Bahir Dar Journal of Education

Exploring educational dynamics: Insights from the rhetoric and realities of leaders, teachers, students, and parents' contributions to improving educational quality

2024-09-09T11:23:58+00:00

This issue presents the multifaceted dynamics shaping education and institutional development. Drawing on a diverse collection of ten research findings and one book chapter review, it explores factors influencing educational outcomes, such as social media use, parental involvement, teacher effectiveness, culturally responsive pedagogy, inclusive education challenges, strategic management, emotional intelligence, and the role of leadership in research productivity. Additionally, the current issue brings to light some factors that influence education quality, taken from studies that examine the contributions and impacts of key stakeholders, including educational leaders, teachers, students, and parents. This editorial provides insights that underscore the significance of addressing these interconnected issues to improve educational quality and promote institutional success in Ethiopia and beyond.

The concepts of ‘educational process’ and ‘educated person’ from the philosophical perspective of Richard Stanley Peters: Critical review

2024-09-09T18:24:15+00:00

This article aimed to examine the two concepts of the educational process and educated person from the philosophical perspective of Richard S. Peters, a prominent philosopher of education. In light of this, one of his influential works, “What is an Educational Process?”, was carefully reviewed. Some comments on the overall relevance of Peters’ positions on the two concepts are also included. The review provides valuable insights into these concepts, which are profoundly important for the education field. Finally, concluding remarks and implications of the author's perspectives on contemporary educational systems are highlighted.

Ethiopian public university leaders' understanding of strategic management: A critical path to sustainable institutional success

2024-01-05T05:41:41+00:00

This paper explores public university leaders' conceptual understanding of strategic management and its benefits as a tool to make strategic choices and decisions to gain competitive advantages toward pursuing excellence. The qualitative case study method was employed with an interpretive approach. The study examined the perspectives of eleven top-level leaders from three public universities, involving three presidents and eight vice presidents. The findings revealed that public university leaders conceptualize strategic management through the lens of different strategic management facets. They tended to emphasize specific fundamentals of strategic management, such as strategic planning, strategic leadership, transformational leadership, and total quality management. As a result, their understanding of strategic management is conceptually incomplete and practically limited. Moreover, the meaning they ascribe to strategic management is very narrow in scope and lacks consistency. Thus, an ambiguity of concepts may mislead to set an unrealistic vision and be accompanied by designing irrelevant strategies, which may affect institutional sustainability. Besides, strategic management initiatives benefitted leaders in setting goals, enhancing program expansion, conducting performance evaluation, introducing internationalization, mobilizing resources, and building leadership ability. The paper concludes with implications for higher education policy and recommendations for further research.

Parental involvement in preschool education and its contribution to children’s developmental outcomes

2024-07-28T13:14:00+00:00

This study aimed to examine parental involvement in preschool education and its contribution for the developmental outcomes of children. To achieve this purpose, the descriptive survey design was used and data were collected through questionnaire from 88 parent-child dyads selected through systematic random sampling technique from participants in four districts of Yika sub-city, Addis Ababa. The data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, correlation and regression. The result showed that the level of parental involvement in their children’s preschool learning was below the average level on both home-based and preschool-based involvement dimensions. Parental monthly income had a significant and moderate positive relationship with home-based parental involvement. The regression analysis also showed an overall significant positive correlation between parental involvement and academic competence and social skills of children. The regression model illuminated that 36% of the variance in academic competence and 10% of the variance in social skills of children were explained by parental involvement. Therefore, it is concluded that parental involvement in their children’s education is minimal and highly influenced by the level of parental monthly income. Besides, parental involvement significantly determines the level of children’s academic competence and social skills but is negligible in terms of its association with their problem behavior.

