History education in Ethiopian secondary schools (1943–1991): Why it could not yield the desired results? A historical analysis

Abstract

History teaching in secondary school is intended to be a source of knowledge, hastening the nation-building process and enhancing the critical thinking and analytical skills of youth. It can serve as a tool for promoting peace and social cohesion within a nation. However, in Ethiopia, it has become a source of controversy, suspicion, hostility, and disharmony. This study investigates why history teaching in Ethiopia has not achieved its intended results, specifically its failure to prepare secondary school students to be critical thinkers and interpret the significance of the past. The study utilizes descriptive and historical research designs to explore this issue. Data were collected from primary and secondary sources, and the researchers employed the document analysis method to analyze them thematically and chronologically. The finding reveals that two main sets of ‘conundrums’, both external and internal, have prevented history from playing its desired role. These factors are interdependent: the internal issues stem from the external ones, and the external ones create fertile ground for the internal ones. Externally, factors such as foreign influences, foreign authors, and teachers played a role. Internally, factors like curriculum-based factors, disciplinary issues, ethnocentrism, the existence of competing narratives, and the state ideology of various regimes have impacted the direction of history teaching. Therefore, the combined influence of these internal and external dynamics has generally hindered the secondary school history teaching of the country from fulfilling its intended roles.

Keywords:

• History teaching
• Ethiopia
• secondary school
• curriculum
• challenges

REVIEWING EDITOR:

• John Chiang, State University of New York, New York, US

SUBJECTS:

• History of Education
• Secondary Education
• Curriculum Studies

Acknowledgements

Since I started to conduct this study and submitted it to this internationally accredited publisher, I have had consistent assistance from different contributors. However, it is vital to mention some of them. I have no words for both my principal advisor, Dr. Fantahun Ayele, and co-advisor, Dr. Aychegirew Hadera, because, without their careful supervision, thoughtful guidance, and constructive criticism assistance, this research paper would not have been realized. Secondly, my deepest gratitude goes to different institutions and their workers who gave me their consistent support while I was searching for valuable documents in IES when I was in Addis Ababa for field research. I also have special thanks to two institutions that covered my two-way air transport costs from Bahir Dar to Addis Ababa, and all the accommodation costs have been financed by the generosity of Beles-Paradise College and Pawi Wereda administrative office.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Both primary and secondary data are available from the corresponding author up on reasonable request.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ageru Shume Nadew

Ageru Shume Nadew is a senior history lecturer at Gilgel Beles Teachers Education (GBCTE). He received a Bachelor of Arts in History from Debre Berehan University in 2010 and an MA in History from Jimma University in 2017. He is currently pursuing his doctoral studies at Bahir Dar University since 2021. He has authored two articles on the challenges of corruption and globalization in Africa. His research interests are the challenges and prospects of history education in primary, secondary, and higher institutions in Ethiopia and Africa. He is now a candidate for a Doctor of Education in History at the Department of History and Heritage Management, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia. He is the corresponding author of this research paper.

Fantahun Ayele Ibrahim

Fantahun Ayele Ibrahim (PhD) is an Associate Professor of history at Bahir Dar University in Ethiopia. He did his BA, MA, and PhD degrees at Addis Ababa University. He won the 2019/2020 Fulbright African Scholars Program, USA, and the Second Global Encounters Postdoctoral Fellowship in African Studies, Northwestern University, USA, in 2011/2012. He is the author of a book, The Ethiopian Army: From Victory to Collapse, 1977–1991, and many scholarly articles. His areas of expertise include the modern military history of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, conflict and security in the Horn of Africa, modern education, drought and famine, malaria epidemics, locust plagues, deforestation, and other aspects of environmental history. He is the second author of this study.

Aychgrew Hadera Hailu

Aychegrew Hadera Hailu (PhD) is an Assistant Professor of African history at Bahir Dar University. He completed his BA and MA degrees at Addis Ababa University in 2004 and 2009, respectively. He earned his PhD in 2016 from Bayreuth University, Germany. In 2009, he received the Department of History at Addis Ababa University’s Outstanding Post-Graduate Students Award. He is the author of the monographs ‘Pioneering Local NGOs in Ethiopia: The Case of the Association for the Destitute (1964–1971)’ published in 2010 and ‘NGO Visions of Development in the Changing Contexts of Ethiopia, 1960–2015’. He is also one of the authors of the teaching material ‘History of Ethiopia and the Horn’, a common course for all freshman higher institution students in Ethiopia. Currently, Dr. Aychegrew works as a teacher and researcher in the department of history and heritage management at Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia. He is also the third author of this study.