Journal of Science and Sustainable Development

Analyzing the Teaching of Mathematics to Students with Blindness in Ethiopia in Reference to the Existing Policies and Programmatic Frameworks Context

Tsegaye Gerba Milki — 2026-01-30

Mathematics is widely recognized as a foundational subject that develops critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for academic, personal, and professional development. Despite mathematics' immense global significance, blind students in Ethiopia have experienced discriminatory practices in learning the subject. The study aimed to investigate the reasons behind the inaccessibility of mathematics to blind students, taking into account Ethiopia's educational policies and relevant programmatic frameworks. A qualitative design, with phenomenological elements and case studies, was employed. The study involved a total of fifteen key informants. Nine education experts, a disability advocate and six professionals with blindness were selected through purposive and snowball sampling techniques, respectively. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were used to generate the data, which were then subjected to thematic analysis. The results demonstrate that although Ethiopian policies support inclusive teaching approaches, challenges pertinent to teacher training programs and the under-utilization of assistive technology have led to the exclusion of blind students from mathematics classes. These difficulties were made worse by historical customs and the expulsion of foreign missionaries after the 1974 revolution. The study emphasizes how this exclusion affects blind people's self-confidence, professional opportunities, and access to higher education study choices. Among the suggestions are integrating assistive technologies to support inclusive mathematics, enhancing the role of organizations of people with disabilities, establishing individualized education plans, and mainstreaming disability-inclusive pedagogy in pre- and in-service teacher training programs. The study underscores the importance of adopting the social and rights-based models of disability to address attitudinal barriers and ensure equitable access to mathematics for students with blindness in Ethiopia.

Assessment of Work-Life Balance of Female Academic Staff: Exploring Challenges and Coping Strategies- A Case Study on Ambo University

Biftu Gadisa Tesema — 2026-01-30

Maintaining a balance between personal and professional life is important for professionals, including academics. Work-life balance helps in achieving and sustaining a healthy work routine that enhances an academic’s effectiveness and satisfaction. This study aimed to assess the work-life balance of female academic staff at Ambo University, focusing on the challenges they face and the coping strategies they adopt. The research involved 120 female academic staff across four campuses of the university. Both primary and secondary data sources were used. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis methods. The findings highlight a range of challenges experienced by female academics, spanning professional, emotional, and personal domains. Professional challenges include difficulties in maintaining professional networks, updating expertise, and advancing their careers. On a personal level, managing dual responsibilities of professional and personal duties intensifies their workload, leading to dissatisfaction and emotional strain. The excessive time spent on house chores, inclination towards family responsibilities at the expense of professional responsibility, worry about work when not actually at work, low support levels from supervisors and subordinates, and personal and professional related factors are major challenges for female academic staff work-life balance. The study found that female academics use various coping strategies to manage their demanding schedules, including time management, prioritization, seeking support, outsourcing, and making personal sacrifices. The study’s findings have important implications for university administrators, policymakers, and society. Academic institutions need to cultivate a supportive environment that recognizes the importance of family responsibilities. This study also has implications for Governments to collaborate with universities to design policies that recognize the additional emotional and caregiving burdens often placed on women, ensuring fair workload distribution and career advancement opportunities

Teachers’ Experience of Teaching and Caring for Children with Developmental Disabilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Galata Sitota — 2026-01-30

Developmental disability is a global issue, yet attention to it in Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, remains limited. In Ethiopia, educational and care institutions for children with developmental disabilities are scarce, largely due to societal misconceptions and insufficient support from the government and other stakeholders. While existing literature highlights challenges faced by teachers working with such children, little research has explored their experiences in the Ethiopian context. This study employed a qualitative case study design to examine the lived experiences of teachers teaching and caring for children with diverse developmental disabilities. Specifically, the study aimed to investigate teachers’ understanding of developmental disabilities, their perceptions of teaching and caregiving, the strategies they employ, their lived experiences, and the approaches they use to overcome challenges. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically across these five dimensions. Findings revealed that, despite prevailing societal misconceptions, most teachers had a reasonable understanding of developmental disabilities and their causes. Although some were initially uninterested in working with these children, they gradually developed genuine passion and commitment. Teachers employed instructional and caregiving strategies such as modeling, imitation, role-playing, and visual aids. However, they faced multiple challenges, including unrealistic parental expectations, parental disengagement, lack of home–school collaboration, personal stress, societal stigma, slow progress among children, and marginalization by colleagues. To cope, teachers relied on spirituality, prayer, and emotional resilience, often disregarding negative societal perceptions. Despite their dedication, all participants considered leaving the profession due to persistent challenges and inadequate support. These findings underscore the urgent need for systemic interventions to improve teacher retention, enhance community awareness, and strengthen institutional support for educators working with children with developmental disabilities in Ethiopia.

