Education is shaped by the context of its time and place. In Ethiopia, the origins of organized education can be traced back to the advent of Christianity, which established the framework for structured learning.
Since our society has long been ‘theocentric’ (religion-centered), as Eguale Gebre Yohannes (Dr) put it, religion has profoundly influenced our educational system. For centuries, religious institutions were the primary custodians of education, leading to the establishment of traditional (church) schools.
In the first part of my article, I argued for incorporating the traditional church-based adult education model (‘Ye’qolo Temari’) into our current higher education framework to promote social unity and, ultimately, national unity.
In this second part, I will focus on one key aspect of this traditional education model: its teaching-learning methodology, specifically peer mentorship practices. This article advocates for embedding these practices into university settings to enhance academic success, promote social integration, and cultivate unity within campus communities.
By closely examining the peer mentorship model, I argue that our traditional education systems offer valuable insights that, when adapted thoughtfully, can address contemporary challenges and enhance the quality of education.
Moreover, I contend that traditional education fosters unity not only with the broader local community but also within campus communities, particularly between senior and junior students.
While the full scope of my argument will become clear in conclusion, I will begin by addressing the effectiveness of peer mentorship systems. Later, I will explore how the methods and practices of our traditional education system can inspire a fresh approach to teaching in higher education.
Peer mentoring as an effective support mechanism in higher education:
Peer mentoring is widely recognized as an effective support mechanism, a stance substantiated by robust evidence and academic consensus. The benefits of peer mentoring in modern higher education are multifaceted, leading to enhanced academic success, personal growth, and social integration. Specifically, peer mentoring improves academic performance, increases retention rates, and fosters a sense of community, with particularly positive outcomes for first-year higher education students.
Through peer mentoring, students can effectively navigate academic and emotional challenges, build social capital, and strengthen their engagement within the academic community. This, in turn, boosts mentees’ confidence and sense of inclusion, contributing significantly to retention and success. Numerous studies (including those by Thomas Dahl & Svein Are Tjeltveit, 2023; Marijke Melles et al., 2024; José Luís Abrantes & Maria Emília Costa, 2010; A. Balaraman et al., 2024) have consistently established peer mentoring as a highly effective strategy in higher education, promoting student development and integration.
The key to unlocking the full potential of peer mentoring lies in structured programs that address the specific needs of mentees while providing mentors with opportunities for leadership and professional development. By incorporating such well-designed peer mentorship programs, institutions can create more inclusive, supportive, and dynamic learning environments. This, ultimately, enhances student outcomes and contributes to overall institutional success.
It should be evident from the foregoing that peer mentoring, when implemented through innovative and structured approaches, offers a transformative impact on teaching, learning, and institutional success.
In the light of these observations, I will consider the essential point of my argument, i.e. our unique and innovative approach to teaching.
Peer mentoring in traditional schools
In traditional church-based formal education systems, schools are not organized by conventional class structures. Instead, they operate through a series of tutor-learner relationships, emphasizing peer mentoring programs as a cornerstone of their educational model. Students primarily learn from one another. The teacher, referred to as Yenēta, dedicates the majority of their time to advanced students. These advanced students then take on the role of instructors for less advanced peers, creating a collaborative and hierarchical learning environment.
In this traditional school, senior students are assigned to mentor students at each level. Each senior student is assigned as a tutor. At the beginner level, these tutors are referred to as Āsik’etsaī (tutors). For intermediate and advanced levels, they are known as Āsinegarī or Āzerafī (advanced tutors). These senior students are responsible for teaching and disciplining their assigned learners, acting as mentors at various stages of the educational journey within the schools. Once students have diligently practiced and learned under their tutors, they present their knowledge to the Yenēta, often in the form of an oral examination or defense. The yenēta evaluates their performance and determines their progress.
If their scholarship meets the required standards, they advance to the next level. Otherwise, they return to their tutors to review and improve their understanding. This unique system fosters a continuous cycle of peer learning and teaching, with students at all levels contributing to each other’s education.
Moreover, traditional formal education systems promote personalized learning experiences and adaptive methods based on individual needs, pace, and learning style. These systems use a tutor-based approach that adapts to each student’s unique learning style and pace. This personalized approach allows students to progress at their own comfortable speed and receive customized instruction and feedback.
Through this individualized attention, tutors can tailor the learning experience to maximize each student’s understanding and achievement. In general, this distinctive system promotes collaborative learning, builds a supportive and interactive community, and offers tiered mentorship.
Let me conclude these reflections by synthesizing the fragments of my arguments and insights, enabling us to perceive them as a coherent whole. Traditional schools employ a teaching approach that integrates collaborative learning and student-centered methodologies with a hierarchical peer-tutoring system. In this system, advanced students mentor beginners under the supervision and guidance of master teachers. Yenēta oversee and evaluate the learning process, ensuring that advanced students effectively support their peers. This structure fosters communal learning environment where students live, study and solve problems together. While group learning and collaboration are central to this tradition, individual responsibility remains essential. Each student must demonstrate personal mastery of their lessons through assessments before advancing to the next level.
The peer-tutoring system is a cornerstone of this educational model. Senior students, who are highly respected within the school community, mentor younger peers and take full responsibility for their learning. This mentorship system not only reinforces cooperative learning but also cultivates a strong sense of accountability and leadership among senior students.
In addition to peer learning, these traditional schools adopt various student-centered pedagogical practices, including questioning, self-assessment, inquiry-based learning, independent study, and observation. These practices reflect a deep commitment to student-centered education, emphasizing active engagement and critical thinking.
The indigenous pedagogies employed by these schools are uniquely designed to promote deep learning. They encourage reflective thinking, cooperative problem-solving, differentiated instruction, and scaffolding. Teachers, peers, and tutors work collaboratively to support and assess students’ progress, fostering both self-assessment and critical reflection. This holistic approach ensures that students not only acquire knowledge but also develop the skills necessary for independent and lifelong learning.
Such indigenous pedagogy offers valuable insights that can improve the quality of our education when adapted thoughtfully. But how can we effectively integrate these practices into our modern educational framework? For a concrete example of how effective grafting is possible, for instance, these peer mentorship practices could be modified and incorporated into modern higher education, where senior students are assigned as mentors to freshmen or beginner-level students. For effective implementation, this mentorship responsibility could be made a mandatory requirement for completing a degree program or as partial fulfillment of the curriculum.
This is not a call to advocate for the wholesale preservation or rejection of traditional values, nor the uncritical adoption of foreign models. Rather, my hope is to suggest ways in which we can adapt and redefine traditional values to fit modern needs through subtle transformation – ways in which we can leverage the strengths of both to enhance societal growth.
Thus, to escape the pathetic state of our contemporary existence, we need renewed determination and a fresh spirit of adventure, fueled by a genuine aspiration for progress. For that to take place, instead of blindly rejecting the traditional values of our culture, we must embrace a mindset that seeks to integrate ancestral wisdom with the principles of modern civilization. Only then can we create a dynamic synthesis that harmonizes the wisdom of our past with the progressive ideals of modern culture.
We cannot move forward unless we build upon our existing foundations and strive to forge new paths from it. To do this, we must wander–carrying Akufädä (a metaphorical, symbolic basket)–to gather the resources embedded in ancestral wisdom: seeking the resources in ideas, techniques, and values offered by our ancestral past. Just like the traditional ‘Ye’qolo Temari’ students, we should wander through the depths of our traditions, carrying an Akufädä – not for daily meals, but for ideas – seeking ideas that spark innovation, techniques refined by time, and values that anchor our purpose.
