I am back home from Ethiopia! It was hard to leave Africa – the landscape, the energy and rawness, and the open-hearted people we met. Appalachian State University likes to promote study abroad as “transformative,” and it is, but that’s such an insufficient word for what I experienced personally and professionally in my first extended overseas visit. I’m a writer, and I’m still trying to find the best language to describe the impact of these past two and half weeks.
What I can share are some tangibles of what I learned about Ethiopia’s higher education system. It sounds ideal – a government-funded education that can be paid back over time after government secured employment, a rapidly expanding university system to serve the masses (from 2 to 32 universities in just a few years) and increased emphasis on student-centered approaches to learning. We met people whose lives were vastly improved because of the opportunities afforded through education, and we observed economic and social growth in each city we visited.
Ethiopia has made incredible progress to train more teachers and increase student access to education at the primary, secondary and post-secondary level, and on the surface the government’s commitment to education sparkles. But there are definite challenges noted by those we talked with and in academic research:
In addition,
These challenges are being addressed by educational leaders who are quite young and less experienced than higher education leaders in the U.S. Most are under age 40. Why? Of the more than 90 million people in Ethiopia, half are under age 20 and the life expectancy is about 62 years. We also learned that while the communist Derg was in power during the late 1970s-1980s, many academic leaders and graduates of Ethiopia’s two universities were killed or fled to Europe or North America for safety. The current higher education system has only been operating since 2000, and many of the administrative positions are politically appointed.
What this means for me as an educational leader
Seeing a different educational system in action, even with its imperfections, helps me appreciate that the U.S. does not have all the answers to all things, like many Americans like to think we do. By observing a system in sharp contrast to our own, I can develop more critical questions to ask about our own educational policies and their effectiveness.
While Ethiopia is investing more and more in universities, North Carolina and many other states are investing less. In each case, politicians indicate they want to improve education yet I hear U.S. and Ethiopian education experts say that when they tell their government leaders the policies are hurting education they don’t listen. There are lessons for me as a communicator – how can we tell a university’s story differently so others can understand its value to individuals and to society?
This study abroad experience has also broadened my perspectives as a qualitative researcher. I have learned that even though I speak the same language as another person, our cultural differences can inhibit the interview process: the person I’m talking to may not comprehend my questions and I may not understand his or her answers. And, how can my sensitivities and biases be adapted to overcome cultural barriers?
On contemplative education
My area of research so far in Appalachian’s doctoral program in educational leadership has been higher education’s contemplative education movement, which advocates the use of introspective, first-person inquiry to develop students’ self-awareness as to their physical, emotional, and mental experiences related to coursework and to derive meaning from those experiences. In the classroom, this may include the use of yoga, meditation, journaling, tai chi, mindfulness, meditative reading, and other forms of introspection.
This is a bit of a departure from my role in University Communications, and the nature of our dialogue with Ethiopian leaders tapped more into my expertise in marketing higher education than it did contemplative education.
But an undercurrent of everything we experienced in Ethiopia was my centeredness achieved through contemplative practice. I believe my years of daily meditation is what made this study abroad so successful for me: I was calm and at peace in new and uncertain surroundings, I adjusted easily to changes in our itinerary, I was conscious of situations and people that bothered me and could analyze why, I could name my fears and take healthy steps to overcome them, and I could discern when to speak up and when to keep silent. I want all college students to develop this resiliency, and I believe it is a social justice issue that colleges and universities aren’t better developing these skills in our young people. When research shows that meditation and other forms of contemplative practice improve emotional balance, empathy and compassion, as well as leadership development, academic performance and ability to get along with people from other cultures, why aren’t we encouraging its use more?
Next steps
In closing, yes, the study abroad to Ethiopia was transformative for me. But that’s just the beginning. What happens in the coming months and years as a result of this experience is what really matters. I think it’s making me a better researcher and communicator, a more empathic community member, and a stronger believer in the value of contemplative practices.
Among the facts I learned about Ethiopia is that it’s only African nation never to have been colonized. It has a resiliency to be true to and in power over itself. There is a lesson in that alone. I believe that Ethiopia has colonized a part of my heart, and I am deeply grateful to our university hosts and the people of Bahir Dar and Addis Ababa who welcomed us and made us feel so at home in a land far away.
What I can share are some tangibles of what I learned about Ethiopia’s higher education system. It sounds ideal – a government-funded education that can be paid back over time after government secured employment, a rapidly expanding university system to serve the masses (from 2 to 32 universities in just a few years) and increased emphasis on student-centered approaches to learning. We met people whose lives were vastly improved because of the opportunities afforded through education, and we observed economic and social growth in each city we visited.
