Quality of Early Years Education (EYE) in Ethiopia: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

This paper was aimed at analyzing quality of Early Years Education (EYE) (KG through grade 4) in
Ethiopia as measured by status of learning. Though international and local literature were reviewed to describe
the policy, research and practical contexts, the method of study applied was a meta-analysis technique that
focused on collecting and analyzing (qualitatively) previous research reports to draw appropriate conclusions
and uncover future agendas. Findings showed that: (1) Despite the establishment of minimum standards and
policy documents by the MoE, Early Childhood Education (KG) is limited in scope to urban areas and the
instructional process focuses on letter identification and mastery of numbers instead of stimulation and readiness
for formal schooling. Socialization and play do not characterize the KG classrooms but technical skills regarding
writing, fidel (letter) identification and numeracy, sometimes way beyond the age specific learning capacity of the
children; (2) The studies conducted on early grades (grades 1-4) so far also focus on reading ability, number
competence and assessment of curriculum-based objectives; and (3) Generally, almost all studies on early grade
learning indicated that the mean scores of students are far below the policy standard (50% and above
achievement per subject). Therefore, not only relevance of KG program to prepare children for formal education
is questionable but also quality of EYE is relatively low and the system of education calls for relevant intervention
schemes to improve the situation.