The Prevailing Practices and Challenges of Curriculum Reform in Ethiopian Higher Education: Views and Responses from Within

In reflecting on the recent educational change in Ethiopian higher education (HE), this article explores the nature of undergraduate curriculum reform in relation to student-centered pedagogy and continuous assessment method. To this end, the article uses a qualitative case study design collecting primary data from interviews with 4 senior managers and 4 education quality experts, and a focus-group with 6 teachers, and exploring secondary sources. The result shows that the forces, triggering curriculum reform are mostly external providing little room for internal factors and the development of curriculum from within the institution. The prevailing reform applied a government’s controlled, centralized, and a one-size-fits-all model. As study participants reported, the most challenging issues are implementation gaps, particularly the absence of a functional enactment zone for teachers. This happens because conformity and uncertainty, as well as the rapidity of change, have created tension for academics when implementing the reforms in their classrooms. This article provides some suggestions as to how these challenges might be overcom

The Practice of Entrepreneurship Education through Extracurricular Activities in Higher Education: Students Perspective

Abstract  This study was aimed at investigating the practice of entrepreneurship education through extracurricular activities in higher education from students perspective. To achieve this objective descriptive survey research design was used. Data were collected from university students. Accordingly, four universities were selected as sample universities by using simple random sampling technique. From these sample universities departments that give entrepreneurship course with all its students were taken as sample of the study. Data were collected by using questionnaire and interview from the participants. The result shows that  students have participated in extracurricular  activities  and have a willingness to participate if they get an opportunity. However, students did not participated in business plan competition outside the university, company visit, competition events between students and external stakeholders, seminars and workshops. The major challenges identified are lack of  funding available to support the entrepreneurship education,  lack of support from the top management and the government  and  lack of teachers support and encouragement of students practice of entrepreneurship education through extracurricular activities.&nbsp

Community Participation in Preschool Education of Ethiopia: the Case of South West Shewa Zone

The objective of this study was to examine the state of community participation in preschool education and factors affecting their participation in selected woredas of South West Shoa Zone. Survey research design was used. Data were collected from 192 preschool teachers, 58 preschool principals, 12 cluster supervisors 4 woreda education expert,   and 58 PTA members by using questionnaires, interview and focus group discussion. The findings of the study revealed that the participation of the community in preschool education is very low; the most common areas of community participation are cash contribution and participation in a meeting for the improvement of student behavior. Finally, the major factors identified are lack of awareness, failure to attend the meeting and failure to send their children to preschools. It is suggested that the preschools should be designed effective strategies of cooperation to work with the community in supporting preschools. In addition, continuous efforts should be made by preschools in the orientations and reorientation of community members about the objectives, scopes, principles, methods, and activities of preschool education

The Effect of Pre-School Education to Students' Learning Experience in First Cycle Primary Schools

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of pre-school education in the first cycle primary school. This effect was assessed in terms of students' learning experience

Global, regional, and national cancer incidence, mortality, years of life lost, years lived with disability, and disability-Adjusted life-years for 29 cancer groups, 1990 to 2017 : A systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study

Importance: Cancer and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are now widely recognized as a threat to global development. The latest United Nations high-level meeting on NCDs reaffirmed this observation and also highlighted the slow progress in meeting the 2011 Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases and the third Sustainable Development Goal. Lack of situational analyses, priority setting, and budgeting have been identified as major obstacles in achieving these goals. All of these have in common that they require information on the local cancer epidemiology. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study is uniquely poised to provide these crucial data. Objective: To describe cancer burden for 29 cancer groups in 195 countries from 1990 through 2017 to provide data needed for cancer control planning. Evidence Review: We used the GBD study estimation methods to describe cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-Adjusted life-years (DALYs). Results are presented at the national level as well as by Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income, educational attainment, and total fertility rate. We also analyzed the influence of the epidemiological vs the demographic transition on cancer incidence. Findings: In 2017, there were 24.5 million incident cancer cases worldwide (16.8 million without nonmelanoma skin cancer [NMSC]) and 9.6 million cancer deaths. The majority of cancer DALYs came from years of life lost (97%), and only 3% came from years lived with disability. The odds of developing cancer were the lowest in the low SDI quintile (1 in 7) and the highest in the high SDI quintile (1 in 2) for both sexes. In 2017, the most common incident cancers in men were NMSC (4.3 million incident cases); tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer (1.5 million incident cases); and prostate cancer (1.3 million incident cases). The most common causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for men were TBL cancer (1.3 million deaths and 28.4 million DALYs), liver cancer (572000 deaths and 15.2 million DALYs), and stomach cancer (542000 deaths and 12.2 million DALYs). For women in 2017, the most common incident cancers were NMSC (3.3 million incident cases), breast cancer (1.9 million incident cases), and colorectal cancer (819000 incident cases). The leading causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for women were breast cancer (601000 deaths and 17.4 million DALYs), TBL cancer (596000 deaths and 12.6 million DALYs), and colorectal cancer (414000 deaths and 8.3 million DALYs). Conclusions and Relevance: The national epidemiological profiles of cancer burden in the GBD study show large heterogeneities, which are a reflection of different exposures to risk factors, economic settings, lifestyles, and access to care and screening. The GBD study can be used by policy makers and other stakeholders to develop and improve national and local cancer control in order to achieve the global targets and improve equity in cancer care. © 2019 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

