Background of the Program

The Man-Environment relationship and its resultant problems have been the most important areas of concern to Geography since its early days of development as a modern academic discipline. The core of the subjects’ inquiry is the interpretation of human-environment interactions and relationships, and their dynamics through space, time and scale. Geography mediates between natural or physical, bio and social sciences. Moreover, it bridges and synthesizes their mutual common broad spectrum underpinning through its core thrust on man - environment relationships, which naturally integrate them all.

In Ethiopia, the teaching of geography at higher institution level started in 1950 at the University College of Addis Ababa (UCAA). Initially, geography was offered as an important field of study to Arts students. Since 1958, the Department of Geography, renamed as Department of Geography and Environmental Studies as of 2002, has been offering the Bachelor of Arts in geography. Geography graduates work in the teaching and non-teaching professions and contribute significantly to the socio-economic development of the country.

Particularly, in teaching stream there were different curricula that have been prepared to train teachers. Accordingly, bachelor of education was delivered concurrently with education courses until 2002. Later on, it has been replaced by Geography and Environmental Studies which was given as Bachelor of Arts, and followed by add-on program to be a teacher. Furthermore, this was followed by modular curriculum which used add-on program in order to prepare teachers of geography.

This curriculum for Bachelor of Education in Geography has been developed on the basis of the integrated Bachelor of Education Curriculum Framework currently developed by Ethiopian Ministry of Education (MoE). The development of the new Framework passed through various steps that involved brainstorming and consultation of expertson the draft framework; desk review; andexperiences of some selected countries.

The Framework prepared following these steps was further gone through a validation workshop attended by concerned stakeholders. Several discussions and the validation workshops were used to refine the Framework. The Framework has then been used as a basis for the preparation of the syllabi of Bachelor of Education for each of the subject area disciplines offered in Ethiopian secondary schools. Finally, the curriculum for Bachelor of Education in Geography is one of the results of this package

RATIONALE

Over the last decades or so, the Ethiopia education has been criticized for its quality. In this regard, a series of studies conducted by the Ministry of Education in 2002 and 2016 havepointed out several problems facing the teacher education sub-system. One such study disseminated in 2002, entitled ‘The Quality and Effectiveness of Teacher Education in Ethiopia’, came up with a long list of problems including deficiency in professional competence of teachers; unsatisfactory content knowledge of teachers; weak teaching skills and techniques; lack of professionalism, and unethical practices in the teacher education programmes; courses and methods of teaching being too theoretical and teacher centered; school practicum receiving inadequate emphasis and inefficiently implemented; inability of student assessment to adequately identify difficulties and potential for students’ learning; and action research being given little or no attention (MoE, 2002).

A more recent study conducted in 2016,entitled ‘the current status of Ethiopian secondary schools teacher education programme’ indicates that, because of the low status teaching received as a profession, there existed low self-esteem and lack of motivation among graduates who would be teachers in schools in Ethiopia (MoE, 2016).In the meantime, there is an ongoing Ethiopian Education Roadmap which is trying to identify key problems facing the teacher education sub-sector in general and secondary teacher education in particular. The Roadmap, even, came up with detailed recommendations that are hoped to elevate teaching as a profession of choice. The recommendations cover the teacher preparation and development continuum, namely, recruitment, selection, induction, deployment, motivation, and retirement.

The general Curriculum Framework for Ethiopian Secondary School Teacher Program (ESSTP), which formed the basis for Bachelor of Education in Geography, was therefore aimed at addressing some of the issues identified by the series of studies conducted by the Ministry of Education including the Ethiopian Education Roadmap. Besides, the new modality of teacher preparation is hoped to give an opportunity for those students with an interest in teaching profession to pursue their interest from the earlier days of university education.

The general curriculum framework demands major and minor area subjects that have to be delivered for graduates of teacher education. Accordingly, based on courses delivered and complementation of contents, Economics has been selected to be offered as a minor area of study. The offering of economics in particular greatly helps geography graduates to fully possess the necessary skills and knowledge that it provides to several relevant geographic courses.

ADMISSION CRITERIA

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The university entrance cut off point for teacher education is to be set by the MoE

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Entrance examination

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To assess students’ readiness, predisposition, and motivation to become secondary school teachers.

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To assess students’ aptitude and communication skills

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To assess their engagement with schools (if any)

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Diploma holderswho can pass the entrance examination and fulfill other criteria set by MoE. No course exemptions will be made to such students

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

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Minimum cumulative Grade Point Requirement for graduation

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Major CGPA 2.00

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Minor CGPA 2.00

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Overall CGPA 2.00

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Should score at least ‘C’ in Subject Methodology and Practicum, each

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Should take and pass in all the courses (with no ‘F’ grade) prescribed in the curriculum

NOMENCLATURE

The completion of the program will lead to a certification as appeared below in English and Amharic:

In English: Degree of Bachelor of Education in Geography

In Amharic: የትምህርት ባችለር ዲግሪ በጂኦግራፊ

Course category and credit conversion