Thesis (MPhil) Stellenbosch University, 2014 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In an increasingly complex world where food security remains a challenge in many areas and especially Africa; it is essential to educate children about food – from production to consumption; and to ensure they eat enough as this is a crucial factor for concentration and learning abilities. How can we teach children about food in a sustainable way? This study focuses on schools in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, which have a school feeding programme, school garden and nutrition curriculum. The question studied is: To what extent do two primary schools in central- and east Tigray (North Ethiopia) integrate the feeding scheme, school garden and nutrition curriculum? The methodology chosen is a case study and the empirical data was collected through interviews, surveys and observations. Principals of 14 schools were interviewed about the school gardens, curricula and school gardens. Two schools were then selected for a further in-depth research. The school gardens, mostly initiated by the staff, serve the purpose of creating income for the school and teaching students the skills of gardening. The curriculum is standard for Tigray and focuses on different food types and creating a balanced diet. The school food in most schools is provided by the World Food Programme (WFP), but some exceptions exist. This research shows that integration between the three objectives will be beneficial. Obstacles include getting the staff ‘on board’ as a priority and controlling the unification of the three, for example schools feel that they have less ownership over the feeding scheme because it is organised by an external NGO. This study suggests stakeholders view school gardens, nutrition education and school feeding schemes under one umbrella for the ultimate benefit of creating a sustainable model to teach about food. The case study provides an insight to the specific challenges in Tigray, Ethiopia but important conclusions can also be generalised. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In ’n toenemend komplekse wêreld waar voedsel sekuriteit in baie gebiede, veral in Afrika ’n uitdaging bly, is dit baie belangrik om kinders oor voedsel op te voed - vanaf produksie tot by die verbruik daarvan, en ook om seker te maak dat hulle genoeg eet, wat baie belangrik is vir konsentrasie en die vermoë om te leer. Hoe kan ons kinders op ’n volhoubare manier leer oor voeding? Hierdie studie fokus op twee skole in Tigray, in Ethiopië wat skoolvoedingskemas, skooltuine en voedingkurrikula het. Die vraag wat gevra is, is: Tot watter mate integreer hierdie twee skole in Tigray die voedingskemas, die skooltuine en die voedingkurrikula? Die gekose metodologie is ’n gevallestudie. Empiriese data is ook deur middel van onderhoude, oorsigte en observasies versamel. Onderhoude oor skooltuine, voedingskemas en die kurrikula is gevoer met die skoolhoofde van 14 skole. Twee skole is toe gekies vir in-diepte navorsing. Die skooltuine bring geld in vir die skool en word ook gebruik om vir die leerling tuinmaakvaardighede aan te leer. Die kurrikulum is standaard vir die hele Tigray en word deur die Wêreld Voedsel Program verskaf. Daar is egter ’n paar uitsonderings. In hierdie navorsing is daar bewys dat die integrasie van die skooltuin, die voedingskema en die kurrikula, goeie gevolge kan hê. Dit is egter belangrik dat die skool personeel moet saamwerk en dat die vereniging van die drie beheer moet word. Skole voel bv. Tans dat hulle nie eienaarskap oor die voedingskema het nie, want dit word deur eksterne NROs beheer. Hierdie navorser stel voor dat die skooltuine, skoolvoedingskema en die voedingkurrikulum onder een sambreel beskou moet word met die doel om ’n volhoudbare model vir die onderrig van voeding te skep. Die gevallestudie verskaf insig in die spesifieke uitdagings in Tigray, Ethiopië, maar belangrike slotsomme kan ook veralgemeen word.

