Field and river

20th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies (ICES20)
Mekelle University, Ethiopia

"Regional and Global Ethiopia - Interconnections and Identities"
1-5 October, 2018

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ETHIOPIA’S NEW ROCK-HEWN CHURCHES: THEIR IMPLICATION FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION [Abstract ID: 0210-02]

SOLOMON Belay-Faris, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
Tarn PHILIPP, Independent Researcher

Culture is always expected to be the content of meaningful education. Research has shown that learning is enhanced when students learn something close to their heart and home. In this sense, culture and education find a nexus in transmitting and transforming each other. Having this in mind, the present paper examines how Ethiopia’s new rock-hewn churches are part of Ethiopian culture and argues that their conception and making can be used to enlighten certain parts of Ethiopian formal science education. Through interviews made with the craftsmen of the rock-hewn churches, it has been possible to identify practical possibilities for culturally relevant pedagogy in science education which are relevant for students and teachers. Students can learn a lot from the envisioning and implementing of the process of hewing rock churches and the accompanied commitment. How to organize these elements and bring them into Ethiopian science education are constant themes and challenges for examination.