School Heads' Readiness to Implement the 2023 Competency-Based Curriculum in Tanzania: Evidence from a National Survey

Abstract

This study examined school heads’ readiness to implement Tanzania’s 2023 Competency-Based Curriculum and determined whether readiness varied across selected demographic, professional, and institutional characteristics. Guided by Organizational Readiness for Change Theory, the study employed an analytical cross-sectional survey design and analysed 14,648 valid responses from public and private primary school heads nationwide who had participated in the national curriculum bridging training. Study data were collected through a structured electronic questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression were subsequently used for analysis. The five-item readiness scale demonstrated acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s α = .742). Overall, school heads reported high readiness (M = 3.73, SD = 0.30), particularly in translating curriculum objectives into classroom practice and involving teachers in monitoring curriculum implementation, while readiness to use communities of learning for bridging training was comparatively lower. Gender and leadership experience were not significantly associated with readiness, whereas school ownership and educational qualification showed statistically significant but small differences. The regression model was significant but explained only 0.4% of readiness variance, indicating very limited overall practical influence of the examined characteristics. The study concludes that readiness for curriculum implementation depends substantially less on school heads’ background characteristics than on sustained professional learning and organisational capacity. It recommends institutionalising continuous professional development, professional learning communities, curriculum leadership support, assessment capacity building, and equitable school-level implementation support tailored to identified professional and institutional needs across public and private primary schools throughout Tanzania Mainland.