Initiated by the lack of research in the area and curiosity of the researcher about practices, this study was intended to investigate the practices of prison education in selected prisons of ANRS, Ethiopia. The study was guided by constructivist paradigm. It also followed qualitative approach and employed constructivist grounded theory as a strategy. The study involved 30 participants selected through purposive sampling techniques from two prison institutions. Data were mainly collected through one-to-one interview. Focus group discussion and observation were also used to triangulate data obtained through one-to-one interview. Based on the nature of the strategy employed, constant comparative data analysis was followed to analyse data. In relation to international trends in providing correctional education in terms of objectives, curricular directions, activities and delivery mechanisms, the findings from the literature review showed that the objectives range from enabling inmates read and write to providing them the chance for lifelong learning. Inmates are also provided with various contents based on their needs which are geared towards their overall development. While learning, inmates engage in different activities which mean that the methods of teaching used during teaching learning are active. The study also revealed that prison education evolved in Ethiopia, with the issuance of criminal law. While the objectives of the provision of prison education in Ethiopia were found to be personal and social development, and avoiding boredom on the part of inmates, the programmes and contents provided were not diversified enough to accommodate the needs of all inmates. In addition, it was learnt that inmates have not been actively involved in the teaching learning as the teaching methods mostly used were teacher-centred. The findings also showed that facilitators and administrators came to work in the correctional institutions intentionally and got benefits out of working in the institutions as opposed to teachers who joined unintentionally and were frustrated working there. Various challenges affecting the provision of education in prisons were also identified. The finding generally showed that education provision in the sample correctional institutions was of low relevance and quality compared to what international literatures show. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Comparative Education)

This qualitative research investigated the implementation problems of apprenticeship training program in the Addis Ababa TVET colleges and enterprises. The research looked into the training program conducted by TVET Colleges and enterprises. Relevant literature on the nature of apprenticeship training and the factors that could affect its implementation were also reviewed. The research applied the theoretical statement of Bandura’s (1977) theory of observation /imitation/, Vygotsky’s theory of ZPD, contextual or the situated learning (Lave and Wenger, 1991), the constructivist view of learning and career theory as the main theoretical frameworks to describe the apprenticeship training process. The theories, however, do not mention the factors that can hamper the implementation of apprenticeship training in a specific social context. The theory of observation was preferred since it can describe the apprentice’s effort to master the skill of an occupation by observing the craftsman at the enterprises. The situated learning was preferred as it gives value to practice as a condition for the effectiveness of learning. Similarly, the research considered Vygotsky’s theory of the ZPD. The application of ZPD indicates the difference between what the apprentice can accomplish independently and what he/she can do with the close assistance of supervisor on a given task. Holland’s career theory (as cited in De lary, Duncan & Swarth, 2006) is also considered to describe the apprenticeship training in relation with an occupation. The current research has enabled to consider context specific conditions by focusing on the investigation of the causes of the implementation challenges of the apprenticeship training. The researcher collected data from Addis Ababa TVET Agency experts, deans of one private and another public TVET Colleges, college apprenticeship training coordinators, trainers, trainees, supervisors and enterprises by employing unstructured and structured interviews, observation and Focus Group Discussion tools. The analysis was made by making the data pass through three successive steps: data reduction, data display and interpretation, and conclusion. The findings showed that the implementation of the apprenticeship training program had challenges that could be shared among its actors; Trade Unions had no involvement in the implementation of the apprenticeship training program; the selected colleges and enterprises addressed their challenges by using limited strategies and without regular and systematic way; the presence of some less motivating factors for the participation of the apprentices in the apprenticeship training was reported; the presence of conditions that could adversely affect the apprentices’ acquisition of occupational skills was reported; the provision of apprenticeship training at the enterprises lack, either facilities or training services, in order to arrange the apprenticeship training program for TVET college trainees; and there were some indications for the presence of some weak professional qualities of supervisors that have implications for the apprentices’ training. Eventually, it was concluded that the implementation of apprenticeship training program in the Addis Ababa TVET Colleges and enterprises had challenges that require the consideration of both institutional and human conditions. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The aims of the research were twofold, namely, investigate challenges that hindered the implementation of inclusive education in Ethiopia and develop a framework that can enhance the inclusion of children with disabilities (CwDs). The ecology of human development has served as the theoretical lens underpinning this study to discover challenges that hindered the implementation of inclusive education. These barriers were also investigated from micro, meso, exo, and macro perspectives in the system. With this, I employed qualitative approach under the hegemony of constructivism paradigm. The hermeneutic design of the study enabled me to build knowledge about the barriers that hindered the implementation of inclusive education. Subsequently, using semi-structured interview and focus group discussion as instrument, I listened to experts in education, school supervisors, professionals in SNE and education vice heads. Thereafter, the data analysis went by transcribing the recorded interview verbatim. Then, using the transcribed and chunked data, I mapped the range and nature of phenomena, created typologies and found out associations between themes with a view to provide explanations for the findings. The process of mapping and interpretation was also guided by the original research aims as well as by the themes that have emerged from the data themselves. The participants revealed that the challenges to implement inclusive education ranged from the absence of mandatory national inclusive policy to the low income of the families of CwDs. Therefore, lack of collaboration among stakeholders of education, misconception of inclusive education, shortage of trained teachers, poor allocation of finance, poor school infrastructure and lack of mandatory inclusive policy were the few identified barriers among others. Finally, I have recommended collaborative effort among stakeholders to ensure inclusion of CwDs. / Inclusive Education / D. Phil.

