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This study determined how chemistry instruction using technology affected student achievement and retention. To achieve the goal of the study, Solomon's four-group quasi-experimental research design was used. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and independent sample t-test were used to statistically examine the data. A one-way ANOVA analysis revealed that, for achievement and retention, respectively, the mean scores of both trial groups showed statistically significant differences from the mean scores of comparison groups F (3.161)=88.568, p<0.05 and F (3.161)=14.75, p<0.05). The independent samples t-test on the achievement and retention post-test mean score of the experimental and comparison groups respectively, was statistically significant (t (163)=16.05, p<0.05 and t (162.09)=7.61, p<0.05). Independent sample t-test shows that male and female students' post-test scores for achievement or retention in the experimental group results was (t (42)=1.53; p>0.05 and t (38)=-0.465; p>0.05, respectively. This intervention has no statistically significant gender related impact on students' achievement and retention. Thus, it is conceivable to draw the conclusion that chemistry instruction that incorporates technology enhances student achievement and retention, but its effect is gender neutral. According to recent studies, chemistry teachers and teacher training programs should use technology-integrated lessons to help students acquire and recall chemical bonding concepts.

The purpose of this paper was to review practitioners' conception and involvement in the curriculum development and implementation process. Different empirical works done in Ethiopia and reflections of lived experiences of the researchers were used as sources of this review. The results revealed that the dominant curriculum conceptualization of the practitioners was found to be consistent with the technical procedural curriculum conception. The participation of practitioners in Ethiopia faced varied challenges including academic qualification, power imposition, and failure to consider curriculum as a practical and a phenomenological study. Finally, the researchers forwarded relevant recommendations as detailed in the text.

This study examined the effects of language teaching strategies in Amhara region, Ethiopia on children's phonemic awareness reading performance. To this end, one hundred and two grade one children of two intact sections (n=50) and (n=52) were selected and participated as experimental and control groups, respectively. The research employed quasi-experimental pre- and post-test research design that aimed at examining the effects of reading strategies in children's phonemic awareness performance. Besides, the researchers collected data through non-participant observation and teacher self-reflection reports. To analyze children's phonemic awareness, paired samples t-test was computed using pre- and post-test scores of the children. To analyze the qualitative data, researchers employed narratives based on categories formed considering the basic themes of the research questions of this paper. Findings indicated that phonemic awareness reading strategies used in Amhara region could improve children's phonemic awareness performance. Furthermore, observation and teachers' reflections showed that there were positive results on the application of the strategies in improving children's phonemic awareness. Eventually, recommendations and implications for further research were suggested.

This study was designed to examine the contribution of placement school experiences to prospective teachers' multicultural competence development in Ethiopia. The major sources of data were prospective teachers of the three randomly selected Teacher Education Institutes who took their placement school experiences at the respective secondary schools. Two hundred and forty prospective teachers were selected from five hundred and seventy three prospective teachers of the 2011/2012 academic year cohort using a proportional random sampling technique to fill in the questionnaire. Fifteen prospective teachers were also selected for interview using purposive sampling technique. Data were collected through questionnaire and interview. The data collected through the questionnaire were analyzed using percentage and one sample t-test. Interview data were reported in words following themes made vis-à-vis the research questions of this study. The findings of the study pointed out that collaboration among prospective teachers, staffs of placement schools, and students' parents have brought the required multicultural knowledge, attitude, and skill to prospective teachers. However, the findings noted that learner-centered knowledge construction philosophy is at its infant stage at the placement schools. In light of these findings, relevant recommendations have been made in the paper.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the status of curriculum development and implementation practices in the Ethiopian education system through the lens of Schwab's Signs of Crisis in the Curriculum Field. In 1969, Schwab identified three important ideas about the curriculum field in the American education system. First, he notified that the curriculum is moribund; second, the curriculum reached unexamined and mistaken reliance on theory, and third, the field needs a renaissance to contribute to the quality of education. The case-study method was used in this article. The case study aims to bring out unique characteristics and differences in the situation. It also involves a comprehensive analysis of a situation concerning subjects in organizations. This study was analyzed qualitatively through narration/description based on data-driven themes. The data were collected from primary sources. Primary sources included education policy documents of Ethiopia like ESDPs, curriculum framework, and ETP. In addition, educational articles, research reports, and ENLA examination result analysis were the major data sources in this study. The analysis confirmed that Schwab's signs of crises in the curriculum field were prevalent and the resolutions made by the predominant view followers as a response to Schwab's signs of crisis in the curriculum field were not in place in the curriculum development and implementation practices of the Ethiopian education system. It can be concluded that in the Ethiopian modern education system the past and the current systems remain unproductive in cultivating good citizenship and in revealing the societal and cultural values for the socioeconomic development of the country. Finally, the researchers recommended that curriculum specialists should exert unreserved effort to save the curriculum field from its gloomy occasion in the Ethiopian education system and thereby assure a renaissance for the quality of education.

