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The study examines the link between job satisfaction and organizational commitment among academic staff at the north Shewa Zone Polytechnic Colleges, Ethiopia. The study employed a quantitative methodology and utilized a correlational research design. Researchers selected a total of 264 academic staff members. Two questionnaires, namely the Job Satisfaction Survey and the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire, were used to gather data. Researchers analyzed the data using SPSS version 20, applying statistical methods such as mean score, standard deviation, Pearson r correlation, and regression analysis. The findings of the study suggest a tenuous yet statistically significant correlation between job satisfaction and the organizational commitment of academic staff in polytechnic colleges. In addition, the regression analysis revealed that the job satisfaction of academic staff had a restricted impact on their three aspects of organizational commitment, namely affective, continuance, and normative, as well as their total commitment. Hence, it is recommended that polytechnic colleges need to aim at improving communication and teamwork, fostering a healthy work atmosphere, and offering chances for professional growth. To further investigate this topic, it is advisable to conduct a qualitative study to ascertain the restricted impact of job satisfaction on organizational commitment and delve into unexplained variables.

Literacy abilities are crucial for economic progress and community welfare, with higher education recognizing them as vital for problem-solving, critical thinking, continuous learning, and effective functioning for both experienced educators and the new student cohorts. The study examined the interplay between organizational learning and departmental performance, and its implications for changes in Ethiopian Public Research Universities. The researchers used the framework that focuses on seven distinct dimensions of organization learning (OL) namely continuous learning, inquiry and dialogue, collective and collaborative efforts of organizational members, empowerment, embedded system, system connection and strategic leadership and departmental performance (DP) which consists of three dimensions teaching-learning, research and community services. The researchers employed embedded mixed methods design (QUAN + qual) to examine the interplay between organizational learning (OL) and departmental performance (DP). The researchers selected four public research universities using simple random sampling technique. Then, they selected 1,176 respondents (969 instructors and 207 department heads) from target population using simple random sampling technique. The researchers adapted standardized questionnaires and collected quantitative data using questionnaires, and analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean & standard deviation), and inferential statistics (multiple correlations, multiple regressions & structural equation modeling). Qualitative data was collected using semistructured interview from 14 key informants who were selected using the purposive sampling technique based on their rich lived experiences of teaching-learning, research and leadership in higher education institutions. The qualitative data was thematically analyzed. The finding of the study showed that the structural equation model fit to the data. It was also found that the correlations between the different dimensions of organizational learning practices and departmental performance ranged between low and moderate. There were positive significant and moderate correlations between each dimension of organizational learning and departmental performance. The organizational dimensions accounted the largest cumulative variance to departmental performance dimensions; research (R[superscript 2] = 40.70%; [beta] = 0.638, p < 0.001); community service (R[superscript 2] = 33.50%; [beta] = 0.579, p < 0.001) and teaching-learning (R[superscript 2] = 24.60%; [beta] = 0.496, p < 0.001). The study showed that the presence of formal and informal organizational learning cultures in universities enhance departmental performances. Therefore, the Ethiopian public research universities should create effective organizational learning systems to improve departmental performances.

This study investigates the relationship between the transformational leadership of academic leaders and the job satisfaction of academic staff in polytechnic colleges located in the North Shewa Zone of Ethiopia. This study used a correlational research design and simple random sampling techniques to select 264 academic staff members. Respondents completed a rating version of the multifactor leadership questionnaire and a job satisfaction survey. Data analysis uses descriptive and inferential statistics like Pearson correlation and linear regression. The study found that transformational leadership was found to positively correlate with and predict academic staff job satisfaction, though it was weak. The findings also revealed that academic staff was dissatisfied with their jobs, despite perceiving their leaders as having a moderate degree of attributes of transformational leadership style. Educational planners can use the findings to transform administrative and academic leaders' leadership programs. Leadership training boosts academic staff morale and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction also improves staff retention and minimizes turnover. Thus, academic leaders should grow themselves and seek opportunities to improve their transformational leadership skills. To better understand the leadership style elements that have the greatest impact on job satisfaction, further research is necessary due to the limited variability or unexplained variance in the ability of transformational leadership styles to predict job satisfaction. Further investigation is also needed to explore the mediating factors that impact the link between two variables in an Ethiopian context.

