| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether or not the Ethiopian primary education second cycle
curriculum, with particular reference to Addis Ababa city Government, incorporates the “Four pillars of
Education” in a balanced manner. To this end, mixed method research with quantitative content analysis
design supported by qualitative interview guide was employed. The contents of a total of seven selected
sample text books from grades 5 and 8 were analyzed and officials, professionals and experts from
Ministry of Education, Institute for Curriculum Development and Research and Addis Ababa City
Government Education Bureau were interviewed in the research. The sample grades (grades 5 and 8) are
selected purposefully where as the sample text books are selected using stratified sampling technique. All
the data gathered through these data gathering instruments were analyzed thematically and meanings are
constructed out of them. Consequently, it was found that in 71.4% of the sample text books the “Four
Pillars of Education” are found unbalanced mainly dominated by the pillar ‘learning to know’. Findings
from the interview also ensured that these “Four Pillars of Education” were not deliberately considered
during policy formulation, syllabi development and text book preparation. In the end, it is concluded that
the primary education second cycle curriculum of Addis Ababa City Government lack a proper balance in
comprising the “Four Pillars of Education” set by UNESCO. |
