On the Development of Functional Literacy of Graduates of Ethiopian Schools: The Case of the Southwest Ethiopia Peoples’ Region – JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE FOR AFRICAN STUDIES

Author:

Danilov S.V., Shustova L.P., Mishina A.P.

Abstract:

The article considers the problem of the quality of general education in Ethiopia in terms of the development of functional literacy in school students, using as the example the case of the Southwest Ethiopia Peoples’ Region. The idea of this research, conducted within the framework of international cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is to organize a mutually beneficial partnership in the field of education between the two countries and promote the improvement of the quality of education in Ethiopia. The authors describe the results of a study of the functional literacy of graduates of Ethiopian schools using the case of the city of Bonga as an example. In the context of developing international cooperation between the Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University and Ethiopian universities, a task arises of the development of a diagnostic toolkit accessible to both parties and constructed on the basis of educational content, which would include information about Russia and Ethiopia. The use of such a toolkit allowed the authors to assess the development of three types of functional literacy in students: in reading, mathematics, and natural sciences. Combining the indicators for each type makes it possible to obtain a general picture of the functional literacy of school graduates in the city of Bonga, namely: the majority of participants (85.2%) have an insufficient level of functional literacy, 12.4% have it at a low level, and 2.4% of respondents have an average level of functional literacy development. The authors outline the prospects for further research into the functional literacy of students in Ethiopia, such as improving the diagnostic tools; upgrading the educational content by increasing its thematic diversity and translating into the official languages of the country; expanding the geographical scope of the research; improving the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the sample.

Keywords:

Ethiopia, quality of education, Russian-Ethiopian cooperation, functional literacy, types of functional literacy, development of functional literacy, methods of assessing functional literacy

DOI:

10.31132/2412-5717-2025-71-2-135-146

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For citation:

Danilov S.V., Shustova L.P., Mishina A.P. (2025). On the Development of Functional Literacy of Graduates of Ethiopian Schools: The Case of the Southwest Ethiopia Peoples’ Region. Journal of the Institute for African Studies. Vol. 11. № 2. Pp. 135–146. https://doi.org/ 10.31132/2412-5717-2025-71-2-135-146

Для цитирования:

Данилов С.В., Шустова Л.П., Мишина А.П. Функциональная грамотность выпускников эфиопских школ (на примере Региона народов юго-запада Эфиопии). Ученые записки Института Африки РАН. 2025. Том 11. № 2. С. 135–146. https://doi.org/ 10.31132/2412-5717-2025-71-2-135-146

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