While computer animations have the potential to assist learners in understanding difficult concepts and eliminating misconceptions, studies supporting this claim are scarce. This study investigated how the 7E instructional model integrated with computer animations affected students' conceptual understanding and misconceptions about food making and plant growth. Experimental groups were taught the 7E learning cycle model [7E LCM], and 7E LCM with computer animation [CA] while the control group was taught the conventional instruction method. A two-tiered conceptual understanding multiple-choice test and semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data. ANOVA analysis revealed no significant differences between groups or genders in pre-food making and growth in plant conceptual understanding [pre-FMGPCU] and pre-misconceptions test scores [pre-MC]. There were, however, significant differences in post-FMGPCU and post-MC mean scores, with the 7E LCM with CA showing better results in improving conceptual understanding and minimizing misconceptions. MANOVA revealed no statistically significant difference between male and female students' post-FMGPCU and post-MC results. It was concluded that the 7E LCM with CA enhances students' conceptual understanding and minimizes misconceptions more effectively than other instructional approaches. It is recommended that similar designs be used in biology teaching.

While the lack of educational opportunities limits the future of most people in Ethiopia, they pose dire consequences to young people in migration hotspot areas. Using input-process-outcome-context-education quality framework, this study investigated the quality of education in eight migration hotspot areas of Ethiopia and its association with migration. A random sample of 1,187 participants (793 students, 262 teachers and 132 parents) completed a survey. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results indicated that participants' overall rating of education quality was low. Over a third of participants perceived that input, process and outcome components of education in migration hotspot areas have a quality problem. Over 80% of the participants believed that poor quality of education could be a cause for migration. More specifically, a significant portion of the participants (37%) reported that there was no pedagogical centre in their respective schools; continuous assessment was practiced rarely (36%); and creativity and discovery among students was almost non-existent (40%). The participants' ratings indicated that the top five factors that contribute to the poor quality of education are low level of teacher competence, poor student motivation, poverty, value attached to education and large class size.

Despite the abundance of research linking leadership behaviours to organisational effectiveness in various sectors, there is a lack of empirical studies that investigate how leadership behaviours influence performance in the context of research universities. The present study examined the effects of leadership behaviours on departmental performance in public research universities in Ethiopia. The study employed a quantitatively driven embedded type of mixed methods design. The participants of the study were 1176 academic staff (969 instructors and 207 department heads). They were selected from four public research universities using a simple random sampling technique. In addition, 14 key informants were selected using a purposive sampling technique based on their teaching-learning, research and leadership lived experiences in higher education institutions and interviewed using semi-structured guiding questions. Quantitative data were collected using questionnaires composed of demographic questions and adapted versions of two scales: Multifactor Leadership Questionnaires and a new tool for measuring global academic performance. The quantitative data were analysed using frequency, percentage, multiple correlations and regression, one sample t-test, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Version 23.0 of Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) and SPSS-23 were used for data analyses. Qualitative data were analysed thematically using open code version 4.03 software. The analyses showed that transactional leadership dimension and teaching-learning dimension of departmental performance were practised predominantly. Dimensions of leadership behaviour were found to be positively and significantly related to dimensions of departmental performance. The joint contributions of dimensions of leadership behaviour were larger than their separate contributions, thereby supporting the formulated alternative hypotheses. Implications of the findings were discussed.

Student engagement is conceptualized differently in different contexts and educational levels. The conception of student engagement in the Ethiopian context is not well established. To examine conceptions and practical experiences related to student engagement, we conducted a qualitative study of university students, instructors, and officials. Using topic guides prepared for this purpose, we carried out focus group discussions with 84 students (8 FGDs). In addition, 40 instructors and 20 officials were interviewed using a semi structured questionnaire. Perspectives of participants were analyzed using a codebook approach to thematic analysis. The findings indicated that conceptions of engagement span from studying for examination to involvement on non-academic activities such as participating in clubs. In terms of the level of engagement, participants believe that the overall status of student engagement is not satisfactory. In connection with this, the facilitators of and barriers to student engagement were identified. Among the facilitators, good laboratory and library resources, instructional methods, tutorials and friendly university environments and policies are worth mentioning. The major barriers to student engagement are grouped under macro, meso and micro levels, such as the political and economic situation of the country, the declining value for education, placement in universities and excessive social media use. The study contributes to policymakers, researchers, and practitioners working on higher education, specifically on ways of improving the engagement levels of public university students.

