FROM ROUTINE TO RELEVANCE: TRANSFORMING SCHOOL CLEANING INTO COMPETENCY-BASED ASSESSMENT IN ZAMBIA
ABSTRACT
In many Zambian schools, cleaning remains an unexamined routine detached from curriculum goals. Within the Competency-Based Curriculum, however, everyday activities such as school cleaning can be transformed into structured School-Based Assessment (SBA) projects that foster transferable skills, values, and applied knowledge. This article demonstrates how school cleaning can be repositioned as a termly competency-based project, outlines the competencies developed, and provides practical assessment tools aligned to Competency-Based Curriculum principles.
- INTRODUCTION: RETHINKING EVERYDAY SCHOOL PRACTICES
Education systems worldwide are shifting from content-heavy instruction to approaches that emphasize competence, relevance, and application (UNESCO, 2016). Zambia’s Competency-Based Curriculum reflects this global shift by prioritizing skills such as problem-solving, collaboration, citizenship, and self-management (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2023).
Despite this policy direction, some routine school activities particularly cleaning remain pedagogically underutilized. In many cases, cleaning is still associated with discipline rather than learning. This practice contradicts Competency-Based Curriculum philosophy, which emphasizes learning through meaningful engagement with real-life contexts.
Reframing school cleaning as a structured School based assessment project provides an opportunity to align daily school life with national curriculum goals.
- CONCEPTUAL ALIGNMENT WITH THE COMPETENCY-BASED CURRICULUM
The Competency-Based Curriculum defines competence as the ability to apply knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes in real-life situations (MoE, 2023). School cleaning naturally embodies this definition when learners are involved in:
- Identifying sanitation problems
- Planning solutions
- Executing tasks collaboratively
- Evaluating outcomes
- Reflecting on learning
According to Wiggins and McTighe (2005), authentic assessment occurs when learners demonstrate understanding through performance in realistic tasks. Cleaning projects meet this criterion by situating learning within learners’ lived school environments.
- COMPETENCIES DEVELOPED THROUGH CLEANING-BASED SBA PROJECTS
3.1 CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING
Learners conduct environmental audits, identify hygiene challenges, and propose solutions. This aligns with constructivist learning theory, which holds that learners build understanding through active problem-solving (Vygotsky, 1978).
3.2 COLLABORATION AND LEADERSHIP
Group-based cleaning projects promote teamwork, role allocation, conflict resolution, and shared responsibility core competencies emphasized in the Competency-Based Curriculum learner profile (MoE, 2023).
3.3 CITIZENSHIP AND VALUES EDUCATION
Caring for shared spaces cultivates civic responsibility, respect for public property, and environmental stewardship. Dewey (1938) argued that democratic citizenship is learned through participation in communal activities precisely what structured cleaning projects provide.
3.4 SELF-MANAGEMENT AND WORK ETHICS
Regular engagement fosters discipline, punctuality, resilience, and pride in work attributes linked to employability and lifelong learning (OECD, 2019).
3.5 COMMUNICATION AND LITERACY
Learners write reports, keep reflection journals, present findings, and design hygiene awareness materials, supporting functional literacy development (UNESCO, 2016).
- CROSS-CURRICULAR INTEGRATION
Cleaning-based projects support interdisciplinary learning:
| Subject | Learning Connection |
| Integrated Science | Hygiene, sanitation, environmental health |
| Mathematics | Measurement, scheduling, data analysis |
| Civic Education | Citizenship, responsibility, public service |
| Languages | Report writing, reflection, oral presentation |
| Life Skills | Teamwork, self-care, problem-solving |
This integration reflects CBC’s emphasis on holistic learning rather than isolated subject mastery.
- ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK: MAKING CLEANING A LEGITIMATE SBA
Assessment must move beyond participation to evidence of competence. The CBC recommends continuous, formative, and performance-based assessment (MoE, 2023).
5.1 SAMPLE SBA GRADING SHEET (TEACHER ASSESSMENT)
SCHOOL CLEANING SBA – TERM PROJECT
| Competency Area | Indicators | Level 4 (Excellent) | Level 3 (Good) | Level 2 (Basic) | Level 1 (Emerging) |
| Planning & Analysis | Identifies problems, proposes solutions | Clear, logical, innovative plan | Clear plan with minor gaps | Limited planning | No clear plan |
| Collaboration | Works effectively with others | Leads, supports peers consistently | Cooperates well | Participates minimally | Disruptive or disengaged |
| Task Execution | Completes assigned tasks | Tasks completed to high standard | Tasks completed adequately | Incomplete tasks | Tasks not completed |
| Communication | Reports & presentations | Clear, confident, well-structured | Understandable with minor errors | Limited clarity | Poor communication |
| Reflection | Learning & values | Deep reflection, links to life skills | Some reflection | Superficial reflection | No reflection |
Overall Score: ____ / 20
5.2 LEARNER REFLECTION JOURNAL TEMPLATE
Name: ____________
Class: ____________
PROJECT: ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE SBA
- What problem did your group identify?
- What role did you play in the project?
- What skills did you develop during this activity?
- What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
- How does this learning apply to your life at home or in the community?
5.3 PEER ASSESSMENT SHEET
| Criteria | Always | Sometimes | Rarely |
| Contributes ideas | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Respects others | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Completes tasks | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
- ADDRESSING THE PUNISHMENT NARRATIVE
Research shows that when activities are framed as punishment, learners disengage and internalize negative attitudes toward work (Freire, 1970). To align with Competency-Based Curriculum principles:
- Cleaning must not be used as disciplinary action
- Learning objectives must be explicit
- Assessment criteria must be transparent
- Learner voice and reflection must be central
This shift transforms cleaning from coercion to purposeful service learning.
- IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE
School leaders should:
- Embed cleaning projects in SBA plans
- Train teachers on competency-based assessment
- Communicate learning purposes to learners and parents
- Recognize and celebrate learner achievement
Such practices ensure fidelity to Competency-Based Curriculum implementation and strengthen school culture.
- CONCLUSION
When intentionally structured, school cleaning becomes a powerful pedagogical tool that develops competencies essential for personal growth, citizenship, and national development. In the Competency-Based Curriculum era, learning is not confined to classrooms it is lived, practiced, and reflected upon.
A clean school, therefore, is not merely hygienic; it is evidence of competence in action.
References
Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Macmillan.
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.
Ministry of Education. (2023). Competency-Based Curriculum Framework. Lusaka: Government of Zambia.
OECD. (2019). Future of education and skills 2030. Paris: OECD.
UNESCO. (2016). If you don’t understand, how can you learn? GEM Report Policy Paper 24.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.