Background and Rationales
There is an egg and chicken relationship between education and development. In plain language this is to mean one is the reason for the other. Education has two wings; namely quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative wing refers to the access and coverage of education. We are relatively good at quantitative wing since the commencement of “modern education” in Ethiopia. The qualitative wing on the other hand refers to the quality of education, more specifically to the quality of students learning. Quality of education is easy to describe than to define. There are many dimensions in defining quality: like fitness for purpose, value for money, exception, perfection and transformation. For our purpose we define quality in terms of achieving/maintaining a pre-set standard in the absence of which quality boils down to beauty which is in the eyes of the observer. With regard to this wing of our education, common sense as well as empirical evidences are telling us that we are lagging behind policy expectations A study on‘The Quality and Effectiveness of Teacher Education in Ethiopia’ was carried out in May 2002. The main findings of the study indicate that the system’s ability to provide education in accordance with the goals of the ETP is weakened by several factors, a principal one of which is teacher performance (MoE, 2002). More specifically, the study has come with findings vis-à-vis teacher effectiveness including the following:
ØThe professional competence of teachers is deficient
ØThe content knowledge of teachers is unsatisfactory
ØThe teaching skills and techniques are very basic
ØThere is a lack of professionalism, and ethical values in the Teacher Education program
ØThe quality of courses and methods of teaching are theoretical and teacher centered
ØThe Practicum receives inadequate emphasis and is inefficiently implemented at all levels of Teachers Education
ØStudent assessment does not adequately identify difficulties and potential in order to enhance students’ learning
ØAction research is given little or no attention at all levels of Teacher Education (MoE, 2003, p.43)
This is a clear indication that, quality of students learning correlates with the effectiveness of teachers, teacher effectiveness in turn is explained by the effectiveness of teachers’ initial preparation and ongoing professional development. As a response to this finding Teacher Development Program (TDP) was launched in 2003. TDP is a comprehensive program consisting of: (i) Teacher education system over haul (TESO), (ii) English Language Improvement Program (ELIP) for teachers who use English as a medium of instruction and (iii) Leadership and management program (LaMP).
TESO was concerned with teacher education reform that constitutes teacher education curriculum, selection, initial training, induction, practicum, CPD and HDP (MoE, 2003), and it was successful in shifting the status quo of the teacher education literature, structure and organization. More specifically, TESO is credited for introducing the concept of active learning, the role of practicum for learning to teach, school-community linkage, alignment of teacher education curriculum and the general education, the importance of induction, CPD/HDP and action research as tools of continuous improvement of the teaching practice. After some years of TESO implementation a study was conducted to assess the status of teacher education. The findings of the study indicated that the problems of the secondary education are very much similar to those which TESO was meant to address; teachers are not effective in both subject matter mastery as well as pedagogy (MoE, 2009).
As a result a shift in teacher education and training model was launched. The shift is from concurrent teacher education and training to sequential/consecutive model of teacher education and training. The consecutive model was first introduced in 2011.
In the consecutive model, a teacher first obtains a qualification in one or more subjects (often a first university degree), and then studies for a further period to gain an additional qualification in teaching at a post graduate diploma level. The consecutive model was not implemented as designed, rather in its alternative, in-out-in, which consists two summer course works and one winter “practicum”. The alternative is for the would be teachers coming from the regular under graduate. For the serving teachers who are striving to get their degree through the in-service summer program follows a bit different modality, which is “phase-out-phase-in” modality, which would mean the fifth summer is the time for the subject area courses to phase out and teaching profession courses to phase in.
The MoE is now re-introducing the concurrent model of teacher education program and selected three universities to host center of excellence for teacher education and training which is believed to fine tune contextually appropriate model of teacher education and radically transform the function, structure and management of the teacher education thereby improving teachers professional competencies. To this end, it has the following philosophy vision, mission and objectives.
Vision, Mission, and Objectives
Vision
Secondary school civic and ethical education teacher program envisions, seeing secondary school Civic and ethical education teachers, who are capable of producing responsible and competent citizens, committed to their profession and ready to lifelong learning, and who respect and behave in accordance with the democratic principles enshrined in the constitution.
Mission
· The Ethiopian Secondary school civics and ethical education teacher program is committed to producing secondary school teachers who have the desired academic knowledge, sufficient professional skills, good citizenship, attitudes and skills, and those ethical and democratic values enshrined in the Ethiopian Constitution.