The key purpose of this research was to interrogate how cross-border learning experiences of students, who are culturally diverse in terms of ethnicity, language and religion at Ethiopian universities, can and should be managed. An important aspect of this study was determining the relationship between unofficial strategies which are employed at the three selected universities to address cultural diversity and students’ cross-border learning experiences which resulted from them. Conceptual and theoretical frameworks from Sociology, Education Management and learning theories guided this study which was informed by a literature study on addressing socio-cultural differences of students at national and international levels. Qualitative empirical information was collected mainly through individual and focus group interviews with information-rich participants, namely senior management personnel, Student Service officials, lecturers and students. Although the contextual literature review showed that inter-group hostility amongst ethnic, linguistic and religious diverse students prevailed at universities, despite the implementation of the multicultural policy adopted in Ethiopia, empirical findings, however, indicated that management provisions in terms of lodging and catering services, co-curricular activities and teaching and learning processes promoted cross-border learning experiences that enhanced inter-group understanding, as well as the academic skills of culturally diverse students. Diversity sensitive lodging, multilingual services at Student Service units, inclusive co-curricular activities and diversity sensitive group learning activities, which involved heterogeneous grouping of students, promoted the development of the self and others across ethnic, religious and linguistic lines and brought about a decrease in mistrust and suspicion and hostility towards students of other backgrounds. Based on the findings, a model for officially incorporating strategies which advance cross-border learning experiences within management processes at higher education institutions was developed to further the realisation of cross-border learning experiences by means of measures which are rooted in Student Service units and teaching and learning processes These should be developed as an alternative for the multicultural teaching programmes which find expression in Civic and Ethical Education and Communicative English Skills courses to advance the cross-cultural development of students. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

Education systems are currently undergoing transformational changes throughout the world and one of these changes is a shift from a philosophy of positivist paradigm to constructivist paradigm of teaching. Accordingly, constructivists claim children actively construct their knowledge rather than absorb information spoken to them by teachers. Therefore, the constructivist teaching of Geography places emphasis on the fact that learners should think more, understand and responsible for their own learning. This study thus focused on the practice of constructivist methods in the teaching of Geography at preparatory secondary schools of Ethiopia. Geography is colourful and an outdoor oriented subject in which learners could get good opportunities to construct their knowledge through various in-and-out of school activities. Thus, constructivist methods are useful for Geography learners to develop their intellectual capacity for life-long learning and for generic skills such as critical thinking, information processing, problem solving, decision-making, etc. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to investigate the merits and reasons for teacher dominance in the pedagogy of Geography and to suggest learner-centered teaching strategies in the context of constructivist principles on learners’ learning activities to liberate them from passive learning pedagogy. The study was confined to six Higher Education Preparatory Secondary Schools out of 20 preparatory schools of the South Wollo Administrative Zone of Amhara state of Ethiopia. It employed mixed-method approaches (qual-quant) and descriptive survey design. The target population for this study was 1053 Social Science learners and 12 Geography departmental heads and teachers. Among 1053 learners 199 learners were sampled through random sampling technique. But all Geography teachers and departmental heads were taken as the main participants through purposive sampling techniques. Semi-structured interviews, observation, documents and questionnaire were the main data collection instruments for the study. Data that were collected through interviews, observation and open-ended questionnaire were analysed inductively using narrations and descriptions through words, phrases and statements, whereas the data collected from documents were organised in the form of tables and analysed via percentage and mean. However, data that were collected through close-ended questionnaires were edited, coded, classified, tabulated and organised in the form of tables havebeen analysed through frequency, percentage and mean via SPSS software. Based on the analysed data, findings were depicted. The findings of the study revealed that Geography is a unique discipline and its syllabus was prepared in line with the country’s education policy which encourages constructivist approaches of teaching. However, majority of teachers frequently practice traditional teaching methods. Moreover, the study also identified that lack of teachers’ professional training about the practice of a variety of learner-centered methods and continuous assessment techniques, lack of experience about learner-centered teaching methods both on the part of teachers and learners, low interest and commitment on the part of teachers, teachers’ failure to utilise teaching materials, placing of less competent learners in the Social Science stream, learners’ low interest to learn and incapability to learn through learner-centered methods, learners’ low engagement in the teaching activities, learners’ disturbance, shortage of time, absence of plasma TV transmission and shortage of resources such as school facilities, instructional media, reference books, Geography room, department room, pedagogical center, lounge and scarcity of budget were considerable hindrances on the implementation of Geography syllabus through the constructivist approaches of teaching methods. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations were made to the concerned bodies to alleviate the hindrances and to encourage the practice of constructivist teaching methods and making the learners free from teachers’ dependency. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