There are myriads of research outputs regarding the nexus between leadership behaviors and organizational effectiveness. Nonetheless, there is a scarcity of empirical studies examining the indirect effect of leadership behaviors on academic performance in higher education settings via organizational learning. The present study examined the effects of leadership behaviors on departmental performance through organizational learning in Ethiopian public research universities. Adopting a mixed research method, the researchers selected four universities from a total of eight public research universities using a simple random sampling technique, and 1176 staff members using a stratified random sampling technique, and 14 key informants using a purposive sampling technique to involve them in the study. Quantitative data was collected using multiple tools, namely the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire, and New Tool for Measuring Global Academic Performance. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interview. The quantitative data were analyzed using Frequency, Percentage, Multiple Correlations, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM). The qualitative data was analyzed thematically using Open Code version 4.03. The results indicated that the directions of relations among the three variables of Leadership Behaviors (LB), Departmental Performance (DP), and Organizational Learning (OL) were positive while the magnitudes of the relations ranged from very weak to moderately strong. The dimensions of LB and OL accounted for the largest cumulative variance in DP. The study further demonstrated essential patterns that would guide future policy and managerial actions.

This study explored the links between leadership styles and institutional readiness for change using a correlational research design. A total of 616 academic staff drawn from five public universities was included using proportionate stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Data were collected using Multi-factor Leadership Questionnaire and Organizational Change Recipients Beliefs' Scale and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results unveiled that the leadership style of top university leaders was found to be between transactional and laissez-faire in their leadership style and high institutional readiness for change in public universities. The findings further disclosed that the transformational leadership style had high, positive, and significant relations with institutional readiness for change while transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles had low, sometimes negative, and non-significant effects. Finally, it was concluded that high institutional readiness for change is an opportunity for university transformation. Still, failure to be transformational in leadership style at the top leadership echelon could hinder its implementation. Policy implications are also indicated in the study.

The present study aimed to assess whether a training-based intervention using an explicit rime-based phonics method improves the phonological awareness outcomes of EFL children in Ethiopia. The participants were two sections of 3rd grade children (N = 70) from two public primary schools in Hawassa, Ethiopia. A quasi-experimental research design was used in which a section of the children (N = 35) were randomly assigned to the experimental group and the other section of the children (N = 35) to the control group. The experimental group was explicitly exposed to a training-based beginning reading intervention using an explicit rime-based phonics method. The control group stayed in their regular classroom with their regular beginning reading lessons with the conventional way. The phonological awareness test (PAT) was used to measure phonological awareness outcomes in the two groups before and after the intervention. The findings showed that the experimental group achieved significant improvement on the phonological awareness at post- test and that the magnitude of the intervention's effect was very large for all sub-subtests and the total phonological awareness. The findings also indicated that brief and direct beginning reading instruction with an explicit rime-based phonics method helps children in a non-English language context with a first language (L1) significantly different from English to rapidly improve their phonological awareness performances. The findings further suggested that just knowledge of letters alone is not a sufficient condition for phonological awareness to develop.

The purpose of this study was to determine the job placement profiles of the graduates of Bahir Dar University and the relevance of school-related factors to job placement. The study was conducted at Bahir Dar University with participants who were first-degree graduates from the 2015 and 2016 cohorts. Stratified multistage random sampling was used to select respondents. Out of 4208 graduates, 867 graduates were selected to participate in the study. To determine the potential factors for graduate employability in the labour market, both descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. Results revealed that 79% percent of surveyed graduates were gainfully employed, with the majority (93%) having their first job related to their completed course. The time taken to find employment was from 1 to 6 months and the overall average duration of unemployment was 5.08 months. Sixty five percent of graduates reported that they used a public advertisement to find their first job and 58% reported that their employers used examinations to select potential candidates. A 12% variation in employability was explained by CGPA, preferred field of study, the number of companies contacted and time management skills of graduates. Moreover, graduates' transitional employability has a positive association with cumulative GPA, preferred field of study, and internship practice. It is recommended that sustainable employment of graduates can be secured if the University improves its current curriculum to incorporate more employability skills demanded by the labour market.

