The Curriculum Development Process of the New Engineering Education Program and Its Practices in Ethiopia: The Case of Three Higher Engineering Education Institutions
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Date
2016-01
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The overall aim of this dissertation is to contribute to the improvement of the engineering
curriculum development and engineering students’ learning in Ethiopia by utilizing both
theoretical and empirical enquiry. The study tried to provide insights into the major processes and
factors that influence engineering curriculum development and its implementation process in
general and investigates the impact of the curriculum development and implementation process
on the quality of engineering education and students’ learning, from the perspectives of stake
holders. The study is undertaken within three engineering higher education institutions. The
research tried to provide answers for the following four research questions. (1) Why was the
engineering curriculum change initiated? And how was it developed? (2) How do deans, teachers
and students view and describe engineering curriculum and the congruency between engineering
curriculum implementation and curriculum expectations? (3) What are the factors that influenced
engineering curriculum development? (4) How do stakeholders assess their involvement in
engineering curriculum design process and in its relevance? What are their present understanding
of the new engineering graduates in terms of their possession of engineering knowledge, skills
and competencies? A qualitative multiple-case study design was employed to undertake the
study. Primary data were collected from purposely selected engineering teachers, students,
industry personnel, and experts from the MoE using in-depth interview and focus group
discussion methods. Document analysis was also used as a source for secondary data. The data
collected from the different sources were analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis method
based on inductive category development procedure. The findings of the study revealed that the
reform in engineering education and its curriculum development was driven by economic interest,
which was expressed in terms of producing skilled human resource that would work in industry
and boost its productivity. The idea of the reform and the curriculum development process was a
top-down process initiated by the ECBP under the leadership of MoCB. Teachers’ participation in
the curriculum development process was initially one of learning from the ECBP and organizing
it in the curriculum; not in decision making. Industry’s involvement in engineering curriculum
matters was found to be occasional and not in a way it puts significant impact on curricular
decisions. Curriculum implementation which involves teaching, learning, and assessment, was
knotted with multiple problems of: poor dissemination of the ideas of the reformed curricula,
dissatisfied teaching staff and teachers absenteeism, teaching and learning crippled with shortage
of resources, shallow students’ learning, and pseudo assessment mechanism. Based on the
findings of the study, a number of recommendations are forwarded to improve engineering
curriculum development and students’ learning which include the need for more participation of
stakeholders in the process of curriculum development, the necessity of creating more awareness
and understanding of the changes in curriculum within the engineering teaching staff, the need for
more and continuous training of engineering teachers to update and improve their teaching and
assessment skills abreast their engineering profession. The need for the development of
educational policies that support the alignment of engineering teaching with assessment, and
finally areas for further theoretical research and empirical enquiry are also suggested to support
the improvement of the engineering teaching and learning development within the engineering
and technology institutions in Ethiopia.
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Key words: Engineering curriculum, curriculum development, engineering teaching, qualitative
research.
Description
Keywords
Engineering curriculum, curriculum development, engineering teaching, qualitative research.