The Working Conditions of New Graduate Female Instructors: The Case of Bahir Dar University

Abstract

Women in the world have a huge contribution for the economic, political and social development of nations. In Ethiopian context, the participation of women in teaching, especially in higher education has been growing from time to time. However, information about their working condition is not well studied. Cognizant of this gap, this study attempted to explore the working conditions of new graduates of female instructors by taking Bahir Dar University as a case in point. To meet the objective of the study, qualitative method with the case study design was used. All of the participants were selected purposively. The data sources were primary data. Semi-structured interview, key informant interview and FGDs were also used as tool for collecting primary data. The data collected were analyzed using thematic analysis methods. The findings from the study revealed that new graduate female instructors face challenges. The challenges include: lack of facilities, sexual harassment, and negative attitudes of academic staffs, lack of mentoring and lack of orientation. On the contrary, new graduate female instructors enjoy many opportunities such as, further education, short term training, and affirmative action. Furthermore, the study found that new graduate female Instructors use different strategies to deal with their problems. Keeping silent, student and peer evaluation, share office, withholding information about their profession. The study has concluded that new graduate female Instructors at the University have faced several challenges and with many opportunities. Based on the conclusion, recommendations were forwarded in line with the major finding of the study