Policy and Institutional Constraints Affecting the Ability of Academics based in Ethiopia to Perform Research
Abstract
In over six decades of higher education history, Ethiopia has experienced unprecedented expansion in the past twenty years. This article explores the conditions of research and publication in the Ethiopian higher education system against the backdrop of unrelenting massification project. Drawing on sociological system perspective, this article closely examines the reciprocal interplay of micro, meso, and macro-level factors that shape research engagement among academic staff and institutional research capacity development. Further, based on data generated from primary sources and secondary analysis of quantitative data, the study argues that the meso and macro environments are inadequately prepared to deal with the growing demand for research capacity in HEIs. Finally, implications to strengthening academic research as a key function of a university are outlined.
Policy and Institutional Constraints Affecting the Ability of Academics based in Ethiopia to Perform Research
In over six decades of higher education history, Ethiopia has experienced unprecedented expansion in the past twenty years. This article explores the conditions of research and publication in the Ethiopian higher education system against the backdrop of unrelenting massification project. Drawing on sociological system perspective, this article closely examines the reciprocal interplay of micro, meso, and macro-level factors that shape research engagement among academic staff and institutional research capacity development. Further, based on data generated from primary sources and secondary analysis of quantitative data, the study argues that the meso and macro environments are inadequately prepared to deal with the growing demand for research capacity in HEIs. Finally, implications to strengthening academic research as a key function of a university are outlined.