Teacher Education in Ethiopia:
History, Development, and Current Status
Tesfaye SEMELA, PhDResearch Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at
University of Tübingen, IfE, School Pedagogy
1
Outline
• Introduction to Ethiopia: Geography, People, and Culture
• History of Education• Education System• Teacher Education in Ethiopia• Teacher Education in Ethiopia
– Beginning of Teacher Education– Pre-Primary– Primary– Secondary
• Key problems, challenges , and Future Research.
2
Ethiopia: Introduction
• Location– Northeast Africa or Horn of
Africa
• Size: 1.21 mil. Sq.Km• Population 80 mil.
• 85 ethnic groups/• 85 ethnic groups/Languages
• Three major religions– Eth. Orthodox (42%)– Muslim (34%)– Protestant (19%)– Catholic (1%)– -Others (3%)
• Currency: ETB, 1Euro =18ETB 3
Indegenious Education
• Interface between relegion and education – Education begun with the
entry of christainaity in Ethiopia in the 4th Century A.DA.D
– The Ethiopian Orthodox Church was (in some instances, still is) responsible for the education of the population (Wagaw 1979; Negash 1990).
4Rock hewn church of Lalibela (above) , St. Mary's’ Orthodox Church, Addis Ababa.
Indegenious Education …cont‘d
• Mosque Education – Maderesa (Islamic schools)– Islamic education has joined Orthodox Church after
the introduction of Islam in Ethiopia in 12th century A.D.
• Achievements of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church– The Saba (ethiopic) script – Ethiopia the only country
in SSA with written script of its own. – Recording and developing Ethiopian cultural, social,
religious, and intellectual wealth ..\Videos\RealPlayer Downloads\Learn Amharic Now!!! The Entire Order - The Language of RasTafari - ethiov.com.flv 5
Teaching Profession: Pre-modern period
Church Education (Amare, 1967) • Primary Education : Fedel(learning the ethiopic
alphabets, Acts of the Apostles and Psalms of David )
• Secondary Education: Zema bet (Singing i.e. Church
Music and dance)Music and dance)
• College Education: Kene bet (Ge‘ez Grammer,
translation of texts, and composition of versus and
Logic )
• University Education: Mesafbet (House of books) has
four areas of specialization: a) Old Testament, (b) New
Testament, c) Dogma & Philosophy , & (d) Astonomy
6
Teachers of the Church Schools
– But Primary Level (Fedeal of the Geez alphabet and others) is taught by priests who underwent sound education in villages and rural localities (until today).
– Zema bet are higher levels- and teaching is – Zema bet are higher levels- and teaching is conducted by qualified church scholars called „Meri Geta“ meaning a „learned man“
– Kene bet and Mesafbet are equivalent to college and university education respectively …thus, teaching is done by highly qualified church scholars.
7
Begining of Modern Education
• Western type education offically began in 1896 – However, earlier (before
1890s) there were attempts
• Ethiopian Kings of the time were very suspicious of the activities of Western missionaries
1890s) there were attempts by protestant missionaries to introduce Western-style education
– since they see threats of mass conversion of its population to Catholicism or Protestantism.
8
Influencial Personalities
• 1896 Opening of the first Modern School. Named after Emperor Minilik II
•Minilik II was the pioneer of modern, Western-style education
•Minilik was a famous King of Kings who led Ethiopia to the victory of Adwa over the Italian Occupation forces. Some scholars even equate him with Prussia/German Politician Otto von Bismarck (Zewde 2002)
9
Father of the Empire- Emperor Haileselassie I
• He believed that it is only through education that Ethiopia can catch up with the rest of the
10
with the rest of the developed World.
• The Emperor himself was the Minister of Education.
Emperor’s classroom visit in Teferi Mekonnen School in Addis Ababa.
The Beginning …cont’d
School children Early Modern School
11
The 2nd modern school in Addis Ababa, Teferi Mekonen SchoolStudents of early 20th Century
The Beginning*
• Teacher Education in Ethiopia is roughly asold as the beginning of modern Western-styleeducation. (Late 19th Century)education. (Late 19th Century)
• The programs are divided into three majorgroups namely
– Kindergarten, primary, and secondary levels.Training of teachers for children with special needsis also undertaken
12*As soon as modern education started, foreign teachers were hired from Egypt (Coptic
Orthodox Christians)
Teacher Education Today
�Teacher Education Programs�Teacher Education Programs�Current status: Training �Challenges of the education system�Research areas
13
Structure & System of Education
Higher Education (3-6yrs)
Secondary – II (2 yrs)
TVET, 10 +1, + 2, & +3
Secondary- I (2 yrs)
Primary ( 8 yrs)
Nursery + Kindergarten
GSLCE
14
Structure and System of Education…….cont‘d
University Study PhD 3-4 yrs
M.A./MSc 2yrs
B.A./BSc. 3-5yrs
Technical Vocational Education (TVET)
10 +1 1 yr- 10+3 yrs(Primary Teacher Traning
General Secondary School Leaving Certificate Examination (GSLCE)
General Secondary (9 & 10th Grades)
Primary (8 years)2nd Cycle… 4 years
1st Cycle…. 4 years
Pre-School – Kindergarten (3 years)15
Training of teachers
• It is undertaken only in Government Institutions
� Primary Teachers ….17 Teachers’ Colleges
� Secondary Teachers.…23 Universities
16
Ethiopian primary school Children, MoE 2009
Teacher Education Qualification Framework
• Minimum Qualification Required
– 10 + 2 years
• Diploma
– 10 + 3 years
�Certficate�Teach in KG and Grades 1 – 4 Grades
�Diploma
