Rethinking adult education in Ethiopia: the quest for interventions to overcome implementation challenges and foster effectiveness

The introduction of modern education, especially adult education, has a long history in Ethiopia. However, consistent implementation remains a big challenge to reach all adults. Considering this situation in mind,the current study was conducted to scrutinise the fundamental challenges faced by adult education programs and identify promising interventions that need to be taken into account to overcome the exisitng challenges and improve implementation effectiveness. In doing so, the current study employed a qualitative research method with a case study design. Data was collected through interviews with purposefully selected fourteen participants and through document analysis. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data collected. Accordingly, the study results revealed the following major findings: The presence of traditional attitudes and cultural stigma that devalue adult education limits its reach to broader adults. Additionally, the existence of insufficient political commitment from the government often results in limited support for adult education initiatives. There is also criticism that the current adult education practice has limited adaptability due to its ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach and its inability to meet the dynamic learning needs of adults. Furthermore, the presence of inadequate resources poses a multifaceted challenge. To address these issues and promote success, some actionable interventions are identified that could be prioritised into three thematic areas. These include the centrality of equity and access, the need for a context-specific structure, and the importance of aligning adult education programs with the country’s national development goals. These proposed interventions hold multifaceted promise for improving the practices of adult education programs. At the end, further discussions and conclusions are forwarded.