http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2049 2026-04-03T19:38:28Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2190 Title: Problems of Teacher-Made Tests: A Prime Concern for Quality of Education Authors: Endawoke, Yalew Abstract: The quality of education could be attributed to a number of factors which include assessment. The type of assessment techniques employed by teachers affect the decisions they make about students and their instructional management. The validity and reliability of the decisions made depend on the quality of tests. In our educational system, the promotion and repetition of students in their schooling are determined by the achievements of students measured by classroom or teacher made tests. The quality of the tests is ensured by applying the principles and suggestions of item writing. Consequently, in this study 9 tests of various subjects prepared by teachers from higher learning institutions (Private Colleges), a TVET college, and Higher Education Preparatory Secondary Schools were analyzed for their quality. The results indicated that 100% of the tests had problems related to language use, consideration of item writing principles and suggestions, content validity, and other technical issues. The implication of the study is that the quality of education could be severely jeopardized by the nature of the tests developed and used by teachers. So assessments used by teachers should be the concern of all stakeholders. Ignoring this crucial element of the educational process is tantamount to paying no heed to the quality of education which leaves the objectives of the national policy unachievable. 2008-08-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2189 Title: Standards-Based Educational Management and Recognition to Improve the Quality of Pre-service Education Authors: H/Tsion, Tesfaye Abstract: Jhpiego, an affiliate of the Johns Hopkins University, is an international non governmental organization supporting ministries of health and education of Ethiopia in capacity building programs. The objective of the study was to initiate standards based educational quality management and recognition (SBEM-R) in higher institutes. Between October 15 and November 25, Jhpiego conducted onsite orientation workshops on standards-based educational management and recognition (SBEM-R) at three public universities and facilitated formation of SBEM-R teams. The teams assessed the status of medical, nursing and midwifery education using the assessment tool in the seven respective schools under the universities. The tool has 62 educational standards in five areas, namely, classroom and practical instruction, clinical instruction and practice, assessment approaches, school infrastructure and teaching materials and educational management. The assessment findings revealed low achievement across all areas in the seven schools with a total average of 23.9%. Achievements by schools ranged from 17.9 % to 30.6 %. When computed by area, school infrastructure and teaching materials had the lowest score (11.4 %) followed by assessment approaches (13.3 %). The situation was almost similar across medical, nursing and midwifery schools. These findings lay the ground for the subsequent small and incremental quality improvement. The use of SBEM-R will help educators and students to actively participate and institutionalize educational quality improvement, as the tools are easy to use, and have both” what to do” and “how to do” components. 2008-08-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2187 Title: Helping Weak Students – Three Decades of Research on Student Support in Southern Africa Authors: Cantrell, Mike Abstract: ‘Access’ and ‘equity’ are terms which can be found in the higher education development plans of most countries in Africa. The challenge of widening access, while at the same time maintaining standards, is one which the southern African region has been grappling with for the last 30 years. The new imperative to open previously closed doors to South African students of all races at the end of apartheid produced a number of models of student support from which lessons can be learned. The review covers initiatives in Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland and focuses on one case study - a well documented Science and Mathematics Foundation programme at the University of the North in South Africa. This annually selects 150- 250 students from disadvantaged education backgrounds with special aptitude tests which show they have potential for further studies, despite weak paper qualifications. Students are admitted into an integrated preparatory foundation year before entering degree programmes. Tracer studies reveal that ex-foundation students, previously judged to be too weak to be admitted to degrees, consistently out-perform others in the subsequent years of degree studies. By the beginning of the new millennium, virtually every university and technikon in South Africa had created a student support system. The paper emphasizes that the nexus between students and research is essential to prove the impact of interventions such as those described and concludes by showing how specially designed programmes can also contribute to equity issues. 2008-08-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2186 Title: Research-Teaching Nexus (RTN): The Epistemological Missing Link in Ethiopian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Authors: Mezmur, Markos Abstract: In view of the central nature of Research and Teaching in higher education, and the almost universal assumption that Research benefits Teaching, and the importance of scholarship, it is perhaps surprising how the issue of Research-Teaching Nexus (RTN) remains a neglected matter in the academic arena of the Ethiopian higher education system. RTN is a matter which has recently attracted a considerable amount of attention, particularly from those who are of the opinion that we need to value the link between Research and Teaching to offer high quality learning experiences to students. This paper is, thus, an attempt made to asses the nature of the relationship between Teaching and Research in the Ethiopian higher education settings. Also, study of existing literature on the issue is made to provide ways of establishing productive links between Research and Teaching and highlight the connection that it has to learning. Evidences on RTN in the Ethiopian HEIs are extremely scarce. Results from the handful of earlier studies, however, ascertained that Research and Teaching has never come to a close touch in Ethiopian higher education institutions. Thus, with the aim of increasing circumstances in which Teaching and Research have occasions to meet, universities need to work towards the improvement of the nexus between Research and Teaching. This would ultimately help institutions and their staff to provide the best possible learning experiences for their students. The paper is organized into four sections. The first section of the paper presents introduction and the justification for the importance of Research -Teaching Nexus (RTN). Following this a general overview of an Ethiopian Higher Education Landscape is presented. The second section reviews literature on the “how” of linking Teaching with Research. Review of evidences from earlier studies and discussions are made in the third section of the paper. Conclusion and recommendations are presented in the final section of the paper 2008-08-01T00:00:00Z