Browsing by Author "Dawit Mekonnen"

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    The Contribution of Integrated Functional Adult Literacy To Social Capital Development In Adult Learners: Kirkos Subcity of Addis Ababa City Administration
    (Addis Ababa University, 2016-06) Daniel Chamebo; Dawit Mekonnen
    The purpose of this study was to assess the contribution of Integrated Functional Adult Literacy to Social Capital Development in Adult Learners at Kirkos Sub-city of Addis Ababa City Administration. The study used descriptive survey design. For the survey, two Woredas were selected by using simple random sampling technique. Data gathering tools were questionnaire, semi-structured interview guide and focus group discussion. The questionnaire was employed to generate quantitative information from adult learners. Qualitative data were collected by using interview and focus group discussion with adult learners to triangulate the quantitative data. In addition, Woreda education office officers, experts, coordinators, and facilitators were interviewed using availability sampling through questionnaire. A total of 68 adult learners from Woreda five and 48 adult learners from Wereda six were selected by using simple random sampling technique and, 2 officers, 2 coordinators, 2 experts, and 4 facilitators were included by using availability sampling technique. The data were analyzed with the use of one-way survey analysis. The major finding was that adult literacy and numeracy program significantly helped adult learners develop strong trust, build relationship and create social networks. However, data from respondents disclosed that there were gaps in collaboration of stakeholders in creating opportunities to adult learners so that they continue to access resources after completion of the program. It was also observed that there were challenges of having sustainable life after completion due to lack of resource and opportunity in the Woredas that needs to be tackled to make social capital development outcome more successful
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    Facilitation of Student Teachers’ Reflective Practice during Microteaching and Practicum in Hawassa College of Teacher Education
    (Addis Ababa University, 2024-06) Demekash Asregid; Dawit Mekonnen
    This research explores the promotion of reflective practice among student teachers at Hawassa College of Teacher Education. It investigates the effectiveness of feedback and the dynamics of interactions between teacher educators, mentors, tutors, and student teachers in fostering reflective practice during both micro teaching and school practicum phases. Utilizing a case study design, the research employed unstructured observations, focus group discussions (FGD), semi-structured interviews, and document analysis to collect data from a diverse group of participants, including teacher educators, student teachers, mentors, and tutors. In total, three teacher educators and six student teachers were interviewed, 18 student teachers participated in FGDs across three groups during micro teaching, and another set of six student teachers, three tutors, and six mentors were interviewed, with six student teachers also participating in FGDs during the practicum phase. Thematic analysis was applied to the data collected. The findings revealed that during micro teaching, teacher educators struggled to effectively facilitate per-service teachers' reflective practices using various feedback methods. The absence of feed-forward, coupled with the use of phonological feedback and inappropriate evaluation criteria, hindered the per-service teachers' engagement in reflection. This limitation affected their ability to engage in three types of reflection: reflection on action, reflection for action, and reflection in action. The study also identified obstacles such as limited time for micro teaching, organization of micro teaching activities in course modules, and inconsistent evaluation standards. Similarly, during the practicum, supervisors and tutors predominantly provided one-directional feedback, positioning themselves as experts and reducing student teachers to passive feedback recipients. This approach limited student teachers' opportunities for per- and post-exercise reflection and focused on identifying deficiencies rather than fostering higher-level reflective practices. The study identified obstacles such as mentor and supervisor training, collaboration between practicum supervisors and mentors, shortage of time, and space for reflection during practicum. The research concludes with recommendations to view micro teaching as an integral component of on-campus teaching practicums, to allocate sufficient time for these activities, and to provide training for teacher educators on effective feedback methods. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of mentor training, the need for collaboration between teacher education colleges and practicum schools, and the arrangement of adequate time and space for student teachers to practice and receive feedback. A model for facilitating reflective practice in teacher education is proposed, highlighting the necessity of careful planning in both on-campus and practicum activities to develop student teachers' reflective practices effectively. The study's insights underscore the significance of facilitating reflective practice during microteaching and practicums for student teachers. Keywords: Reflective Practice, Microteaching, Practicum, Mentoring, Feedback
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    Magnitude and Determinants of Primary Cesarean Section Among Women who Give Birth At 37 & Above Weeks of Gestational Age in three Teaching Hospitals of Addis Ababa University in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Cross Sectional Study
    (Addis Ababa University, 2024-09-16) Dawit Mekonnen; Mahlet Yigeremu; Dawit Desalegn
    Background: The use of cesarean section has expanded to low-, middle-, and high income nations along with notable advancements in clinical obstetric care and better surgical procedure safety. According to Ethiopia Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), the national population-based cesarean section rate climbed from 0.7 percent in 2000 to 1.9 percent in 2016, with rises throughout seven of the country's eleven administrative areas. Studies done in Addis Ababa public hospitals showed that the rate of cesarean section ranges between 21% and 38%. The rate of primary cesarean sections, however, has never been researched and no data is available. To lower this concerning cesarean section rate, it is crucial to look at decision-making processes and put in place a safe prevention strategy for primary cesarean section practice, as advised by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in their obstetric care consensus recommendation. Objectives: To assess the magnitude and determinants of primary cesarean section among women who gave birth at term in three teaching hospitals of Addis Ababa University in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January 01 to April 30, 2024. Systematic random sampling was used to select 422 participants. The structured, pretested, and anonymous questionnaire was used, and data were entered into Epi-Data version 3.1 and will be exported analysis to SPSS version 23. Descriptive statistics were performed, and then used tables and figures to present the findings. A P-value of <0.05 will be considered statistical significance. Result: Four hundred twenty-two women’s medical charts were included in this study, making 100% response rate. Our research finding indicates that 25.83% of women underwent a primary cesarean section. The most frequent indications for primary cesarean section were fetal distress (55%), mal-presentation (19.3%), failed induction (11.9%), and CPD (11%). Our research findings indicate that parity, gestational diabetic mellitus, chronic medical disease, fetal presentation, fetal membranes status and liquor status were variable statistically significantly associated with Primary CS with p-value <0.05. Conclusion: The magnitude of primary cesarean section in this study was high. Our study emphasizes the need for careful monitoring and management of women with gestational diabetic mellitus, chronic medical conditions during pregnancy, and the importance of monitoring the status of the fetal membranes during labor. The results indicate that most neonates had favorable outcomes. Further research could explore interventions that address factors, potentially reducing the overall rates of cesarean deliveries while ensuring safety for both mothers and infants.
