i CHALLENGES OF MOTHER-TONGUE EDUCATION IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

363 Pages·2014·2.65 MB·English

CHALLENGES OF MOTHER-TONGUE EDUCATION IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS: THE
CASE OF AFAN OROMO IN THE EAST HARARGE ZONE, OROMIA REGIONAL
STATE, ETHIOPIA

by

JEILAN AMAN GOBANA

Submitted in accordance with the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY

in the subject

AFRICAN LANGUAGES

at the

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA

SUPERVISOR: PROF D E MUTASA

NOVEMBER 2013
i
Declaration

Student number: 4590-003-5

I, Jeilan Aman Gobana, declare that Challenges of mother-tongue education in primary
schools: the case of Afan Oromo in the East Hararge Zone, Oromia Regional State,
Ethiopia, is my own work that all the sources that I have used or created have been indicated
and acknowledged by means of complete references.
April 17, 2014
Signature Date
(Mr. Jeilan Aman Gobana )

ii
Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Professor Dave Elias Mutasa, my promoter, for his valuable comments,
suggestion and advice throughout my research project. I would also like to thank him for his
tolerance and meticulous attention in reading and providing me with useful information. My
grateful thanks also go to him for his assistance in sending me reading materials that helped me
shape my research work.

My special thanks also go to Ms S. G. Napaai, librarian at UNISA for sending me reference
books I requested. I also express my gratitude to the librarians working at UNISA branch of
Akaki in Addis Ababa and all the coordinators who were facilitating the training and the
programs at the UNISA, Akaki branch in Addis Ababa.

I admiringly express my gratitude to Haramaya University for its help in providing me with
finance and vehicle in which it was difficult for me to conduct my study. My appreciation also
goes to the Ministry of Education of Ethiopia for its facilitation of the program.

My special thanks also go to all the research participants who were willing to fill in the
questionnaires and those officers and teachers who gave me their views during my observations
and interviews.

I would like to thank all my friends who read and commented on my draft research. Finally, but
not the least, my gratitude goes to my wife, Obsitu Abdella and daughters, Asanti and Kenani for
their patience and psychological support they gave me while I was carrying out my study.

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Summary and key terms

The study was aimed at investigating challenges hampering mother-tongue education with
special reference to Afan Oromo in the Eastern Hararge Zone, the Oromia Regional State,
Ethiopia. The study mainly explored the available learning materials and the skilled teachers in
mother-tongue education, attitudinal factors, the extent of stakeholders’ support for mother-
tongue education, parents’ education and their awareness about education through mother tongue
and parent school involvements. In the study, the researcher used a mixed method approach in
which both quantitative and qualitative research designs were employed to corroborate the data
obtained through one method by using other methods to minimise limitations observed in a
single design. In the quantitative design, survey questionnaires were employed. Accordingly, 634
primary school teachers and 134 students were randomly selected and asked to fill the
questionnaires. These quantitative data were analysed through the SPSS software and responses
were analysed using the percentages and the chi-square. Qualitative data obtained through in-
depth interviews and observations were analysed using thematic approaches. Documents on
education policy, constitutions of the country and reports of the Ministry of Education of
Ethiopia were also consulted and integrated with the analyses of the data. The study generally
suggests unless strong political and administrative supports are given and public awareness about
the mother tongue use in education and development is created, the effort to make Afan Oromo
the language of education, intellectuals and development may remain fruitless. In this respect, all
the stakeholders, intellectuals and leaders must work together to overcome challenges and
dilemmas that impede the implementation of mother-tongue education. The practical works on
the ground should match with the language policy of the country. Popular awareness raising
activities and mobilization of the communities should be carried out carefully to involve all the
communities.