The Integration of Entrepreneurship Education in to Ethiopian Universities Formal Curriculum

Abstract  This study was aimed at investigating how Ethiopian universities integrate entrepreneurship education into the formal curriculum. To achieve this objective descriptive survey research design was used. Data were collected from university students, instructors, and department heads. Accordingly, four universities were selected as sample universities by using simple random sampling technique. From these sample universities departments that give entrepreneurship course with all its students, instructors and department heads were taken as sample of the study. Data were collected by using questionnaire, interview, and document analysis from the participants. The result shows that in Ethiopian higher education institutions, entrepreneurship education curriculum and teaching methods is developed in house; have no a formalized national or international exchange of good practice in entrepreneurship education and did not include entrepreneurs in the development of entrepreneurship teaching materials. In addition, since the entrepreneurship education course is not integrated to all programs only few students took it as a result students did not  develop entrepreneurial behavior, skills, knowledge in their stay in the university. The predominant methods of teaching used were lecture and case study. The major barriers for the development of entrepreneurship education identified are lack of funding available to support the entrepreneurship education and good-quality entrepreneurship education materials, lack of support from the top management and lack of strategic integration of entrepreneurship education in their institutions.  &nbsp

Self-Regulated Learning Strategies as Predictors of Perceived Learning Gains among Undergraduate Students in Ethiopian Universities

Despite increasing focus on the importance of self–regulated learning for undergraduate students in universities in recent years, very little is known about its specific features in universities in developing countries, in general, and Ethiopia, in particular. This study examined the relationships of self-regulated learning strategies (SRLSs) with perceived learning and further assessed the relationships within the SRLS components in Ethiopian public universities. For this, the authors adopted Pintrich’s self-regulation theory as a guiding framework and used structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis. The sample used in the analysis pooled survey data from three randomly selected public universities and included volunteer undergraduate students having a major in Business and Economics and Engineering and Technology fields (n = 1142; male = 700 and female = 442), with mean age = 21.98 and SD = 2.50. The results indicated that the student SRLS and perceived learning gains scores were average values in terms of the magnitude of those measured variables. A two–step hierarchical regression analysis showed that the five components of SRLS that emerged from SEM analysis significantly predicted students’ perceived learning over and above the control variables (ΔR2 ≥ 0.38 and 39%) for the total samples. Moreover, the regression results showed that greater predictions were observed for the help–seeking component (0.35 ≤ β ≥ 0.47) than others, significantly positively predicting the perceived learning for the total samples. Overall, the findings of this study indicate that the SRLSs are relevant mechanisms to aid student success in higher education. The implications of the study are highlighted

Self-Regulated Learning Strategies as Predictors of Perceived Learning Gains among Undergraduate Students in Ethiopian Universities

Despite increasing focus on the importance of self–regulated learning for undergraduate students in universities in recent years, very little is known about its specific features in universities in developing countries, in general, and Ethiopia, in particular. This study examined the relationships of self-regulated learning strategies (SRLSs) with perceived learning and further assessed the relationships within the SRLS components in Ethiopian public universities. For this, the authors adopted Pintrich’s self-regulation theory as a guiding framework and used structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis. The sample used in the analysis pooled survey data from three randomly selected public universities and included volunteer undergraduate students having a major in Business and Economics and Engineering and Technology fields (n = 1142; male = 700 and female = 442), with mean age = 21.98 and SD = 2.50. The results indicated that the student SRLS and perceived learning gains scores were average values in terms of the magnitude of those measured variables. A two–step hierarchical regression analysis showed that the five components of SRLS that emerged from SEM analysis significantly predicted students’ perceived learning over and above the control variables (ΔR2 ≥ 0.38 and 39%) for the total samples. Moreover, the regression results showed that greater predictions were observed for the help–seeking component (0.35 ≤ β ≥ 0.47) than others, significantly positively predicting the perceived learning for the total samples. Overall, the findings of this study indicate that the SRLSs are relevant mechanisms to aid student success in higher education. The implications of the study are highlighted