Education systems are currently undergoing transformational changes throughout the world and one of these changes is a shift from a philosophy of positivist paradigm to constructivist paradigm of teaching. Accordingly, constructivists claim children actively construct their knowledge rather than absorb information spoken to them by teachers. Therefore, the constructivist teaching of Geography places emphasis on the fact that learners should think more, understand and responsible for their own learning. This study thus focused on the practice of constructivist methods in the teaching of Geography at preparatory secondary schools of Ethiopia. Geography is colourful and an outdoor oriented subject in which learners could get good opportunities to construct their knowledge through various in-and-out of school activities. Thus, constructivist methods are useful for Geography learners to develop their intellectual capacity for life-long learning and for generic skills such as critical thinking, information processing, problem solving, decision-making, etc. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to investigate the merits and reasons for teacher dominance in the pedagogy of Geography and to suggest learner-centered teaching strategies in the context of constructivist principles on learners’ learning activities to liberate them from passive learning pedagogy. The study was confined to six Higher Education Preparatory Secondary Schools out of 20 preparatory schools of the South Wollo Administrative Zone of Amhara state of Ethiopia. It employed mixed-method approaches (qual-quant) and descriptive survey design. The target population for this study was 1053 Social Science learners and 12 Geography departmental heads and teachers. Among 1053 learners 199 learners were sampled through random sampling technique. But all Geography teachers and departmental heads were taken as the main participants through purposive sampling techniques. Semi-structured interviews, observation, documents and questionnaire were the main data collection instruments for the study. Data that were collected through interviews, observation and open-ended questionnaire were analysed inductively using narrations and descriptions through words, phrases and statements, whereas the data collected from documents were organised in the form of tables and analysed via percentage and mean. However, data that were collected through close-ended questionnaires were edited, coded, classified, tabulated and organised in the form of tables havebeen analysed through frequency, percentage and mean via SPSS software. Based on the analysed data, findings were depicted. The findings of the study revealed that Geography is a unique discipline and its syllabus was prepared in line with the country’s education policy which encourages constructivist approaches of teaching. However, majority of teachers frequently practice traditional teaching methods. Moreover, the study also identified that lack of teachers’ professional training about the practice of a variety of learner-centered methods and continuous assessment techniques, lack of experience about learner-centered teaching methods both on the part of teachers and learners, low interest and commitment on the part of teachers, teachers’ failure to utilise teaching materials, placing of less competent learners in the Social Science stream, learners’ low interest to learn and incapability to learn through learner-centered methods, learners’ low engagement in the teaching activities, learners’ disturbance, shortage of time, absence of plasma TV transmission and shortage of resources such as school facilities, instructional media, reference books, Geography room, department room, pedagogical center, lounge and scarcity of budget were considerable hindrances on the implementation of Geography syllabus through the constructivist approaches of teaching methods. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations were made to the concerned bodies to alleviate the hindrances and to encourage the practice of constructivist teaching methods and making the learners free from teachers’ dependency. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems in secondary school adolescents is regarded as widely spread globally. Their effects/pitfalls are also a concern that cannot be ignored. Thus, this study dealt with this issue among adolescents, as well as with pitfalls and practices of secondary schools in Ethiopia, with particular focus on East Showa Administrative Zone of Oromiya National Regional state. Consequently, the study intended to: -examine what social competence problems (activity problems, social activities problems and academic performance problems) are experienced by secondary school adolescents of Ethiopia. -determine the relationship between sex groups and social competence problems by secondary school adolescents of Ethiopia. -examine the trends of emotional/internalising and behavioural/externalising problems among secondary school adolescents of Ethiopia. -determine the relationship displayed between sex groups and emotional/internalising and behavioural/externalising problems by secondary school adolescents of Ethiopia. -examine the relationship display between age groups and emotional/internalising and behavioural/externalising problems by secondary school adolescents of Ethiopia. -comprehend the relationship among social competence problems and syndrome problems by secondary school adolescents of Ethiopia. To address the objectives of the study, a descriptive survey and correlational study were employed. To achieve this target, the Amharic and the Afan-Oromo versions of Achenbach’s (2001) youth self-report (YSR) were used to collect data from 714 research participants of secondary school adolescents out of 27,643 in the East Showa Administrative Zone of Oromiya Regional State-Ethiopia, from 8 secondary schools. In analysing the data, basic descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentages, percentiles and T-scores as well as ANOVA were employed. In