Key terms: Afan Oromo, mother tongue, language policy, language planning, mother-tongue
education, multilingual education, attitude, medium of instruction, Dominant
language
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Lists of Acronyms
ORS Oromia Regional State
AO Afan Oromo
L First language
1
L Second language
2
TGE Transitional Government of Ethiopian
FDRE Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
MTE Mother-Tongue Education
MoE Ministry of Education
CSA Central Statistical Agency
MT/s Mother Tongue/ Mother Tongues
MoI Medium of Instruction
SNNPR Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region
OCTB Oromia Culture and Tourism Bureau
LP Language Policy
OEB Oromia Education Bureau
EHOEB Eastern Hararge Oromia Education Bureau
EHZ East Hararge Zone
EBNLA Ethiopian Baseline National Learning Assessment
EGRA Early Grade Reading Assessment
ESNLA Ethiopian Second National Learning Assessment
ETNLA Ethiopian Third National Learning Assessment
NEA National Examination Agency
TTI Teachers' Training Institution
ADEA Association for the Development of Education in Africa
SNNPR Southern Nations Nationality and People’s Region
NPLI National Policy on Language of Instruction
BICS Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills
CALP Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency

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Table of Contents page
Declaration ii
Acknowledgements iii
Summary and key terms iv
Lists of Acronyms v
CHAPTER ONE 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Preamble 1
1.3 Statement of the problem 5
1.4 The aim of the study 14
1.4.1 Objectives 15
1.4.2 Research questions 16
1.5 Review of related literature 16
1.6 Justification of research 18
1.7 Scope and organization of the study 19
1.8 Conclusion 20
1.9 Operational definitions of key terms 20
CHAPTER TWO 22
LITERATURE REVIEW: ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 22
2.1 Introduction 22
2.2 Socio-linguistic background 22
2.3 Historical overview of Ethiopian language policy and its implication 26
2.3.1 Linguistic supremacy and its impacts on mother-tongue education 26
2.3.2 Ethiopian language policy before and during the Italian invasion 31
2.3.3 Language policy of the Emperor (1941- 1974) 34
2.3.4 Language policy of the Socialist system, Dergue in Ethiopia (1974-1991) 38
2.3.5 The multilingual policy of Ethiopia (1991 to the present) 40
2.3.6 The use of English as a medium of instruction in Ethiopia 45
2.4 Analytical framework 48
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2.4.1 Language Policy 48
2.4.2 Mother tongue as a medium of instruction and its implications 50
2.4.4 Language awareness or attitudes 53
2.4.5 Community involvement 55
2.4.6 Material and human resources 56
2.4.7 School contexts 57
2.4.8 Children’s literacy development in the first and second languages 58
CHAPTER THREE 62
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: LANGUAGE PLANNING AND POLICY 62
3.1 Introduction 62
3.2 Language Planning 62
3.3 Types of language planning 65
3.3.1 Status planning 66
3.3.2 Corpus planning 67
3.3.3 Acquisition planning 69
3.4 Language planning processes and models 71
3.4.1 Fact-finding 74
3.4.2 Planning 76
3.4.3 Implementation 76
3.4.4 Evaluation 77
3.5 Goals of language planning 78
3.6 Orientation of language planning 82
3.6.1 Language as a problem 82
3.6.2 Language-as-a-right 83
3.6.3 Language-as-a resource 85
3.7 Conclusion 86
CHAPTER FOUR 88
METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN 88
4.1 Introduction 88
4.2 Research Approaches 88
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4.3 Types of mixed method research design 91
4.3.1 The concurrent/ triangulation design 91
4.3.2 Embedded/ nested research design 92
4.3.3 Sequential explanatory design 92
4.3.4 Sequential exploratory design 92
4.4 Methods of data collection 94
4.4.1 Questionnaire 94
4.4.2 Interview 95
4.4.3 Observation 97
4.4.4 Document analysis 98
4.5 Research sites and the participants 98
4.5.1 Research sites 98
4.5.2 The sample size and the subjects of the study 101
4.6 Mixed methods sampling 118
4.7 Methods of data analysis 118
4.8 Conclusion 119
CHAPTER 5 120
FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS OF DATA 120
5.1 Introduction 120
5.2 Analysis of teachers’ responses to the questionnaire 120
5.2.1 The Demographic features of the teachers 120
5.2.2 Attitudes towards education through Afan Oromo in the schools 129
5.2.3 Availability of teachers trained, learning and teaching materials 134
5.2.4 Students’ proficiency in Afan Oromo and the classroom situations 153
5.2.5 Support given to the enhancement of education through Afan Oromo 157
5.2.6 Teachers' awareness about education through Afan Oromo 164
5.2.7 Teachers-self concept in various languages 173
5.3 Analysis of students’ responses to questionnaire 177
5.3.1 Demographics of the students 177
5.3.2 Occupation of parents and family members 180
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5.3.3 Education of parents and family members 181
5.3.4 Reference materials 183
5.3.5 Availability of textbooks written in Afan Oromo 185
5.3.6 Students’ attitudes towards education through Afan Oromo 186
5.3.7 Educational support given to students 190
5.4 ANALYSIS OF INTERVIEWEES’ RESPONSES 201
CHAPTER 6 250
DISCUSSION OF THE RESEARCH FINDINGS 250
6.1 Introduction 250
6.2 People’s ambivalence about education through mother tongue 251
6.3 Multilingualism as resource for the development of a nation 257
6.4 Inadequacy of trained teachers in mother tongue 260
6.5 Learning and teaching materials as challenges to mother-tongue education 265
6.6 Poor standardisation of a language as a barrier to mother-tongue education 268
6.7 Poor school improvement practice to promote mother-tongue education 270
6. 8 Poor Support towards enhancement of mother-tongue education 273
6.9 Poor support given to parents to raise their awareness about mother-tongue use in
education 275
6.10 Poor efforts to support and raise parents’ awareness on how they can assist their
children in developing literacy skills 277
6.11 Low consultative support provided to the schools 279
6.12 Teachers’ inadequate awareness towards mother-tongue education 280
6.13 Impact of differential treatments of literacy development in mother tongue and other
language(s) 281
6.14 Parents’ negative perceptions towards education through mother tongue as a
constraint 288
6.15 Impact of parents’ education on children’s confidence in academic achievement 290
6.16 Effects of students’ perceptions and expectations on mother-tongue education 291
6.17 Community involvement in schools and their perceptions towards mother-tongue
education 294
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6.18 Resultant impact of educational practices in primary schools on students’ results in
National Examination for eighth grade 296
6.19 Conclusion 298
CHAPTER 7 299
CONCLUSION 299
7.1 Introduction 299
7.2 Summary 300
7.3 Research findings 301
7.4 Recommendations 303
BIBLIOGRAPHY 310
APPENDICES 325