Ethiopia has made incredible progress to train more teachers and increase student access to education at the primary, secondary and post-secondary level, and on the surface the government’s commitment to education sparkles. But there are definite challenges noted by those we talked with and in academic research:
- As more universities open, less capable students are being accepted.
- Rapid expansion is outpacing resource availability.
- A significant majority of teaching staff do not meet minimum qualifications set by Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education, with many having only a bachelor’s degree.
- Quality of scholarship is reduced as faculty teach more classes with more students and have less time for research.
In addition,
- The number of graduates has outpaced the number of government jobs, and the lack of guaranteed employment is leading to apathy among students.
- Many teaching staff leave the public universities for better paying jobs at private universities, which charge tuition. More than 60 privates have opened in the past 20 years, catering to students who scored too low on the college entrance exam to be accepted in the public universities.
These challenges are being addressed by educational leaders who are quite young and less experienced than higher education leaders in the U.S. Most are under age 40. Why? Of the more than 90 million people in Ethiopia, half are under age 20 and the life expectancy is about 62 years. We also learned that while the communist Derg was in power during the late 1970s-1980s, many academic leaders and graduates of Ethiopia’s two universities were killed or fled to Europe or North America for safety. The current higher education system has only been operating since 2000, and many of the administrative positions are politically appointed.
What this means for me as an educational leader
Seeing a different educational system in action, even with its imperfections, helps me appreciate that the U.S. does not have all the answers to all things, like many Americans like to think we do. By observing a system in sharp contrast to our own, I can develop more critical questions to ask about our own educational policies and their effectiveness.
While Ethiopia is investing more and more in universities, North Carolina and many other states are investing less. In each case, politicians indicate they want to improve education yet I hear U.S. and Ethiopian education experts say that when they tell their government leaders the policies are hurting education they don’t listen. There are lessons for me as a communicator – how can we tell a university’s story differently so others can understand its value to individuals and to society?
This study abroad experience has also broadened my perspectives as a qualitative researcher. I have learned that even though I speak the same language as another person, our cultural differences can inhibit the interview process: the person I’m talking to may not comprehend my questions and I may not understand his or her answers. And, how can my sensitivities and biases be adapted to overcome cultural barriers?
On contemplative education
My area of research so far in Appalachian’s doctoral program in educational leadership has been higher education’s contemplative education movement, which advocates the use of introspective, first-person inquiry to develop students’ self-awareness as to their physical, emotional, and mental experiences related to coursework and to derive meaning from those experiences. In the classroom, this may include the use of yoga, meditation, journaling, tai chi, mindfulness, meditative reading, and other forms of introspection.
This is a bit of a departure from my role in University Communications, and the nature of our dialogue with Ethiopian leaders tapped more into my expertise in marketing higher education than it did contemplative education.
But an undercurrent of everything we experienced in Ethiopia was my centeredness achieved through contemplative practice. I believe my years of daily meditation is what made this study abroad so successful for me: I was calm and at peace in new and uncertain surroundings, I adjusted easily to changes in our itinerary, I was conscious of situations and people that bothered me and could analyze why, I could name my fears and take healthy steps to overcome them, and I could discern when to speak up and when to keep silent. I want all college students to develop this resiliency, and I believe it is a social justice issue that colleges and universities aren’t better developing these skills in our young people. When research shows that meditation and other forms of contemplative practice improve emotional balance, empathy and compassion, as well as leadership development, academic performance and ability to get along with people from other cultures, why aren’t we encouraging its use more?
Next steps
In closing, yes, the study abroad to Ethiopia was transformative for me. But that’s just the beginning. What happens in the coming months and years as a result of this experience is what really matters. I think it’s making me a better researcher and communicator, a more empathic community member, and a stronger believer in the value of contemplative practices.
Among the facts I learned about Ethiopia is that it’s only African nation never to have been colonized. It has a resiliency to be true to and in power over itself. There is a lesson in that alone. I believe that Ethiopia has colonized a part of my heart, and I am deeply grateful to our university hosts and the people of Bahir Dar and Addis Ababa who welcomed us and made us feel so at home in a land far away.
Bahir Dar University's "Wisdom Tower," its new administration building which opened in the past year.
Our group meets with Dr. Matebie Tafere, vice president for academic affairs at BDU.
Professor Kimbron Mengistu looks over some of the research textbooks our group from Appalachian brought to Bahir Dar University, which were purchased with a portion of the grant funds provided by the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia supporting the exchange relationship between BDU and Appalachian State University.