DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF ARADA SUB CITY OF ADDIS ABABA: AWERENESS, PRACTICE AND CHALLENGES

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to asses’ diversity management practices and challenges in Arada sub -city awareness, perception and practices in the selected primary schools of Addis Ababa. In order to achieve this objective, descriptive survey design was employed for the study. Principals, Teachers, students, and lesson conducted in the classroom were the main sources of data. Stratified sampling for study site selection, convenient sampling for principals and stratified sampling followed by simple random sampling techniques for teachers and for students were used. Questionnaire, interview and observation check list were the main instruments of data collection. The data were collected from one hundred fourth six teachers, one hundred fifty-seven students, eight principals and ten lesson observations. The quantitative data collected through questionnaire and observation checklist were analyzed using percentage and mean with the help of SPSS version 20 software. The qualitative data gathered through interviews were analyzed qualitatively by summarizing the words of respondents to supplement the quantitative data. The findings revealed that teachers had inadequate awareness about students’ diversity and not supported by practices to adders’ diversity and had positive perception about students’ diversity but low practices to address diversity in the classroom. In addition, the findings depicted that teachers and students’ tendency to favor traditional/lecture strategy, students’ low interest to attend lesson, low parent- school relationship and low commitment of principals’ support as the main challenges to address diversity in the school’s understudy. In conclusions, teachers had positive perception about students’ diversity that could serve as a fertile ground to obtain benefit from addressing diversity. Teachers had also inadequate awareness and low practices in addressing diversity that could hamper the quality of teaching and learning in the classrooms of Arada sub city primary schools under study. Thus, researcher recommended adequate awareness raising trainings, extensive orientations and follow-up to improve teachers’ awareness and practices in addressing diversity.