This study evaluates the experimental tasks of the Ethiopian grade 12 chemistry textbook vis-à-vis coverage of the essential components of science process skills (SPSs) using content analysis. All the procedures in an experiment were analyzed using rubrics of the inquiry-based task analysis inventory (ITAI) instrument. This instrument was based on 10 indicators of SPSs (observing, measuring, inferring, communicating, classifying, predicting, controlling variables, stating hypothesis, interpreting data, and formulating models). The results indicated that the most frequent basic SPS was observing (39.33%), followed by measuring (18.67%) and communicating (18%) compared to the sum total of frequency occurrence of overall skills counted in all experimental procedures. The indicators of other components of the basic process skills are at low level. Almost all integrated skills are not reflected by the experimental tasks. Therefore, we can conclude that the SPS exercised by the experimental instructions is at low level. This study recommends that curriculum developers, textbook writers, and teachers shall revisit the experimental tasks to include SPSs at a reasonable balance.

This study examined the extent to which Primary Schools of Fagita Lekoma Woreda implement teachers' CPD and its impact to quality in education. Data were collected from teachers, school principals, and woreda education office supervisors. Questionnaire and interview were used as the data gathering tools of the study. The quantitative data was analyzed using percentage and one sample t-test. The qualitative data was analyzed via thematic description. The findings confirmed that the respondents' level of agreement regarding the implementation of teachers' CPD was found significantly greater than the expected mean (3) in some parameters of the implementation of CPD (e.g., teachers' access to new ideas (3.48), teachers' state of sharing experiences (3.44), and teachers' professional interaction (3.48)). But, there was no significant difference between the expected mean (3) and the calculated means of the other parameters (e.g., attention given for teachers true learning (3.15), focus on staff professional development (3.10), pursuit for improved teaching and learning (3.06), teachers' engagement into continuous professional development (3.31), the match between professional development provision and professional needs (3.08), conceptualization of professional development (2.92), being insensitive of matching of staff development opportunities to individual concerns (2.75), effort made to relate learning experiences to work place conditions (2.88), and teachers' engagement into professional development that promotes inquiry, creativity, and innovation (3.04)). The aggregate calculated mean value of extent of CPD implementation (3.14) also showed insignificant difference from the expected mean (3). Moreover, it was confirmed that there was no significant difference between the expected mean and the calculated means of all the parameters of the impact of CPD implementation on quality in education of primary schools of the woreda. Having considered the above major findings, relevant recommendations were forwarded in the recommendation section of this article.

The objective of this study was to examine the theory-practice gap in implementing DI. To this end, a mixed research design was used. The data sources were TVET teachers, college Deans, and the regional TVED experts in Bahir Dar city. Questionnaire, FGD, and document analysis were used to gather data. Then statistical tools including percentage, mean, standard deviation, one sample t-test, independent samples t-test, and one way ANOVA were employed to analyze the data. The findings indicate that the TVET system recognizes the principles of DI in its national level documents such as the strategy, curriculum, and TTLM preparation. It was also found that male TVET trainers' understanding and practice of DI was higher than their female counterparts. Another finding was that the mean of Diploma holder (Level IV) teachers' understanding and practice of the principles of DI is greater than that of the corresponding First Degree and Second Degree holders. Generally, the practice of the principles of DI in the TVET system was found poor. Planning time, shortage of materials, large class size, and lack of school administration support were among the factors obstructing the implementation of DI. In this regard, some possible suggestions are recommended in this article.

