College of Education

Technical Vocational Education and Training Service Quality As Perceived By Students: The Case of Public Polytechnic Colleges in the Regional State of Amara

2026-09-21T07:28:17Z

Technical Vocational Education and Training Service Quality As Perceived By Students: The Case of Public Polytechnic Colleges in the Regional State of Amara Kassaye, Seid This study examined the quality of technical and vocational education and training service delivery practices at polytechnic colleges in the Amhara Regional State, as perceived by students. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design (QUAN→qual) was employed. Quantitatively, 896 randomly selected students completed a modified SERVPERF survey measuring the five SQ dimensions: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Qualitatively, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 purposively selected key informants and analyzed thematically. Descriptive statistics, one-sample t-tests, and one-way ANOVA were applied for quantitative analysis. Results revealed that the overall mean SQ score (M = 2.84, SD = 0.65) was significantly below the acceptable threshold (t (895) = -7.31, p < .001, d = 0.23), with tangibility recording the lowest mean score (M = 2.76, SD = 0.77, t (895) = -9.25, p < .001, d = 0.29). A significant gender difference emerged in responsiveness, with female students reporting higher perceptions (M = 3.03) than their male counterparts (M = 2.80, t (894) = -4.25, p < .05, d = 0.28). Perceived SQ also varied significantly across occupational fields, with ICT and garment students reporting more favorable perceptions, and across colleges (F = 6.97, p < .05, η² = 0.03), with students from Debre Markos, Burie, and Debre Birhan colleges reporting relatively higher perceptions. Qualitative findings corroborated these results, revealing critical inadequacies in physical facilities, tools, and equipment that hindered practical training. The study concludes that the quality of TVET service delivery practices is insufficient and varies considerably across fields and institutions. These findings urge policymakers and providers to prioritize investments in modern machinery, tools, and equipment, and planned maintenance to improve practical training infrastructure and overall service delivery

Effects of Blended Learning on Undergraduate Students’ Conceptual Understanding, Engagement, and Epistemological Beliefs in Learning Chemical Bonding and Molecular Geometry Concepts: The Case of Bashir Dar University, Ethiopia

2026-09-08T11:36:17Z

Effects of Blended Learning on Undergraduate Students’ Conceptual Understanding, Engagement, and Epistemological Beliefs in Learning Chemical Bonding and Molecular Geometry Concepts: The Case of Bashir Dar University, Ethiopia Woretaw, Atinaf The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Blended learning (BL) on undergraduate students' Conceptual Understanding (CU), engagement (SE), and epistemological beliefs (EBs) in learning Chemical Bonding and Molecular Geometry (CBMG) concepts. To achieve this goal, a mixed research approach was employed. For the quantitative approach, a pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group quasi-experimental design was employed. For the qualitative phase, a phenomenological design was used. The study was conducted at Bahir Dar University in the Amhara National Regional State of Ethiopia. A total of 86 undergraduate students (Male = 59 and Female = 27) participated, with the intervention group (IG; n = 42) taught via the BL approach and the comparison group (CG; n = 44) taught via the Conventional Teaching Method (CTM). A total of nine participants, six from IG and 3 students from CG, participated in the semi-structured interviews. The Three-tier Conceptual Understanding Diagnostic Test (TTCUDT), Student Engagement Scale (SES), and Colorado Learning Assessment and Science Survey (Class-Chem) were administered to both groups as pretest and posttest. Moreover, semi-structured interview questions were administered regarding CU, SE, and EBs after the treatment. The study employed quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 26 and were examined using descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Findings from both approaches indicated that students who engaged with the BL approach demonstrated greater CU, SE, and more sophisticated EBs than their peers who experienced CTM while learning CBMG concepts. Furthermore, the findings revealed that the BL approach significantly reduced students' MCs and enhanced their confidence. However, no statistically significant gender differences were observed in CU, SE, and EBs within either the intervention or comparison groups. The BL approach has been shown to substantially enhance students‘ CU, SE, and EBs regarding scientific knowledge acquisition. Furthermore, the findings of this study revealed that, within the BL environment, students‘ CU was significantly correlated with their engagement and EBs; moreover, increased SE contributed to the development of more sophisticated EBs. Although the implementation of BL has a significant positive effect on students' CU, SE, and EBs related to knowledge, various challenges were encountered in the learning environment due to technological, pedagogical, student-related, and institutional factors. Adopting carefully designed iii BL approaches enables educational institutions to improve teaching effectiveness and SE, while contributing to the growing evidence on the pedagogical impact of BL in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. Drawing on these findings, further implications for practice and recommendations for future research are advanced