This study was conducted to examine the effects of training in Information Communication Technology-assisted (ICT-assisted) English language teaching on secondary school English language teachers' pedagogical knowledge and English language proficiency. To achieve this goal, a one-group within-subject quasi-experimental design was utilized. Twenty-two (n = 22) teachers selected from three government secondary schools in Arba Minch and Sawla towns of Gamo and Gofa zones of South Nations, Nationalities, and the Peoples Regional State of Ethiopia were included in the study using a comprehensive sampling technique. Four rounds of repeated measurements were used to collect data and Friedman's test was used to compare the mean scores to examine the effects of the training on the teachers' pedagogical knowledge and English language proficiency. Related-samples Kendall's coefficient of concordance (effect size) was also run using the same non-parametric test of Friedman's test to exmine the magnitude of the effect. The results revealed that training in ICT-assisted teaching has a significant effect on the pedagogical knowledge and English language proficiency of the teachers. Moreover, the independent variable (training in ICT-assisted English language teaching) has a strong effect (effect size) on their pedagogical knowledge and English language proficiency. Based on the results, in-service teacher training in ICT-assisted teaching is recommended to harness the potential of new technologies for English language teachers' professional development.

Autism has begun to attract both media and research attention across many developing countries. In Ethiopia, where there is limited attention to diagnostic processes and therapeutic interventions for children, the treatment for autism is widely misunderstood. This study examines the available behavioral and educational interventions currently implemented for children with autism in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, which is considered a progressive area of treatment in Africa. Survey data were collected from 80 helping professionals that included teachers, special needs educators, counselors, therapeutic care workers, and social workers. Results indicated that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) who were enrolled in intervention programs received primarily (daily living) skill-based interventions delivered on an ad hoc basis rather than structured social, behavioral, and educational interventions. The children were underserved due to a dearth of available professionals, low number of training facilities, and inadequate resources for family support. Results also highlighted the need for preservice and in-service educators' training as well as the need to document and evaluate the types of strategies that are used in schools and agencies for children with ASDs in Ethiopia.

Since the late 1990s, the law, education, and intervention regarding childhood developmental disorders in Ethiopia have experienced significant reforms and development. However, education and intervention for children with severe developmental disabilities, especially children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), still suffer the greatest challenges in the field. This paper aims to give readers an overview of the current situation of children with ASD in Ethiopia. The paper first addresses the issues of prevalence of ASD and offers an introduction to the diagnostic process. A review of legislation and policy related to disability and access to education services for children with disabilities and a description of current intervention options and access to educational services for children with ASD are provided. The paper introduces different service providers in Ethiopia, their roles and implications for future research in the field.

This paper aims to explore the practice of continuous assessment at Unity University College and Addis Ababa University. It has also investigated constraints instructors say they have been facing in implementing continuous assessment. Students' attitudes about the practice of this assessment mode towards their course achievements were explored. Course materials, continuous assessment modalities, randomly selected final examination papers, interviews and questionnaires were used as sources of data collection instruments. The purpose and focus of the assessment, the construct tested, the formats employed, critical thinking and creativity encouraged, feedback offered and received, record keeping of the assessment data and assessment of progress development, classroom management, stakeholders' involvement and the wash back effect of the practice of the assessment were identified to be the grand factors that cast a cloud over the practice of continuous assessment in the context under focus. It was also found out that both the testees and the testers over value the judgmental role of continuous assessment at the expense of its developmental role. What is more, maximized strengths and improved weaknesses after having results of each continuous assessment result device were found to be unfairly reflected in the students' course achievement profile. It was therefore tentatively concluded that the major cause that affected the implementation of continuous assessment in the context under focus was boiled down to the hangover of traditional assessment practices. Based on the findings, implications, insights and areas for further study were forwarded.

