Determinants and Opportunities of Girls’ Education in Ethiopia: Reflection on Gaps between Policy Expectations and Practical Conditions in Schooling

This study investigated the determinants of girls’ education in Ethiopia in light of policy and practice. Determinants were looked at from individual, institutional, and socio-cultural aspects. To this effect, contextual discourse analysis of qualitative design was used to materialize the study. On the practice aspect, the study was based on a critical desk review of selected research works held from 2010 to 2022, which were purposefully selected through criterion sampling. On the policy aspect, working documents and directives were looked into. The units of analysis were policy objectives and research results. The findings indicated that gender strategies set for girls’ education were too general to represent diversity among girls in schools entirely. So, there was an institutional determinant of strategic dissonance. Moreover, key determinants at the school level and among the community were not thoroughly considered at the policy level. By and large, gender orientation had disparities across regions and settings, such that the determinants had disparate effects as well. The research largely dealt with either subject-specific dealings or access alone at large. Success studies, by far, dealt with the comparison of girls with boys rather than determinant-related projections. Moreover, the cultural representation of girls’ education played a very minimal role in both policy and research. From that, it could be concluded that in-depth scrutiny of individual, institutional, and leadership determinants of girls’ education would be necessary.