Factors affecting teachers’ practices of inclusive instructional strategies in teaching students with visual impairments in schools of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2024-07-28T13:46:29+00:00

This study aimed to investigate factors affecting teachers’ practice of inclusive instructional strategies in teaching students with visual impairments (SVI) in regular schools of Addis Ababa. The study employed a quantitative methodology, with cross-sectional survey design. Data was gathered, using a survey questionnaire, from 421 teachers from 19 primary and 15 secondary schools. A hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the influence of knowledge, self-efficacy & attitudes on the practice of inclusive instruction strategies in teaching SVI in regular schools. The outcomes indicated that teachers had the required knowledge about inclusive instruction strategies. Conversely, a moderate level of teachers’ self-efficacy (M=3.00, SD=1.01) in teaching SVI and favorable attitudes towards inclusion of SVI (M=3.92, SD=0.64) were found in this study. Similarly, this study demonstrated a moderate level of teachers’ practice of inclusive instruction strategies in teaching SVI (M=2.69 out of 4, SD=0.83). Teachers’ self-efficacy and attitude were found to be significant predictors of practice, while knowledge was not a significant predictor. Self-efficacy accounted for 25.5% of the variance in practice, which was the most significant predictor of practice. All the independent variables together explained 31.4% of the variance in practice. Conclusion and possible implications for practice were indicated.

Teacher effectiveness in English-medium instruction and students’ academic achievement: A value-added model in action

2024-06-18T08:12:35+00:00

This study aimed to investigate the association between general science teachers’ effectiveness in teaching through English and students’ academic success in Debre Birhan City. In addition, it sought to determine which dimensions of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) accounted for the greatest variability. Furthermore, it examined whether demographic variables such as sex, qualification, and experience co-variated with students’ academic achievement (SAA). A non-experimental correlational design was employed. The study sample included 45 randomly selected teachers and 1575 students in 45 classrooms. A teacher effectiveness questionnaire and an academic achievement test were used as data collection tools implementing the principle of the value-added model. The findings revealed a strong relationship between teachers’ effectiveness in teaching science through English and SAA, with pedagogical knowledge being the highest contributor and experience co-variating with SAA. The unstandardized coefficient output also reveals that SAA increases by a certain percentage as every scale of EMI increases. The study recommends on-the-job training for EMI teachers. Additionally, experienced teachers should work in pairs with younger teachers and share fresh perspectives on teaching methods and effective language use. The introduction of EMI implementation policies is also recommended.

Exploring the interplay between emotional intelligence and academic performance of undergraduate university students

2024-09-10T14:53:41+00:00

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between perceived emotional intelligence and students' academic achievement. To this end, a quantitative research approach with a correlational design was employed. Participants were randomly selected using a stratified sampling technique, resulting in a sample of 135 second- and third-year undergraduate psychology students. An emotional intelligence scale was administered to these participants, and the collected data were subsequently analyzed using both descriptive statistics (including mean, frequency, and percentage) and inferential statistics (including independent sample t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson product-moment correlation, multiple regression analysis, and mediation analysis). The findings indicated that students' perceived emotional intelligence levels were above average. Group comparison analyses revealed that, among various socio-demographic variables, only sex showed a significant difference in emotional intelligence. Similarly, the analysis showed that only the parents’ level of education significantly impacted students’ academic performance. Furthermore, a statistically significant positive relationship was found between emotional intelligence and academic achievement. Additionally, linear multiple regression analysis revealed that emotional intelligence significantly contributed to academic performance. Mediation analysis further revealed that the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement is partially mediated by sex. Finally, the study concludes with recommendations aimed at enhancing the academic achievement of students.

The influence of deans’ transactional leadership behaviors on research productivity in public universities: The mediating effect of workplace learning capability

2024-07-15T12:52:25+00:00

This study examined the effect of transactional leadership behaviors on research productivity in public universities, with organizational learning capability serving as a mediating factor. A quantitative research approach focusing on correlational design was utilized. Data were collected through a survey questionnaire administered to 519 respondents. Both measurement and structural model analyses were conducted, with deans, colleges, and individual academics serving as units of analysis. The findings revealed that deans’ contingent reward leadership behaviors significantly and positively influenced the research productivity of academics and colleges, even when controlling for workplace learning capability. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that deans’ contingent rewards and active-by-exception behaviors significantly and positively impacted workplace learning capability, accounting for 44.5% of the variance, with moderate and small effect sizes, respectively. Additionally, organizational learning capability exhibited a significant positive effect, explaining 54% of the variance in research productivity and demonstrating a moderate effect size, which indicates an unexplained variance of 46%. Bootstrapping tests confirmed that workplace learning capability partially and fully mediates the relationship between deans’ transactional leadership behaviors and research productivity. Consequently, it is imperative for college deans to enhance their contingent reward leadership behaviors and foster workplace learning capabilities to maximize their impact on research productivity.

