Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to examine the status, challenges, and prospects of
partnership between teacher education institutes (TEIs) and secondary schools in
Ethiopia. To this end, 141 secondary school teachers from 15 secondary schools, 70
instructor, and 162 student teachers from three universities were taken as a sample
using purposive and random sampling techniques. Data were collected from
participants (instructors, student teachers, secondary school teachers, school
principals, deans, and practicum coordinators) using questionnaires (open and
close-ended), interview, and documents analysis. Then the data were analyzed using
descriptive statistics and a qualitative thematic analysis. The data analyzed suggests
that the partnership between teacher education institutes and secondary schools is
weak and TEIs, secondary schools, student teachers, TEI instructors and secondary
school teachers’ contribution and supports to each other are not found to be
satisfactory. In addition, the evidences suggest that there exists an opportunity for
collaborative research, providing professional development trainings, and involving
school teachers in mentoring and assessing students teachers in better ways.
However, Organization of practicum, student teachers’ discipline, instructors’
assessing student teachers, distance of secondary schools from the TEIs and
secondary school teachers’ involvement in mentoring are identified as challeng
