) public Junior School teachers in Bomet Central Sub-County were retrained in early 2023, aiming to improve English performance among 4,078(86.23%) students transitioning to Junior
School. The study evaluated the effects of this re-training on Grade Eight students' guided writing skills, focusing on
organization of content. A causal-comparative design was used, with 244 students and 6 teachers sampled from 1,223
students and 32 teachers across five educational zones of Bomet Central Sub-County. Data were collected using
questionnaires, observation checklists, and written tests, analyzed with SPSS and thematic words. Reliability test was
ascertained using Cronbach Alpha of .70 after a pilot study in two zones within Bomet Central Sub-County. Validity test
of the tools was done in support of curriculum experts at Bomet University College. The study found that while re-tooling
significantly improved teachers' instructional competence in guiding students' organization of content (p-value = 0.030
to 0.047 before and after re-tooling respectively), it did not lead to observable changes in classroom practice or notable
improvements in students' written performance. To enhance the effectiveness of re-tooling, this study suggest that teacher
training programs should incorporate practical demonstrations, peer coaching, and real-time classroom observations to
ensure proper application of skills. Additionally, structured mentorship programs should be introduced to provide
continuous support. Teachers should also adopt formative assessment techniques, such as structured rubrics and peer
reviews, to track students' progress effectively. Further studies to whether integrative technology, including use of digital
writing tools and interactive teaching strategies in enhancing organization of content by schools in curriculum-aligned
learning resources like structured prompts and scaffolding exercises should be done. Future studies on Education
policymakers must be carried out to establish whether training policies have been refined to align with modern
pedagogical approaches that impact classroom outcomes in Competency Based Curriculum
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