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    Promoting Students’ Awareness for Better Images of the Future: Examination of the Space Accorded in Secondary School Curriculum in Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University, 2024-06) Zerihun Takele; Dawit Mekonnen
    Images of the future have a strong influence on the behaviors and decision-making of individuals and groups and are a basis for their actions in the present. However, there is limited empirical research that shows how young students imagine the future and how school curricula help students construct future images in the Ethiopian context. This study examined secondary school students’ future-orientation and future images in relation to personal, national, and global issues. The study also examined the extent school textbooks contribute to shaping students' images of the future. The study was conducted in five secondary schools in Oromia, Ethiopia. The study employed a mixed research method. Data were collected from 443 secondary school (grades 11 and 12) students through questionnaires and content analysis of textbooks. The quantitative data were analyzed using percentages, means, t-tests, and ANOVAs. The qualitative data were analyzed using word narration supported by pictures and figures extracted from the textbooks. The findings of the study show that students’ future orientations were not well developed. The students had more optimistic future expectations for their own future lives, whereas they had pessimistic images regarding national (Ethiopia) and global issues and problems. This shows that students’ spatial awareness is not sufficiently developed to understand the interrelatedness and interdependence of national and global problems with their own current and future personal lives. Furthermore, the findings suggest that students’ personal optimistic future expectations decreased at the critical adolescence age. In addition, the study found that the images of a good (desirable) and a bad (undesirable) person/citizen represented in the textbooks placed more emphasis on promoting students’ images of the interdependent self (social self) awareness than of the independent self (autonomous self). The study also revealed that there is some incongruence between images of Ethiopia presented in the textbooks and images of Ethiopia held by the students. The textbooks mainly narrated Ethiopia as a country that turned from a dark past, present utopia changes to a bright future, whereas most of the students had a pessimistic orientation towards the future of Ethiopia. The study indicates that images of Africa represented in the textbooks could have the potential to cultivate pessimistic dystopian images, disempowerment, and afropessimistic attitudes among students. In relation to global issues and problems, the textbooks represented mainly techno-utopian images of the world. The textbooks have limitations in showing students the negative consequences of technological progress on human health, environmental degradation, and global warming. The study also indicated that textbooks’ learning activities have the potential to serve to deepen images of interdependent self (social self) awareness rather than independent self-consciousness that have the potential to produce conformist individuals who are simply socialized to the existing status quo rather than create critical thinkers and future change agents. Based on the findings, it is recommended that the textbooks should be improved based on the principles of futureoriented education in order to promote students’ desirable images of the future, and empower and prepare them as future change agents to build a better future. Keywords: Images of the future; Future orientation; Afropessimism; Techno-utopian; Dystopian; Utopia; Personal issues; National issues; Global issues
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    Teacher Education Pedagogy: The conceptions and Practices of Teacher Educators in the Southern Regions of Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University, 2024) Abayneh Ergogo; Dawit Mekonnen
    In order to establish a standard for successful pedagogy in teacher education, this study explores the relationship between teacher educators' conceptions of pedagogy and their likely practices. The study investigates the rationale for the pedagogical practices of the teacher-educators, with a particular emphasis on Copenhagen's classification of realistic pedagogical conceptions as application of theory and realistic as well as the practice as constructionist and transmission approaches. Constructionist and realistic approaches promote active practice and reflection, whereas the application of theory and transmission approaches focus on pedagogues that concentrate on imparting mere theoretical knowledge through transmission, expecting student teachers to apply it during their teaching. The study employed a convergent, parallel mixed-methods design and a pragmatic paradigm. The study employed questionnaires to collect data from 243 teacher educators. Moreover, 5 teacher educators and 13 student teachers were interviewed, and 6 classroom observations were carried out on 4 teacher educators.The quantitative data was analyzed using percentages, Wilcox on signed rank, and Spear man's rho correlation tests, while the qualitative data was analyzed using thematic and narrative analysis approaches.The findings indicated that teacher educators in the southern regions use a transmission or content-oriented approach in their pedagogy as a result of their application of theory conceptions to their pedagogy. It was also discovered that contextual factors had a major impact on the teacher educators' pedagogy. Based on these, teacher educators should have the conception of realistic approaches to deliver inspiring pedagogy, which is characterized by continually evolving, reflexive, and experiential teaching, as part of adequate professional competence and value. It is also critical to design professional development activities that assist teacher educators in reevaluating their perspectives and methods of teaching on learning to teach. Furthermore, policy directives that attempt to alter teaching conceptions and practices should take individual and institutional levels of teacher preparation into account.
