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In Ethiopia, major policy reforms to increase equitable access to pre-primary education were instigated in 2010, leading to a surge in pre-primary school enrolment. This paper investigates the effects of the expansion on who gets access to pre-primary education and on readiness for primary school. We find that inequalities in pre-primary access between advantaged and disadvantaged regions of the country persist following the reforms, with girls less likely to attend school, particularly in more disadvantaged regions. More than half of children enrolled in pre-primary classrooms are below the official age of 6 years. Children from more advantaged backgrounds (those whose parents are literate, have reading materials at home, and live in urban areas) are more likely to participate in pre-primary schools both before and after the reform. Yet pre-primary education could play a role in equalizing opportunities in primary school: we find pre-primary participation to be positively associated with children's reading skills in Grades 2 and 3 of primary school after the expansion. These findings highlight the need to focus policy attention on efforts to reduce barriers to pre-primary access for children in disadvantaged circumstances.

This report analyzes the trajectory of reforms to improve learning outcomes in Ethiopia across three regimes (HSI, Derg, and EPRDF) since 1941. It employs a political settlements approach to trace the motivations, interests, and actions that led to certain policy choices, and draws on primary and secondary data sources to assess impacts on the education sector. The analysis focuses on three themes in particular: the politics of educational (learning) policymaking; national (regional) examinations and teacher career paths. Ultimately, the report argues that improving learning outcomes would require professionalization of education policy-making along with an impetus to improve policy continuity.

To explore the complex norms that influence the teaching profession in the Global South, this book brings together 14 interviews with 28 interlocutors who have wide-ranging expertise, alongside three discussant-style essays.

In Ethiopia, commitment to promoting inclusive education for children with disabilities has remained high on the government’s agenda, yet challenges remain in achieving this goal. Since 2018, the government’s large-scale education reform programme – the General Education Quality Improvement Programme for Equity (GEQIP-E) – has had a specific focus on promoting inclusive education for children with disabilities through the provision of additional school grants, and the promotion of Inclusive Education Resource Centres. In this paper, we draw on data from the Research for Improving Systems of Education (RISE) Ethiopia, to explore the perspectives of system- and school-level stakeholders involved in supporting education for children with disabilities as part of the GEQIP-E programme. We explore the progress and challenges in this area, and highlight some of the factors that limit the implementation of strategies intended to support inclusive education at the system and school level. We show how children with disabilities continue to face significant challenges in accessing and benefiting from education. Based on our analysis, we put forward a number of recommendations including the need for better data and evidence on education for children with disabilities – including their wellbeing and experiences within the school context – and the need for more resources to address and support inclusive education.

The comprehensiveness of teacher professional identity (TPI) studies conducted by African and Asian researchers highlights the importance of valid TPI indicators across Africa and Asia. Questionnaire TPI indicators are important to obtain valid direct comparisons between teachers in Africa and Asia. The process of developing a questionnaire served as an avenue for researchers from Asian and African regions to learn about TPI pointers from each other. This study used the Delphi technique to achieve consensus on valid TPI indicators across African and Asian regions. Fourteen researchers from the Asia-Africa University Dialogue Network for Educational Development (AAD) were selected using purposive sampling. TPI in this study is defined as a multifaceted concept comprising contextual and personal factors that differ across national borders. The indicators in the questionnaire represented personal, social and institutional factors perceived by teachers and outlined in the literature. In the Delphi study process, the researchers used three rounds to validate the initial 40-item TPI questionnaire. Subsequent analysis of the results indicated high importance and consensus among experts. Owing to its standardized procedure, the TPI questionnaire makes it possible to collect and compare the TPI dimensions from the different socio-economic contexts in which teachers work in Africa and Asia. The findings of this study guide African and Asian researchers on the common understanding of TPI characteristics prevalent across African and Asian regions. Research protocols for fostering quality research toward addressing challenges faced by the teacher education sector in African and Asian countries is also implied.

Funder: World Bank Group (US), Funder: Foreign and Commonwealth Office; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000617, Recent research on the effects of COVID-19 on school closures has mainly focused on primary and secondary education, with extremely limited attention to early childhood education (ECE). To address this gap, we identify the extent to which parents and caregivers with pre-primary school-aged children were engaged in their children’s learning during school closures in Ethiopia. Our focus on Ethiopia is of particular relevance given that ECE provision has expanded dramatically in recent years, aimed at ensuring children are prepared for primary school. Using data collected through a phone survey with 480 parents and caregivers, the results revealed that learning disruption due to COVID-19 school closures is likely to be substantial and will probably widen existing inequalities further. Many poorer households and those where parents or caregivers are not literate, are less likely to have child-oriented learning resources, and home learning activities between parents and children in these households are limited. The study highlights that greater attention needs to be paid to mitigate the threats of COVID-19 on Ethiopia’s recent gains in ECE, to prevent the pandemic from further reinforcing inequalities between children from advantaged and disadvantaged households.

Ethiopia has a high road crash rate in the world. Among the crashes, more than 60% occur in the capital city, Addis Ababa. The main aim of this research was to inform policymakers and researchers about the current situations of road crashes in the city to tackle the current unacceptable costs of the road crashes. We analyzed road crash data between the years 2010 and 2014. The results showed 14,263 persons sustained different levels of injuries in which 1,911 were fatal whereas the rest were serious and minor injuries. Majority of the fatal (79%) and serious (76%) injuries were males, and pedestrians (87%). Most of these crashes were due to the drivers’ not yielding right of way to pedestrians. On the other hand, an estimated 19 million US dollars cost of property damage was due to the drivers not yielding right of way to other vehicles. Generally, among other risk factors we assessed including road conditions and asphalt pavement, drivers’ not yielding right of way to pedestrians and not yielding right of way to other vehicles were the leading risk factors for road crashes in the city. Key Words : Road Crash; Fatalities; Serious Injuries; Minor Injuries; Safety