Modern Education and Curriculum Development of Ethiopia

Traditional formal education has been offered in Ethiopia since the fourth century A.D. Ethiopia, on the other hand, has introduced modern education since 1908. Several attempts have been made to introduce modern education into the country, curriculum is one among them. Curriculum is one of the main concerns in the field of education. This chapter focuses on the various initiatives performed to develop the curriculum during different periods of Ethiopia. The periods include: Pre-Ethio-Italian War Period (1908–1936), Italian Occupation Period (1936–1941), Post-liberation Period (1941–1974), Socialist Period (1975–1991), Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) Period (1991–2017), and Post-EPRDF Period (2018–2021). The data gathered from research participants on the subject were analyzed. Both the literature review and the data analysis on Ethiopian education show that, despite many efforts made to Ethiopianize the curriculum, Western education continues to dominate. This chapter concludes that since Ethiopia has rich wealth of indigenous knowledge utilizing these sources in the curriculum is vital, hence Ethiopianizing the curriculum is highly significant for the nation.