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    The Relevance of Early Childhood Care and Education Curriculum and its Practice in Selected Regional States of Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University, 2024-04) Walelign Admasu; Dawit Mekonnen
    The purpose of this study was to investigate the relevance of ECCE curriculum and its practice in Ethiopia focusing on three regions (Addiss Ababa, Hawassa and Debrebirhan). The study attempted to air out the incorporation of guiding principles and basic elements in the ECCE curriculum, the suitability of preschool learning environment for the practice, the correspondence of teacher education curriculum to ECCE curriculum, the appropriateness preschool teachers’ practice for children andother factors affecting the practice. To attain the main objective of the study, the mixed approach of descriptive survey and explanatory sequential designs were used. Data were gathered from 362 preschool teachers and 221 graduating class preschool teacher-trainees, fifteen sample preschool classes, and documents. Questionnaires, checklists for document analysis and observation, interview and discussion were the instruments used for data collection. The collected data were analyzed using various statistics like frequency, percentage, average, and χ2 test. The ECCE syllabus communicates the philosophical, psychological and sociological bases for ECCE curriculum but not at explicit and required level.The historical base and technological changes were not totally communicated in the syllabus. The syllabus was also indicated the objectives, thematic areas, four developmental directions, teaching methods, assessment approaches, and resources for teaching the themes for preschoolers.But,the emotional, moral and spiritual aspects of development, the ethics and values of the society were not indicated in the syllabus. The instructional methods in the syllabus were far from appropriateness for preschoolers and insufficient to use them for the teachers. The assessment means did not consider the different learning styles of children. tests were used frequently as assessing means intead of taking notes and observing children in action.Thus, the curriculum, instructional strategies, assessment means, and resources in the syllabus seemed to be found in need of amendment. The learning environment in the sample preschools of Ethiopia did not seem conducive to the proper implementation of the ECCE curriculum. Insufficient spaces for indoor activities, absence of learning centers and unfit types of equipment for children were common phenomena in many sample preschools. Teaching and play materials as posted pictures in many preschools were at sub-standard level and did not attractattention of children.The outdoor environments for children did not seem conducive for different physical and motor activities. Thus, the learning environment (in-door and out-door) has limitations for facilitating chidren learning and development. The Teacher Education Program (TEP) courses do not create balance among the three knowledge areas (content, pedagogical, and child development and learning). The child development and learning knowledge area is represented only by two out of fourty-two courses so that it is highly marginalized. The subject-related pedagogical knowledge area did not involve courses that acquaint trainees with specific teaching methods for natural and social sciences as well as ethics and aesthetic/art subjects. The courses for general teaching /active learning methods have been totally forgotten. Action research courses were with limited contribution for practice. The contribution of TEP in acquainting trainees with the contents of the ECCE curriculum was not favored at the required high level. The correspondence of TEP curriculum to the ECCE syllabus is found either at a low or medium level. So, the relevance of TEP courses for implementing the ECCE curriculum has limitations. So, the training has limited benefit. The preschool-teachers were not properly practicing the five key functions though they rated their accomplishment positively. The methods used by teachers in teaching the three age levels children were similar so that they did not seem appropriate for all children. Similarly, the assessments employed were unfit for preschoolers. So, the preschool curriculum practice was inappropriate for children of the three age levels. The conditions like support from others, provision of services, nature of the program, and resources were facilitating the ECCE curriculum practices at medium level. But, the funding mechanisms, pushing down the curriculum, group size and adult-child ratio, space for program and the provision of health services were hindering ECCE curriculum practice. The development process of curriculum materials; the nature of objectives and contents, and administration were also creating challenges in practicing ECCE curriculm. Working on the contents of the material, the classroom conditions, teacher education program, and in the creation of know-how, attitude, and sense of responsibility on concerned bodies were considered as means of alleviating the problems. Thus, the ECE and teacher education program curriculua are in need of revision. Following developmentally appropriate practice in coaching children seems vital. The factors affecting preschool education practice need to get attention from concerned bodies. The teacher practice and learning for preschool education needs further studies for the future betterment of the program.