general, the results of the study demonstrated that the prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems of Ethiopian secondary school adolescents was relatively lower (about 9%) in comparison to many other countries. Moreover, girls showed more internalising problems (11.58%) than boys (9.63%) and vice versa in externalising problems. Consequently, girls accounted for 8.6% who fell into a clinical category whereas amongst boys, 14.83% were classified into such as category. In contrary to the other findings males were scored higher than females in withdrawal/depressed subscales (4.23% and 2.74% respectively). Furthermore, statistically significant relationships between academic competences with activities, social activities, somatic complaints, social problems and externalising problems were discovered. Fulfilling and rendering appropriate guidance and counselling services in the schools comprised the first dimension of the recommendations of this work. Furthermore, establishing school based mental health services to alleviate the problems is another key point of the recommendation to assist adolescents with emotional and behavioural problems in secondary schools of Ethiopia. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Psychology)

The purpose of this study was to explore the causes of underrepresentation of women in senior leadership positions of public universities in south Ethiopia. There were few or no women in senior leadership positions in these public universities. Therefore, these universities could not enjoy the benefits of leadership qualities of women. To achieve the aforementioned purpose, the vice-presidents, deans and/or directors of public universities in south Ethiopia were involved as the target population. Four public universities: Wachamo, Wolaita Sodo, Dilla and Hawassa were involved as research sites. Four vicepresidents (one from each university), twelve deans and academic directors (three from each university) who constituted a focus group of four participants from each of the four universities, participated in the study. An exploratory multiple case study design was used in this qualitative study. The purposive sampling technique was used for the selection of the samples. Unstructured interviews were conducted with the vice-presidents of the selected universities and focus group discussions were held with college deans and directors. Participant observation was conducted on issues related to women empowerment at universities under study. The findings showed that women were greatly underrepresented in senior academic leadership positions at all the selected public universities of south Ethiopia because of various institutional, women-related, economic, socio-cultural, and political- legal factors. The study identified some gaps in the government’s oversight role of monitoring and evaluating the implementation of women empowerment policies at universities prescribed by the Federal Government including the higher education legislation. Moreover, higher education institutions (HEIs) themselves have also failed to empower women through different mechanisms. Therefore, it could be concluded that HEIs pay little attention to empowerment of women. Currently, there are some initiatives meant to empower women. However, these, seem to a reaction to pressure by the higher political authorities. It could be concluded that women are still illiterate about their rights and are not keen to be empowered. Negative societal attitudes and lack of attractive incentives for the leadership positions contribute to the underrepresentation of women in senior positions. Furthermore, a shortage of teaching staff in academe plays a negative role in this underrepresentation. Finally, it is recommended that the government, society, institutions, and women themselves should step up efforts to empower women, particularly their appointment to senior leadership positions. This is critical as they constitute half of the population of both the institutions and the country. Finally, the study proposes a model that could be adopted by the government, HEIs and different institutions to improve the empowerment of women, especially their appointment to senior leadership positions in HEIs. / Educational Management and Leadership / Ph. D. (Education Management)

The study was aimed at investigating challenges hampering mother-tongue education with special reference to Afan Oromo in the Eastern Hararge Zone, the Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. The study mainly explored the available learning materials and the skilled teachers in mother-tongue education, attitudinal factors, the extent of stakeholders’ support for mother-tongue education, parents’ education and their awareness about education through mother tongue and parent school involvements. In the study, the researcher used a mixed method approach in which both quantitative and qualitative research designs were employed to corroborate the data obtained through one method by using other methods to minimise limitations observed in a single design. In the quantitative design, survey questionnaires were employed. Accordingly, 634 primary school teachers and 134 students were randomly selected and asked to fill the questionnaires. These quantitative data were analysed through the SPSS software and responses were analysed using the percentages and the chi-square. Qualitative data obtained through in-depth interviews and observations were analysed using thematic approaches. Documents on education policy, constitutions of the country and reports of the Ministry of Education of Ethiopia were also consulted and integrated with the analyses of the data. The study generally suggests unless strong political and administrative supports are given and public awareness about the mother tongue use in education and development is created, the effort to make Afan Oromo the language of education, intellectuals and development may remain fruitless. In this respect, all the stakeholders, intellectuals and leaders must work together to overcome challenges and dilemmas that impede the implementation of mother-tongue education. The practical works on the ground should match with the language policy of the country. Popular awareness raising activities and mobilization of the communities should be carried out carefully to involve all the communities / African Languages