– 10 + 3 years
• PGDE (postgradute Dip in Ed.)– B.A. /B. Sc + 1 year Diploma
�Teach Grades: 5-8
� Degree + Postgraduate Diploma
�Teach in Secondary School
17
Overview (Source : Ministry of Education Annual Abstract, 2009)
Kinderg. Primary Secondary TTI/TTC** University
Enrollment 263,464 15,340,786 1, 502, 133 263, 001
Female (%) (P1: 46.5%, P2:39.4%)
S1: 13.8%S2: 2.9%
24.1%
Teacher(%Female)
9,794 253, 629 (37.1%)
33, 736(11.4%)
8,355(10.3%)(%Female) (37.1%) (11.4%) (10.3%)
Institutions 2,740 23, 354 1, 087 /17 23
Budget Share*
61.1 9.1 25.6
CSR*** DNA 62 74 DNA DNA
*Total share of education from national Budget 19.6% (MoE 2008)** TTI = Teacher Training Institute, TTC = Teacher Training College (Gov.)*** SCR = Student Classroom Ratio; DNA = Data Not Vailable
18
Data on population of teachers
• Number of Secondary School Teachers – Total = 33, 736– Female = 3, 852– Male = 29, 883
• Number of primary school teachers – Total = 253, 629– Total = 253, 629– Female = 94, 004– Male = 159, 625
• Pupil-Teacher Ratio– Secondary (43:1), 2008 (MoE 2009) regional disparity is highly apparent
(Somali 92, Oromia 53, while AA =26)– Primary: P1 = 62; P2 = 50 (Somali 137, South = 74)
19
Proportional Representation: Gender Issues
Female
Total (%)
Proportion of Teachers by Gender (%) in Ethiopia
20Source : Ministry of Education Annual Abstract, 2009
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Male
Male Female Total (%)Secondary 88.4 11.6 100Primary 62.9 37.1 100
Current Qualification of teachers (as of 2009)
The proportion of teachers qualified to teach at different levels [as per the Ethiopian Education Training Policy (ETP)]
• Primary Level 1st Cycle …..93.3% hold Primary Teaching Certificate
• Primary Level 2nd Cycle…..66.3% hold College Diploma
• Secondary Level…………….63.9% hold B.A./BSc or BEd degree
21Source : Ministry of Education Annual Abstract, 2009
Teacher Educators
� Subject specialists*, e.g. in Math, English, Physics etc… over 50% have graduate degree, less than 10 % PhDs, the remaining B.A./BSc i.e. Graduate Assistants.
� Professional courses: are offered by majority of M.A. � Professional courses: are offered by majority of M.A. holders in Pedagogy & Psychology, Curriculum & Instruction.
� Subject Methodology (e.g. Math didactics, Physics Didactics) is almost non-Existent
22* In most cases have no training in teaching
Key problems of Teacher Training
Primary and Kindergarten
• The number of children demanding early childhood education and primary schools are rapidly growing outstripping supply.
• Quality of school infrastructure and teachers remain poor or even deteriorating.
• The training for primary school teachers is very short and leaves a lot to be desired in terms of the quality of candidates.
• Kindergarten teacher training is left for the private sector and quality is believed to be even poorer except in few prestigious elite Kindergartens.
23
Key problems
Secondary teacher education (Mekonnen 2008; Semela 2008)
• Professional competence of teachers is deficient
• Content knowledage is inadequate
• Teachers do not much the standards & expectations of the profession (Moral & Ethics)
• Teaching is theoretical & teacher-centered (MoE 2003),
• Shortage of qualified teachers that led to TV Instruction at Secondary Schools.
24
Challanges of teacher education and teachers
• Failure to attract qualified candidates to the profession
• Serious lack of qualified teacher educators particularly …in
subject methodology (Fachdidaktik)
• Problems of resource and expertise to train teachers with
special needs
• The low status of the teaching career
• Bad workplace conditions (Semela 2003; 2008)
25
Future Research (knowledge gap)
• History and development of teacher education (including traditional education)
• Teacher recruitment policy & practice and impact on • Teacher recruitment policy & practice and impact on quality.
• The impact of teacher qualification on child development.
26
Future Research ….cont’d
• Early childhood teacher training
• Teacher education for children with special needs.
• Gender Issues in teacher education
• Distributive justice of qualified teachers in rural and peripheral communities.
27
References
• Amare, G. (1967). The Aims and Purposes of Church Education in Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Education, Vol.1, No. 1, 1-11.
• Mekonnen. D. (2008). Reflections on the Teacher Education System Overhaul (TESO) program in Ethiopia: Promises, pitfalls, and propositions. Journal of Educational Change, Vol. 9, No. 3, 281-304.
• MoE. (2009). Annual Education Statistical Abstract. Ministry of Education, Addis Ababa.
• Negash, T. (1990). The Crisis of Ethiopian Education : Some Implications for Nation-• Negash, T. (1990). The Crisis of Ethiopian Education : Some Implications for Nation-Building, Uppsala Afrikainstitute, Uppsala University, Sweden.
• Semela, T. (2008). Teacher Education at Crossroads: How Should Ethiopian Secondary School Teachers be Trained? Journal of Education for Development, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1-37.
• Semela, T. (2003). Impacts of Teachers’ Working Conditions on their Plan to Stay in their Career in sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Southern Ethiopia. PhD Dissertation, University of Tübingen, Germany.
• Wagaw, T. (1979). Education in Ethiopia: Prospect and Retrospect. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press
• Zewde, B. (2002). A History of Modern Ethiopia (1855-1991) (2nd Ed.), Addis Ababa University Press.
28
Vielen Dank!
29