· Ethiopian Secondary school civics and ethical education teacher program promotes reflective and social pragmatic principles and practices of teaching and learning
· The Ethiopian Secondary school civic and ethical education Teacher Program undertakes relevant research, creates and leads transparent, democratic and cost effective institutional behavior
· The Ethiopian Secondary school civics and ethical education Teacher Program strives to ensure equity in education.
· Ethiopian Secondary school civics and ethical education Teacher Program endeavors for the successfulimplementation of Ethiopia’s short and long-term plans of providing quality secondary civics and ethical education for all appropriate age group.
Course Breakdown for Regular BEd. Degree in Civics and Ethical Education Program (History minor)
YEAR I- Semester I
S.N.
Course Title
Course Code
Credit Hours
1
Foundation of Civics and Ethics
CEEd.111
03
2
Society, State and Government
CEEd.121
03
3
Introduction to Logic
CEEd.113
03
4
Political Philosophy I
CEEd.115
03
5
Socio Cultural History of Ethiopia and the Horn
Hist.121
03
6
Communicative English I
EnLa.101
03
Total
18
YEAR I- Semester II
S.N.
Course Title
Course Code
Credit Hours
1
Moral Philosophy
CEEd.162
03
2
Political Philosophy II
CEEd.112
03
3
History of Ethiopia and the Horn to 1527
Hist.122
03
4
Foundation of Education
Tecs 112
03
5
Basic Writing Skills
EnLa.102
03
6
Information Communication Technology
InCT.101
03
Total
18
YEAR II- Semester I
S.N.
Course Title
Course Code
Credit Hours
1
Foundation of Democracy and Democratic System
CEEd.221
03
2
Constitution and Constitutional Development: Ethiopian Focus
CEEd.231
03
4
History of Ethiopia and the Horn 1527-1855
Hist.221
03
5
History of Africa to 1850s
Hist.231
03
6
Educational Psychology
Psyc221
03
7
Curriculum Studies
Tecs211
03
8
Inclusive Education
Incl241
03
Total
21
YEAR II- Semester II
S.N.
Course Title
Course Code
Credit Hours
1
Human Rights and Humanitarian Assistances
CEEd.222
03
2
Research Methods in Social Sciences
CEEd. 271
03
3
History Ethiopia and the Horn from 1855-1991
Hist. 222
03
4
Survey of African History, 1850s to the present
Hist.232
03
5
General Methods of Teaching
Tecs212
02
6
Instructional Design and Technology
Tecs214
02
7
Practicum I
Prac252
02
Total
18
YEAR III- Semester I
S.N.
Course Title
Course Code
Credit Hours
1
Conflict Management and Peace Building
CEEd. 331
03
2
Development theories and dynamics
CEEd.341
03
3
Subject Area Methods I (Major)
CEEd.381
03
4
Survey of World History to 1850s
Hist.342
03
5
Subject area method (Minor)
Hist.351
02
6
School and Society
Edpm331
02
7
Teaching in Multicultural Setting
Tecs311
02
Total
18
YEAR III- Semester II
S.N.
Course Title
Course Code
Credit Hours
1
Federalism and Multiculturalism
CEEd.332
03
2
International Relations
CEEd.352
03
3
Hydro political History of the Nile Basin
Hist.332
03
4
Reflective practice in teaching
Tecs312
02
5
Action Research
Tecs314
02
6
Practicum II
Prac352
03
7
Assessment and Evaluation
Psyc322
03
Total
19
YEAR IV- Semester I
S.N.
Course Title
Course Code
Credit Hours
1
International laws and organizations
CEEd.451
03
2
Politics in the Horn and Regional Cooperation
CEEd.453
03
3
Ethiopian Foreign Policy and Diplomacy
CEEd.455
03
4
Seminar on selected issues in civics and ethical education
CEEd.471
02
5
Subject area method II(major)
CEEd.481
03
6
World History 1850-1945
Hist.441
03
7
Class room English (English for secondary school teaching)
Enla401
03
Total
20
YEAR IV- Semester II
S.N.
Course Title
Course Code
Credit Hours
1
Public Administration, Law and public sector Ethics
CEEd.442
03
2
Applied Ethics and Professional Ethics in teaching
CEEd.462
03
3
Global Development Since 1945
Hist.442
03
4
Practicum III
Prac452
03
5
Action Research Project
Prac454
02
6
School Organization and Management
Edpm432
02
Total
16
Summary of Course Composition
NO.
Course categories
Total Cr.hr.
In percent
1
Major Courses
59
40%
2
Minor Courses
30
20%
3
Common courses
15
10%
4
Pedagogical Knowledge Courses
44
30%
TOTAL
148
100%