The purpose of this study was to examine teacher educators' self-efficacy and perceived practices of differentiated instruction in Ethiopian primary teacher education programs. To this end, a mixed research approach was employed. As research participant, 400 instructors who had been teaching in teacher education colleges of Amhara regional state were selected through stratified random sampling for the quantitative phase and 15 of them were selected purposively for the qualitative phase. The data gathered through questionnaires and semi-structured interview were analyzed using percentage, one sample t-test and thematic analysis. The findings revealed that most of the teacher educators have not had any training on differentiated instruction and are less efficacious to implement differentiated instruction. It was also found that implementation of differentiated instruction in the study area was at a very low level. Thus, it is suggested that college officials should organize training that will provide instructors with sufficient opportunities to learn how to differentiate instruction and to strengthen their DI self-efficacy.

This research focused on grade three Textbook of the Amara National Regional State Education Bureau, published in 2015 (2007 Eth. C) and aimed at content selection and integration with other learning. The evaluation concerns content selection in terms of dimensions of the learner (age, level of learning, and culture) and arts integration with other learning. Evaluation is made based on standards in textbook writing informed by the literature. In this study, qualitative content analysis (QCA) is adopted as a method for the subjective interpretation of the arts and crafts content of the textbook through the systematic process of classification, coding and identifying themes or patterns. The curriculum framework for KG-Grade 12, Pre- Formal Education and Caring O-Class Syllabus, the Grades 1-4 Arts and Physical Education Integrated syllabus, Arts and Physical Education Textbook for Grade 3 were selected as the major data sources using purposive sampling technique in this study. The results of qualitative content analysis indicated that there was a good alignment between the arts and crafts content with the learners' age level and culture. However, the emphasis placed on handcrafts was found unsatisfactory. The textbook had focused on "sine-wubet" (i.e., beauty), rather than "sine-tibeb" (i.e., the arts) as intended in the syllabus. In the end, implications to future revision of the textbook are included in the study.

This article examines curriculum conceptualization, development, and implementation in the Ethiopian education system against the perspectives of notable progressive curriculum theories. To this end, the Ethiopian education policy and curriculum documents were reviewed against progressive curriculum orientations stemmed from Beauchamp, Pinar, and McNeil's curriculum theories. The conceptualization of curriculum has suffered much from dizziness and blurred classifications of theories by different scholars. Despite the naming differences, value-oriented, child-centered, constructivists, re-conceptualists, social reconstructionist, and humanist theories were regarded as progressive curriculum orientations. Based on thorough reading of the literature, we came to believe that all these theories emphasize on considering learners' interests, needs, and backgrounds either as an individual or as a group as a centerpiece in the curriculum development and implementation processes. Thus, the article analyzes the manifestations of value-oriented, child-centered, constructivists, re-conceptualists, social reconstructionists, and humanists' theories in the whole education system of Ethiopia. On the basis of the discussions made on progressive curriculum theorists' curriculum conceptualization, development, and implementation in the educational context of Ethiopia, relevant recommendations were forwarded.

This research focuses on investigating the contribution of school culture to students' academic achievement. To this end, a mixed research approach was used. 82 teachers, 258 students, 5 school principals, and 3 school cluster supervisors were the data sources of this study. To see the contribution of school culture to students' academic achievement, questionnaire for students and teachers, interview with school principals and cluster supervisors were used. Percentages and one sample ttest were used to analyze the data. The quantitative data confirmed that the contribution of school culture to students' academic achievement was found statistically significant but slightly above the expected mean. Qualitative data from the respondents showed strong communication among stakeholders during the implementation process. The support system from teachers and other responsible bodies were seen as effective. A guideline that specifies teachers' responsibility and the program implementation process, such as continuous follow-up and supervision were reported relevant and triggering teachers to live up to the minimum teachers' professional commitment standard. Generally, both the qualitative and quantitative data analysis results revealed a moderate level contribution of school culture to students' academic achievement. As this result was not much encouraging, appropriate strategies of enhancing the contribution of school culture to students' academic achievement were pointed out in the paper.

This study examined the extent to which the issue of multiculturalism is infused into the environments of Universities in Ethiopia. Four hundred forty-four instructors and students were selected using random sampling technique from the five universities. A structured questionnaire and an unstructured interview were used as data collecting instruments. The quantitative data were analyzed using one sample t-test where as the qualitative one was analyzed using narration. The quantitative data disclosed that the issue of multiculturalism is infused into the programs of the Universities, where as the qualitative one did not. Therefore, a detailed future investigation shall be made in this area of concern.

