A Rising Tide of Access: What Consequences for Inclusive Learning and Sustainable Development in Ethiopia?

Educational access has expanded rapidly in recent years in Ethiopia including specifically for marginalised groups; those in ‘emerging regions’ and from linguistic minorities. Strong economic growth and poverty reduction... [ view full abstract ]

Educational access has expanded rapidly in recent years in Ethiopia including specifically for marginalised groups; those in ‘emerging regions’ and from linguistic minorities. Strong economic growth and poverty reduction have meant that pupils’ socio-economic backgrounds have also been improving. Yet at the same time, available data on learning outcomes point to both decline in learning levels and widening inequalities over time among children in school.  Accordingly, while access growth has been inclusive, it is less clear that inclusion has extended to meaningful learning.  A part of the explanation lies in the increased number and proportion of disadvantaged pupils entering schools, while another lies in declining school quality linked to increased class size and stretching of per capita resources.  Further, teaching quality is placed under stress under these conditions and the most marginalised pupils are likely to be particularly affected.

In this paper we examine the ‘trade-off’ between access expansion and quality improvement in Ethiopian, in the light of these trends and focusing on the consequences for inclusion.  We highlight how these dynamics will inform new education systems research to be undertaken as part of the Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE) programme.  We draw on data from the Young Lives project and from national education statistics to examine the influence of countervailing trends with respect to learning in mathematics and reading.  Young Lives has collected both school and household-level data on two comparable cohorts of children born in 1995 and 2001, including learning outcomes measured at home and at school between ages five and sixteen.  We are able to compare data on access and learning for ‘established’ regions to ‘emerging’ regions as well as to decompose sources of educational attainment gaps.  Our analysis demonstrates evidence for a ‘trade-off’ between access and quality which has important implications for education policy.