Implementers as Filters of Fit and Quality: Toward Indigenous and Locally Responsive Leadership Preparation Program in Ethiopia

This empirical study of Ethiopia school leadership examines the nation’s leadership preparation programs through the lens of school leaders and a document analysis of national policies as well as narrated accounts of university preparation programs. To meet the expectations of the Millennium Development Goals of 2000, Ethiopia undertook significant education reforms including decentralizing educational governance while establishing a uniform, national curriculum for education leadership preparation, with content largely borrowed from the West. The findings of our study reveal that Ethiopian school leaders confront challenges specific to East African contexts such as addressing complications of abject poverty and multiple inequities, intense political scrutiny, while satisfying external political demands, and managing school operations with minimal resources. Using an asset-driven lens, we describe strategies and tools utilized by school leaders as they craft creative and indigenous solutions for local problems but are often overlooked in national preparation programs. As effective leadership programs are tethered to the local context, we sought to add the voices of Ethiopian leaders to increase the fit between preparation and work demands. At the same time, we advocate for widening the discourse of national policy reform to include local school improvement necessary to advance Ethiopia’s national education priorities.