This study explored the status of primary and middle school physical education (PE) teachers' professional knowledge competence (PKC) in the Amhara Region, in Ethiopia. For this, a quantitative research approach was employed and data were collected from 382 randomly selected PE teachers and analysed quantitatively. Findings revealed that the overall PKC of PE was low. Statistically, a significant difference was observed among PE teachers in their content knowledge (CK), pedagogical knowledge (PK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and PKC. Female PE teachers, novice PE teachers, and rural PE teachers were less competent in their CK, PK, and PCK. Besides, unlike in their PK, degree-holder PE teachers have better CK, PCK, and PKC than diploma holders. Accordingly, due care and special intervention need to be given by the education actors in the recruitment, training, and deployment of PE teachers in Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a massive higher education expansion in Ethiopia. However, the efforts to expand higher education are characterized by great opportunities and significant challenges. The current higher education policy formulation and practice are the result of long history of traditional education in Ethiopia, the western countries' influence and the current opportunities and challenges observed in the sector. Thus, to formulate and enact workable higher education policy in Ethiopia, one must understand the trends of higher education in Ethiopia with emphasis on purposes, challenges and achievements. The article, therefore, tries to pinpoint the history of Ethiopian higher education and concludes with recommendations for current efforts to improve higher education in the country.

This study investigated the type and level of desired and actual help given to student-teachers from the respective cooperative teachers. The areas help was desired by student-teachers include teaching the curriculum subjects, classroom management, and feedback on their teaching and school environment information. The study was carried out on education faculty student-teachers from 2007-2008 of Bahir Dar University. 107 students were randomly selected from a total of 680. Of these, 50 were females and 57 were males. Questionnaires solicit information from student-teachers about the desired and actual help provided from school based practitioners. The actual help provided was below the level of student-teachers desired help from the same. This paper suggests ways of improving the roles and status of cooperative teachers to become strong partners in teacher education programs.

This study was designed to examine the contribution of placement school practical experiences to prospective teachers' multicultural competence development in Ethiopia. The major sources of data were prospective teachers of the three randomly selected Teacher Education Institutes in the three Ethiopian Universities (i.e., Bahir Dar, Mekelle & Hawassa) who took their placement school experiences at the respective secondary schools. Two hundred and forty prospective teachers were selected from five hundred and seventy three prospective teachers of the 2011/2012 academic year cohort using a proportional random sampling technique to fill in the questionnaire. Fifteen prospective teachers were also selected for interview using a purposive sampling technique. Data were collected through questionnaire and interview. The data collected through the questionnaire were analyzed using percentage and one sample t-test. Interview data were reported in words following themes made vis-à-vis the research questions of this study. The findings of the study pointed out that collaboration among prospective teachers, staffs of placement schools, and students' parents at the placement schools have brought the required multicultural knowledge, attitude, and skill to prospective teachers. The findings also showed that the school community showed some bias towards the multicultural groups of learners. The findings further showed that learner-centered knowledge construction philosophy is at its infant stage at the placement schools. In light of these findings, relevant recommendations have been made in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on high school students' perceptions of cooperative problem-solving learning in mathematics classrooms. Case study was chosen as a research design in this study. Participants of this study were grade 11 students of Dangila preparatory high school in Awi-zone, Ethiopia. The number of participants was 105. The data were collected using Structured Likert scale questionnaire consisting of 15 (fifteen) questions that focus on cooperative problem-solving learning and an unstructured interview. The quantitative data were analyzed using one sample t-test whereas the qualitative one was analyzed using narration on the basis of themes created as per the basic questions of this research. The results of this research showed that students had positive responses toward the implementation of cooperative problem-solving learning. The quantitative data revealed that cooperative problemsolving learning has great effect on students' learning and consequently on their mathematics performance. The qualitative data disclosed the generics skills of students and helped teachers to understand students' perceptions of their experience gained from the learning activities. Besides, it was found that students were familiar with group activities in mathematics classroom. To sum up, cooperative problemsolving learning is a good approach for the students to learn mathematics easily and perform better than before. On the basis of the findings, the researchers have forwarded relevant recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]