The Quality of Cleft Care Services at a Tertiary Cleft Care Center in Addis Ababa

Tsion Girma — 2026-01-30

This study explores the quality of cleft care provided at Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College, the only government hospital in Ethiopia offering comprehensive cleft care through a multidisciplinary team. Although reconstructive surgery addresses feeding and aesthetic issues, functional issues such as speech difficulties, dental problems, hearing loss, and psychosocial problems can still persist without ongoing care, particularly speech and language therapy. The study aims to investigate participants' opinions concerning the quality of care in children with speech and language disability. Employing a qualitative case study methodology, the study collected data from two plastic surgeons, two speech and language therapists, and three parents of children being treated, using semi-structured interview guide. The results show that the hospital delivers cleft care services comprehensively, following proper timelines for initial assessment, surgery, and speech therapy. Nevertheless, delays in primary lip surgeries were observed, mainly on the grounds of weight eligibility criteria. Several challenges were also observed, such as a lack of proper resources, shortages of manpower, particularly in speech therapy and nutrition, poor documentation, and language barriers. Despite these challenges, participants commended the hospital's commitment to providing holistic cleft care with the aid of non-governmental charities. Suggestions for improving the quality of care are enhanced diagnostic equipment, adding more professionals to staff, expanding hospital capacity, and creating stronger local support networks. Addressing these could improve Yekatit 12 Hospital's response to the diverse needs of children with clefts, enhance the effectiveness of care, and improve long-term results. These Enhancements would help to improve the hospital's capacity to continue its critical activity in cleft care and rehabilitation.

Risk Factors Hindering Resilience of Women Divorcees in Ethiopia: Lived Experiences of Divorced Custodial Single Mothers in Adama City

Girma Megerssa Bedane — 2026-01-30

Divorce has become a frequent outcome of troubled marriages, making it essential to promote resilience alongside addressing root causes. The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors that hinder resilience of women divorcees in Adama, Ethiopia. The study explored the lived experiences of 15 purposefully selected divorced custodial single mothers from the family court in the city. Data was collected via in-depth interviews and analyzed using phenomenological approach. The major risk factors emerged as key themes include: lack of personal income, conflicts with ex-spouses over property and child maintenance, limited parental support, a slow justice system, societal stigma, and gender-biased mediation practices. These challenges reflect long-standing systemic disadvantages faced by women in hierarchical societies, despite ongoing gender mainstreaming efforts. The findings highlight the importance of empowering women divorcees to leverage personal strengths and external resources for resilience. They also provide valuable input for policymakers and social welfare agencies addressing the specific needs of custodial mothers dealing with socioeconomic challenges in the divorce aftermath. The role of elderly mediation in community interventions remains significant though the issue of women's representation warrants further research.

Implicative Ideal of a Pseudoring

Tadesse Nigisa Natei — 2026-01-30

In this study, we present the notion of an implicative ideal of a pseudoring and characterize it. We also introduce the notion of a finite product property of a subset of a pseudoring and prove its relations with the implicative and other types of ideal of a pseudoring. Moreover, we demonstrate the relationship between an implicative ideal with prime, polar ideals, as well as the atom of an atomic pseudoring. Finally, we prove that a prime ideal is implicative if and only if it is a maximal ideal of R.

Impact of External Debt on Economic Growth: Evidence from Ethiopia Using an Autoregressive Distributed Lag model Approach

Tadele Melaku Chala — 2026-01-30

Debt overhang is the current Ethiopian principal challenge that creates underinvestment problem. Thus, the debt burden incurred deteriorates economic growth of the country. The main objective of the research was to examine the impact of external debt on economic growth in Ethiopia using annual data for period of 1981 to 2022 from National Bank of Ethiopia, Central Statistics Authority of Ethiopia, International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Database. The study employed Autoregressive Distributed Lag approach to analyze the impact of external debt on economic growth. The result of the study revealed that the bounds co integration test approach shows the presence of long run equilibrium relationship between the variables under consideration. In long run, the empirical growth equation revealed that external debt stock as a percentage of Gross National Income has a significant positive impact on economic growth in the long run; whereas its square has a significant negative impact with economic growth implying that there is a non-linear relationship between economic growth and external debt stock. The capital outflow (total debt service) which is needed to service external debt for country has negative impact on economic growth both in the long run and short run. However, external debt stock has a positive impact on economic growth in the long run if it is maintained at maximum level. The error correction term value which is speed of adjustment, -0.230584 is indicate that around 23% shocks happened in short run is restored (converge) to long run equilibrium per year and confirmed the existences of co-integration among the variables under consideration. Finally, the study suggested that, government instead of heavily depend on external debt for development it must mobilize domestic resources to stimulate the domestic revenue collection process to fill country financial gap. The government should also control the level capital outflow, to reduce capital outflow for debt servicing it needs a professional and skilled negotiation with international donor agencies and countries, stimulate production and promote the development of an economy. The government should adopt targeted policies such as improved foreign exchange supervision and incentives for domestic investment to effectively manage capital outflows.