TABLES
Table 2.1 National policy on language of instruction by level of education (NPLI) 43
Table 3.1 Language planning models, forms and function 73
Table 4.1 Distribution of primary schools, students and students-teachers ratio in
the schools in the East Hararge Zone, the Oromia Regional State 99
Table 4.2 Distribution of teachers and their educational level in primary schools 100
Table 4.3 The ratios of students -teacher in primary schools (grades 1-8) in the Zone 101
Table 4.4 Distribution of teachers, their education and grade levels they teach 102
Table 4.5 Distribution of the cluster schools and their samples in 2012/2004 E.C. 103
Table 4.6 Distribution of teachers, their education and sample size in each District 104
Table 4.7 Distributions of teachers’ populations and their sample size from each district 104
Table 4.8 Distributions of student populations and their sample size in each district 105
Table 4.9 The number of teachers in both rural and urban areas of Haramaya district 106
Table 4.10 Distributions of teachers, their education and grade levels they taught 107
Table 4.11 Distributions of teachers, their education and sample size in 2011/12 108
Table 4.12 Distributions of students in primary schools in 2011/12(2004 E.C.) 108
Table 4.13 Students-teacher ratio in rural, urban and both 109
Table 4.14 Distributions of teachers, grade levels and their education in primary schools 110
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