Language of instruction and its influence on educational outcomes and cultural inclusion in Ethiopia: A systematic review

Abstract

Modern education in Ethiopia began in 1908, and the curriculum predominantly used both Amharic and foreign languages as media of instruction. In 1994, the Ethiopian Education and Training Policy announced a multilingual educational model for political and pedagogical benefits. Despite the introduction of mother-tongue instruction to the Ethiopian education system over the past three decades, only 33 languages have been adopted as teaching media. The primary objective of this review was to appraise the efficacy of and identify the barriers associated with educational policies pertaining to the language of instruction in Ethiopia. A systematic literature review was conducted of studies published between 2015 and 2024 across the Scopus, ScienceDirect, and SpringerLink databases. The PRISMA 2020 checklist was used to ensure a rigorous and transparent review. Peer-reviewed educational policies written in English or Amharic focusing on mother-tongue instruction were used as inclusion criteria. Data extraction and quality assessments were performed independently by the authors. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria and were selected for review. The key findings of this review reveal that native language instruction has improved literacy scores, reading ability, comprehension, enthusiasm for reading, and inclusivity, and support a multilingual educational model in Ethiopia. However, its implementation often prioritises political interests over pedagogical benefits, with a tendency to favour one language and culture over others. Thus, policy implementation should be inclusive, with a focus on maximising pedagogical benefits for all demographic groups.