Public Higher Education in Ethiopia: How Agency and Resilience Shape the First-Year Transition for Women

• In Event: 75.041 - MTCC Roundtable Session 33
  In Roundtable Session: 75.041-8 - African and Caribbean Women in Higher Education: Contributing Factors to Their Success

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore how female students (majoring in science and technology) navigated their first year of university in Ethiopia. The central question guiding this work was: what factors help women persist in undergraduate science and technology majors at public universities in Ethiopia? Study participants encountered a multitude of challenges when they arrived to campus as first-year university students. In response to this, they exhibited agency—that is, a sense of autonomy and control over the learning environment and resilience—that is, sustained motivation in the face of adversity.

Author

• Meseret Hailu, The Ohio State University