Trends in the development of micro and small enterprises and the challenges of TVET programs in Ethiopia: Implication for curriculum development

2024-07-28T14:12:52+00:00

This study aimed to examine the development trends of micro and small enterprises and the challenges of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) interventions in Ethiopia, focusing on Bahir Dar City. For this purpose, a mixed methods research approach involving both quantitative and qualitative data from archives and interviews with officers, trainers, and enterprise owners was employed. The results of the study revealed an increase in enterprise enrollment from 2008 to 2021. However, the overall development progress remained notably low, as indicated by the limited proportions of enterprises reaching maturity stages. Moreover, the planning and implementation of TVET programs were found to be misaligned with the needs of various employment sectors, primarily due to lack of occupational standards, inadequacies in trainer availability, and deficiencies in skills and resources. This study proposed strategies to improve current performance and to address systemic challenges sustainably, including training on curriculum development.

Developmental assets and hedonic well-being among youths: In the perspective of students’ characteristics

2024-02-19T15:46:07+00:00

This study examined the effect of gender and school types on developmental assets and hedonic well-being, encompassing positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction. The sample consisted of 614 randomly selected students from private, public, rural, and urban secondary schools. Data were collected using adapted items from life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, and developmental asset profile scales. The analysis employed Pearson correlation, two-way ANOVA, one-way ANCOVA, and two-way MANOVA. The results indicated no significant correlation between academic achievement and internal assets or life satisfaction. However, the interaction and main effect of gender and school type on internal asset experiences was significant. Additionally, the scores for internal and external asset profile scores varied significantly as a function of gender and private, public rural and public urban schools. The MANOVA result further revealed significant differences in positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction concerning gender and school type. It is concluded that students in the rural context have significantly better experience of internal and external asset profiles than students in private and public urban schools. This suggests the need for a thorough investigation of Context-based assets of rural areas, and their adaptation for application in urban settings.

Faculty members’ conception and practice of teacher professional development: Implications for quality instruction at the university of Gondar, Ethiopia

2024-01-01T12:21:42+00:00

This study aimed to examine faculty members' perceptions and practices regarding teachers' professional development in enhancing instructional quality at the University of Gondar, Ethiopia. To achieve this purpose, a qualitative research approach using a descriptive case study design was utilized. Data were collected from teachers, department heads, the education quality assurance office coordinator, a dean, and the leader of the higher diploma program, of the university through semi-structured interviews, observations, and focus group discussions. Data analysis was conducted through interpretative methods emphasizing narrative description. The findings revealed that teachers hold misconceptions about professional development and exhibit reluctance to engage in professional development activities, such as workshops and meetings. Additionally, the level of academic dialogue among teachers was found to be insufficient, leading to the dichotomization of faculty into 'old' and 'new' categories, which negatively impacted their commitment to professional development initiatives. To address these challenges, it is recommended that teachers cultivate a sense of responsibility and intrinsic motivation toward their professional development while fostering collaborative relationships. Furthermore, the Ministry of Education is urged to redesign and develop professional development training programs that avoid, if not reduce, the one-size-fits-all and top-down approaches currently prevalent in professional development initiatives.

Examining the practice of culturally responsive pedagogy in upper primary school mathematics: Perceptions and competencies of teachers in North Wollo zone, Ethiopia

2023-12-21T07:54:06+00:00

This study aimed to examine the status of culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) practices among upper primary school mathematics teachers in North Wollo Zone, Ethiopia. To achieve this purpose, the researchers employed a mixed-methods convergent research design. The participants included teachers, students, principals, and department heads. Data were collected from these participants through questionnaires and interviews, and analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Results indicated that teachers employed CRP strategies in mathematics instruction on an occasional basis. Furthermore, the results revealed significant correlations between the independent variables—school location, teaching experience, CRP perception, and CRP competency—and the practice of CRP. Notably, teaching experience and CRP competencies were found to positively and significantly predict the dependent variable of CRP practices in mathematics education. These findings underscore the need for teachers to gain teaching experience, enhance their cultural competence, and exchange insights on implementing responsive teaching methods that integrate cultural elements and real-life contexts.