Although the 2030 Agenda’s aim of "zero hunger and malnutrition" has achieved tremendous progress, the prevalence of food insecurity and malnutrition is constantly rising worldwide. Hence, determining the variables influencing the food and nutrition security of wheat farmers in Arsi Zone of Ethiopia’s was the aim of this study. A random sampling technique was used to collect primary data from 422 households spread over three districts. Household dietary diversity score and calorie acquisition score were used to measure the nutrition and food security status, respectively. The result of descriptive statistics revealed that 70.85% of the sample households were food secure while the remaining 29.15% were insecure. Likewise, it was found that 26.07%, 52.61%, and 21.33% of the sample households had low, medium, and high nutritional levels, respectively. The result of the binary logit model pointed out that livestock holding, frequency of extension contact, inorganic fertilizer, irrigation, and vegetation coverage were positively associated with the likelihood of food security whereas family size and distance from the market were negatively associated with it. The results of ordered logit showed that the level of education, participation in safety-net programs, total income, farm size, market information, and soil fertility had positive and significant effects on household nutritional status while the distances to the market and health center were negatively associated with it. Thus, strong attention should be given in improving land, and livestock productivity, family planning, farmers’ education, soil fertility of wheat farms, interactions with extension agents, and utilizing irrigation technologies.

Surface runoff is the most significant environmental concern in the Rib Watershed. Hence, this study estimates runoff by combining geospatial information and the Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) model in the watershed. Rainfall, land use, land cover, hydrologic soil group, maximum soil water retention, and CN values were processed using Arc GIS and ERDAS Imagine software accordingly. The model was validated using the coefficient of determination (R2) and Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE). The R2 (0.9861, 0.9508, and 0.9136) and NSE (0.7, 0.68, and 0.6) values for the periods (2018, 2020, and 2022), respectively, confirmed the good performance of the model. The result also showed runoff ranges from 497 mm/year to 1,258 mm/year. Therefore, the highest runoff is observed in most areas of Farta and Debre Tabor and in some parts of Lay Gayint, Fogera, and Kemkem districts. Consequently, this may result in a loss of soil moisture, a decline of surface and ground water, low crop yield and animal fodder, and unproductivity of the land. This, in turn, affects food security and the livelihoods of the community at large in the region. Therefore, well-planned watershed management practices should be put into practice by prioritizing runoff hotspot sites in the catchment.

A growing body of research indicates that the big five personality scale is the most widely used tool for assessing personality traits. Translating and validating this scale in different languages is important to understand personality across diverse cultures. However, there is a lack of a reliable tool to measure big five personality in the Ethiopian context. The overarching purpose of this study was to develop and validate a psychometrically robust Amharic version of the Big Five personality scale that is culturally appropriate for the Ethiopian context. This study employed a cross-sectional survey design to gather data from 476 university students (Female = 232 and Male = 244) who were randomly selected from Ambo University. To analyse the data, the entire sample was divided randomly into two equal-sized groups for exploratory factor analysis (EFA, N = 238) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA, N = 238). The findings from both EFA and CFA provided strong support for a Big Five Personality model (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) that displayed significant correlations. Furthermore, the Amharic version of the scale demonstrated improved compatibility with the collected data, exhibiting excellent psychometric properties in terms of content validity and construct validity and satisfactory internal consistency. In general, the findings suggest that the Amharic version of the Big Five Personality Scale has the potential to be effectively utilized within the Amharic-speaking communities in Ethiopia. Thus, the Amharic version of the scale can be considered as a viable option for assessing personality traits in the specific cultural and linguistic context of Ethiopia.

