Education, Politics and Social Change in Ethiopia focuses on the numerous problems that plague Ethiopia that directly stem from failed modernization and an unsuitable system of modern education. The book is comprised of articles from esteemed writers who focus on and analyze "the various facets of the impact of modern education from different disciplines and theoretical premises." Using Ethiopia's educational system as a starting point, the essays tackle issues of Ethiopian history, politics, and religion and use this multi-discplinary approach to to situate Western influence in Ethiopia in the modern era. 

Essays:

1. The Curse of English as a Medium of Instruction in Ethiopian Education System. By Tekeste Negash

2.  Comparing Traditional and Modern Education: the Decentering of Ethiopia. By Messay Kebede

3. The Challenge of Modernity: Western Education and the Demise of Feudalism In Ethiopia. By Paulos Milkias

4. The Education System of Haile Selassie’s Government: the Roots of Political Fiasco. By  Bekele Haile-Selassie  Thomas

5. Towards A Critical Ethiopian Theory of Education. By Maimire Menasemay

6. Education, Modernity and Revival Movements: Making Sense of the Pentecostal Expansion in Ethiopia. By Tibebe Eshete

7. Governance, Language Politics and Education in Southern Ethiopia: the Tribulations of Inventing WoGaGoDa. By Data Dea

8. Development Policy, Education and Training: Women and Change in Contemporary Ethiopia. By Judith Narrowe

9. Prevailing Over the Power of Continuity? By Eva Poluha

"Deploying the educational context as a background, the contributors—internationally prominent in their fields—wade through the complex maze of Ethiopian history, language, religion, politics, culture and gender. A must read by all those interested and engaged in Ethiopian education in particular and its persistent development challenges as a whole."

—Damtew Teferra, Ph. D., Director, International Network for Higher Education in Africa, Center for International Higher Education, Lynch School of Education, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA

"In a multi-disciplinary approach, this seminal work examines, among others, the role of western education, impact of being instructed in English, the invention and imposition of a new WoGaGoDa language in the South, and the national educational strategic plans. With scholarly rigor, eminent Ethiopian scholars offer to enlighten readers on the role of education over the last 100 years. I recommend this book to anyone interested to feed their “intellectual-soul” on education, development, and politics in Ethiopia."

—Worku Negash, Ph.D., Vice President, Mission College, Santa Clara, California

Paulos Milkias, a former Canada Council Doctoral Fellow, is Professor of Humanities and Political Science at Marianopolis College/Concordia University in Montreal Canada. He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and his B.A. from Haile Selassie University in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Dr. Milkias' major publications include The ABC of Ethiopian Christianity (University Press of America, 2006), The Battle of Adwa: the Historic Victory of Ethiopian over European Colonialism (Algora Publishing, 2005), and Ethiopia: A Comprehensive Bibliography (G.K. Hall/Macmillan, 1989). He has also published numerous articles in prestigious scholarly journals, including Studies in Comparative International Development, African Studies Review and Journal of African Studies. He is also an Associate Editor of Nelson’s New Christian Dictionary (Thomas Nelson, 2001) and a contributor to Encyclopaedia Aethiopica (University of Hamburg 2006) and World Education Encyclopedia (Facts on File Publications, 1988). He is currently Co-Editor of North-East-African Studies (Michigan State University) and Associate Editor of Horn of Africa Journal (Rutgers University), International Journal of Ethiopian Studies (Hollywood Cal.) and International Journal of Ethiopian Development Studies (Western Michigan University).