Authors : Nyakwama Joyce Kwamboka; Peter John Imaji

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 5 - May

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/42jw85vz

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26may315

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between participation in community service and the development of responsibility among junior school learners in Nyamira County, Kenya. Kenya’s Competency-Based Education (CBE) curriculum emphasizes nurturing core values such as responsibility and identifies community service as a key pedagogical strategy to bridge classroom learning and real-life practice. Despite global recognition of its effectiveness, limited empirical research has examined how community service influences learners' responsibility in rural Kenyan contexts. The study specifically sought to identify community service opportunities available to learners, determine the relationship between service participation and responsibility, and examine how school and community contexts influence this relationship. Guided by the Ubuntu philosophy - which promotes interconnectedness, collective responsibility, and moral growth - and aligned with Kenya’s CBE framework, the study adopted a cross-sectional correlational design. The target population comprised 7,963 learners from 111 junior schools, of whom 160 Grades 7–9 learners were sampled using proportionate stratified random sampling to ensure gender and school-type representation. Data were collected using standardized Likert-scale questionnaires adapted from the Benefits of Community Engagement (BACE) Scale and the Hemingway Measure of Adolescent Connectedness (HMAC). Analysis was conducted using SPSS Version 26 through descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and regression analysis. Findings revealed that learners participated widely in school and community activities, such as tree planting, peer tutoring, cleaning, and assisting the elderly, and that this participation was statistically significantly positively related to learner responsibility (r = 0.561, p < 0.01). Regression analysis showed that participation accounted for 31.5% of the variance in responsibility, which rose to 52.6% when moderated by school and community support. The study concludes that structured community service, reinforced by supportive environments, effectively fosters responsibility and recommends that teachers integrate structured community service into learning and collaborate in supportive initiatives. It further recommends longitudinal and comparative studies to assess sustained impact.

Keywords : Community Service, Competency-Based Education, Learner Responsibility, Values Education, Ubuntu Philosophy, Kenya.

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