A landslide is one of the geological hazards that cause the most disaster in densely populated areas. The landslide that occurred in Gezie Gofa woreda, Gofa Zone, Kencho Shacha Gozdi village, killed more than 250 people. Two landslides occurred on July 22, 2024, at 8:30 and 10:40 AM The first landslide killed six people and demolished three houses. The second landslide killed more than 245 people, including those who came to the site to excavate the buried bodies during the first landslide. The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the landslide causative factors, model the landslide susceptibility, and characterize the landslide disaster on socioeconomic effects that occurred on July 22, 2024. The landslide inventory data, field surveys, laboratory analyses, and various geophysical surveys characterized the current and past landslides of the area. The landslide susceptibility model was modeled using a statistical approach in the GIS. environment. The socioeconomic effects were assessed using field surveys and systematic interviews with the victims. The conditioning factors selected for landslide susceptibility modeling are lithology, geological structures, groundwater, slope, land use or land cover, aspect, curvature, and elevation. The major triggering factor of the landslide in the area was heavy rainfall, which occurred on July 21–22, 2024, between 3:00 a.m.-8:30 a.m. The results reveal that the significant conditioning factors of the landslide in the study area are geological structures (both visible and inferred), groundwater, slopes, and human activities. The characterized socioeconomic effects include the destruction of agricultural land, the demolishing of houses, and the loss of human lives, as well as several people evacuated and sheltered under tents and churches. However, the most momentous disaster in the area is the loss of human life. Based on the research results, it would be better to relocate those people living in the high landslide susceptible zones, and all high landslide-prone areas and mountainous terrain in southern Ethiopia should be mapped, and the people should be aware of the landslide risk areas.

BackgroundFebrile illnesses are commonly reported as a primary reason for seeking healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa. Timely diagnosis and getting prompt treatment within 24 h of fever onset is crucial to avert the risk of developing severe complications and death. Understanding factors contributing to delayed health seeking is important for public health interventions. Hence, this study aimed to assess individual- and contextual-level factors associated with the delay in seeking prompt treatment for children with fever.MethodA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2022 to June 2023 in Gamo zone, southern Ethiopia. Three districts were chosen, and then, from each district, six clusters or kebeles were chosen by simple random sampling. A total of 820 caregivers were randomly selected. A two-level mixed-effects logistic regression model was employed to identify factors associated with the delay in seeking prompt treatment. The associations were measured by an adjusted odds ratio (AOR), and statistical significance was declared at a 5% level of significance.ResultThe prevalence of the delay in seeking prompt care was 47.8%. Factors contributing to the delay were caregivers who were aged 30 years and above [AOR 0.23, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.10–0.52], caregivers who followed the Protestant religion (AOR 3.67, 95% CI: 2.08–6.48), caregivers unable to read and write (AOR 5.32, 95% CI: 6.80–11.70), merchant caregivers (AOR 6.63, 95% CI: 2.75–15.97), caregivers who were exposed to only one media source (AOR 9.3, 95% CI: 8.43–15.60), caregivers with the experience of child death (AOR 0.05, 95% CI: 0.01–0.22), and caregivers seeking permission from their partners to access healthcare (AOR 12.64, 95% CI: 6.98–22.89).Conclusion and recommendationsThere was a high level of delay in seeking healthcare. Targeted community education through mass media, healthcare facilities, and community-level awareness campaigns should be strengthened to improve early treatment seeking and lessen the consequences of delayed treatment seeking.

Abstract Background Even though childhood vaccination is a common and cost-effective public health intervention in preventing and reducing childhood disease and death, significant numbers of children do not complete vaccination within the first year of life. Studies indicated that user satisfaction influences service utilization and used as a key indicator of quality care. However, evidence on the level of mothers’ satisfaction with immunization service are limited in urban and accessible places and not well investigated among remote and pastoral communities. As such, this study aimed to address this gap and investigated mothers’ satisfaction towards child vaccination in a pastoralist and agrarian community of the South Omo zone in Southern region of Ethiopia. Methods An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 1221 randomly selected mothers with children eligible for childhood vaccination using a structured, pretested, and interviewer-administered questionnaire. Maternal positive evaluations of the overall vaccination service were measured using 5-point Likert scale questions. Data were entered into Epi data version 3.5.1 and analyzed using IBM SPSS statistical package version 25. Exploratory factor analysis was used for Likert scale questions to extract factor scores which facilitate treatment of variables as continuous for further analysis. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis was employed to identify factors associated with the outcome variable. A P-value