Browsing by Author "Begna Ordofa"

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    School Accountability for Learning Outcomes: A Case Study of Secondary Schools in Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University, 2024-06) Begna Ordofa; Amare Asgedom (Prof.)
    The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study is to develop an understanding of school accountability for learning outcomes in Ethiopian secondary schools. Data were collected from 63 key school stakeholders, including teachers, directors, education experts, parents, and students through interviews and focus group discussions. In addition, document analysis and observations were used as data gathering strategies. Four schools, two high-performing, and another two low-performing, were chosen for this purpose. Pratchett‘s theoretical framework was used to guide the research. The findings of the study revealed that the four design elements of accountability (delegation, finance, information, and motivation) were coherent with learning outcomes in the high-performing secondary schools. In contrast, academic activity is overlooked while loose cooperation among school actors to improve learning, and numerous extracurricular activities were witnessed in the low-performing secondary schools. Tight finance is common in all schools but absence of attention to supporting learning is the feature of the low performing schools. High-performing schools focused on process and learning outcome data. Nothing will happen to agents in low-performing schools for the low academic achievement, whereas they can be held accountable in the high performing school. Parents in the low performing schools are unaware of the importance of holding the school accountable for their children's performance than in high-performing schools. Hence, the low-performing schools focus on schooling, while the high-performing schools are coherent for learning outcomes. Implications of the study include ensuring appropriate school systems that are coherent with learning outcomes and supporting front-line providers. In addition, further research on this topic is suggested in the Ethiopian education system as a whole. Key terms: accountability relationship; learning outcomes; delegation; finance; information; motivation; coherence