Access To Quality Early Childhood Education: The Case Of North Shewa Zone, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the status of access to quality Early Childhood Education (ECE) in the North Shewa Zone of Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. A mixed research method - Concurrent nested model (QUAN+qual) was employed to achieve this purpose. A total of 20 schools were selected randomly using stage sampling from five districts- Fitche town administration, Kuyu wereda, Debrelibanos wereda, Degem wereda, and Were Jarso wereda of North Shewa Zone. For the study, 76 teachers, 17 principals, and 20 officers of education bureaus have participated. Questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation, and document reviews were used to collect data. The collected data were analyzed as follows: the close-ended questions from the questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics and mean; the data collected through open-ended questions were also coded, entered into MS Excel 2010, and converted to percentages; the information obtained through the interview was transcribed and interpreted qualitatively, observation and document reviews were analyzed qualitatively. This research finds that access to ECE in the North Shewa Zone of Oromia regional state is low and there are attempts to provide the necessary inputs like physical facilities, learning resources, play materials, and manpower but they are not sufficient to bring the quality of ECE. Furthermore, this research confirms that the quality of the educational process is promising. It also identifies the following challenges that ECE faces: Shortage of qualified teachers trained in ECE. Lack of on-the-job training for teachers both at government and private schools. Shortage of teaching and learning resources such as textbooks, reference books, flashcards, and stationaries. Moreover, shortage of play materials, shortage of classrooms and unsuitable grounds for children to play, and lack of support and follow-up are also among the challenges.