| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper was to assess the contribution of international
cooperation to the enhancement of the quality of teaching and research in
private higher education in Ethiopia. To this end, a qualitative research
design was employed. That is, primary data were gathered from 20
respondents: one higher education desk officer and one curriculum expert
from the Ministry of Education (MoE), two experts from the Higher
Education Relevance and Quality Agency (HERQA), three higher education
experts from Addis Ababa University (AAU), three instructors from
Ethiopian private higher education institutions (PHEIs), and 10 Master’s
program students of the Department of Curriculum and Teachers
Professional Development Studies at AAU who were undergraduate
students in PHEIs. To supplement the data from primary sources, secondary
data were also gathered from relevant policy documents. The respondents
from the MoE and HERQA were selected by using purposive sampling
technique, whereas those from AAU and PHEIs were selected by using
availability sampling technique. Semi-structured interview guide was
employed to elicit in-depth information from the experts and the instructors
while focus group discussion was used with the students. Finally, the
information obtained from the diverse sources were categorized into
themes, analyzed, and interpreted. The findings indicated that privatization
of higher education sector had become a global trend; international
cooperation played a significant role in private higher education to elevate
the quality of teaching and research; thematic research and interdisciplinary
approaches were encouraged in private higher education; the growing need
for access to higher education boosted the role of private higher education;
and Ethiopian PHEIs had a comparative advantage for building
international cooperation with a multitude of international organizations
working in the education sector, the African Union and a growing number
of Ethiopian PHEIs. However, it was found out that ICT support for
teaching and learning as well as professional development training for theacademic staff were not given due attention in Ethiopian PHEIs. Hence,
based on the major findings, it was recommended that Ethiopian PHEIs
should strengthen and expand their international cooperation so as to
further enhance the quality of teaching and research, and they should
provide their academic staff members with institutionalized professional
development training in order to update their knowledge, skills, values and
attitudes. |
