Kenya’s Competency-Based Education (CBE) reform supports multilingual instruction in early grades, encouraging the use of the mother tongue or local catchment language alongside a gradual transition to Kiswahili and English. However, empirical evidence on how teachers’ instructional language choices are shaped by local classroom language ecologies remains limited. This study examines the relationships between teachers’ language-related beliefs, reported classroom practices, and perceived learner outcomes in early-grade CBE classrooms in Homa Bay County, a multilingual region where Luo, Suba, Kiswahili, and English coexist. Using a mixed-methods design, data were collected from 112 early-grade teachers in public and private primary schools. Quantitative data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression, supported by thematic analysis of open-ended responses. Results showed that valuing mother-tongue instruction was associated with higher perceived comprehension (r = 0.586) and engagement (r = 0.601), while deficit beliefs predicted lower comprehension (B = −0.317, p = 0.009; Adjusted R² = 0.345). Among instructional practices, only the use of Kiswahili to explain key concepts was significantly associated with higher outcomes (B = 0.341, p = 0.028). Findings indicate that instructional language choice reflects teachers’ adaptive responses to local sociolinguistic and institutional conditions, highlighting the need for context-sensitive multilingual education reform.

Authors:
Hesborn Ondiba, Tokyo University of Science, Japan

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Posted by James Alexander Gordon

Last updated: 2023-02-23 23:45:00

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