Analysis of Employability Skills Acquisition in Some Ethiopian Universities Through Legitimation Code Theory

2026-09-03T11:44:01Z

Analysis of Employability Skills Acquisition in Some Ethiopian Universities Through Legitimation Code Theory Sara, Jehi Today’s changing world is requiring graduates of universities to possess skills that are relevant for the world of work. Hence, the purpose of this research was to understand the underlying principles of the acquisition of employability skills in some Public Ethiopian Universities. In the context of this research, employability skills are generic, transferable skills that are considered outcomes of university education. These skills are becoming vital for employers. Conceptualizing the problem from critical realism paradigm perspective, the study used Legitimation Code Theory to analyze the acquisition of employability skills. The purpose of this research was to analyze the practice of employability skills acquisition and there by reveal new insights. A questionnaire adapted from Maton and Howard (2016) was used to reveal legitimation codes underlying practices of employability skills acquisition. 180 university instructors participated in the study. Data was also collected from 394 graduating students in the year 2021 from three Ethiopian Public Universities- Addis Ababa University, Arsi University, and Bahir Dar University. A set of questions adopted from Nebraska University Transferable skills assessment was used to measure employability skills of students. The questionnaire’s reliability coefficient was 0.96. Analysis of data was made through one sample t- test to check the status of employability skills acquired on different dimensions of employability skills. And independent sample t- test and ANOVA were conducted to see whether there is statistically significant mean difference between students in their acquisition of employability skills based on gender and department. The results of the study showed that students perceived that they are skilled above average in their overall employability skills with male and female students showing statistically significant mean difference in some set of employability skills. The findings of the study revealed that all the four dimensions of specialization codes (knowledge, knower, élite, and relativist codes) are evident in the Universities with regard to different sets of employability skills. The regression analysis has shown that employability skills of students can be explained by their legitimation codes. In spite of the pressures that are posed on universities to develop employability skills of graduates; university students and instructors do not believe that all the different sets of employability skills are developed best through the teaching and learning process in university classrooms. The reason why higher education institutions are blamed for not incorporating/ teaching employability skills could be due to the fact that there is no consensus on how the generic skills / employability skills are best developed. The study recommends that students’ attention should be drawn to the importance of extra-curricular activities in order to develop employability skills. Training should be developed to university instructors so as to show them the potential that degree programs can afford the development of employability skills through the curriculum and pedagogy.

The Effect of Teacher’s Efficacy on Instructional Strategy Use and Student Engagement: Case of Woldia Collage of Teachers Education

2026-09-01T08:38:08Z

The Effect of Teacher’s Efficacy on Instructional Strategy Use and Student Engagement: Case of Woldia Collage of Teachers Education Edget, Seyoum Teachers’ efficacy for teaching their perceptions about their own capabilities to foster students’ learning and engagement has proved to be an important teacher characteristic often correlated with positive student and teacher outcomes. The central concerns of this study were to evaluate the level of teachers’ efficacy and to examine the mean difference between high and low efficacious teachers’ in terms of uses of instructional strategies and student engagement. Twenty teachers and two hundred students from five departments were selected using lottery method sampling techniques. Teachers’ sense of efficacy scale, finding instructional strategies scale and student course engagement scale were used as data collection instrument. One sample t-test and two samples t-test were employed for data analysis. One sample t-test revealed that the sample mean was significantly different to test value. This indicated that the Woldia College of Teachers’ Education teachers had low teacher’s efficacy. The two samples t- test result indicated that there were statistically significant difference between teachers with high teachers’ efficacy and low teachers’ efficacy in their uses of instructional strategies(p=0.04) and student engagement(p=0.03). In conclusion, since teachers' sense of efficacy is related to students’ motivation, it is important to determine how teachers uses various instructional strategies to engage students in the classroom. The present study may help involving students as a variable in the study of teachers’ efficacy gave a better understanding of the direct contribution of teachers’ efficacy on students’ engagement. It was recommended that teachers need to develop their efficacy by focusing their internal capability and beliefs by considering the importance of their belief in their uses of instructional strategies and level of student engagement. Also, studies in relation to teachers’ efficacy should use various instruments to involve students as a variable and to observe the consistency of the measurement