AN EVALUATION OF COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN TEACHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES IN EAST-CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA: TOWARDS DEVELOPING THE 21ST CENTURY CORE SKILLS
Abstract
The research evaluated the collaborative partnerships between Colleges of Teachers’ Education and Educational agencies in East-Central and Southern Ethiopia to develop the core skills of the 21st century. The study adopted John Dewey and Carl Roger’s theories of learning. It used an explanatory sequential design. In this case, quantitative and qualitative research methods were used. Friedman and Wilcoxon tests (non-parametric tests) were used to compute significance differences. Descriptive statistics were employed to calculate the mean, frequency, and standard deviation. The sample consisted of three hundred and fifty-seven student-teachers, one hundred and ninety College teachers, three hundred and six secondary school teachers, and twenty-one school principals, college administration, and zone education office. Purposive sampling technique was used for Colleges of Teachers’ Education, secondary schools, and education offices. Simple random sampling technique was employed to choose college teachers, school teachers and student-teachers. Data were collected using questionnaires, interviews, and observation. In the study considered seven research questions.
The finding revealed the availability of partnership models. It also indicated that Collaborative partnerships between stakeholders could develop the student-teacher’s core skills of the 21st century. Challenges to implementing collaborative partnerships, teachers’ workload, lack of collaboration between partners, lack of knowledge about the benefits of partnerships, and lack of trust between partners. The researcher recommended developing and using a skill-based curriculum, and changing the education system. The collaborative partnerships implementation model should be used to develop the students' core skills of 21st century.