Margins, Diversity and Achievement: System-Wide Data and Implementation of Multilingual Education in Ethiopia

Abstract

Language education policy based on system-wide implementation of multilingual education in Ethiopia has much to offer the international fields of language policy and bi/multilingual education. In this chapter centralised language policy in the capital, Addis Ababa, will be compared with a decentralised approach taken in the most linguistically diverse region, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR). System-wide assessment demonstrates that student achievement in the more linguistically complex and decentralised setting exceeds that in the centralised and more limited bilingual system of Addis Ababa. Attention will be drawn to the influence of policy on teacher education, learning materials development and student achievement.