Assessment of the Contribution of Short-Term Training in Enhancing Quality of Education: The Case of Dire-Dawa Primary & Secondary Schools

The major purpose of the study was to assess the contribution of the short-term training provided to educational leaders, teachers and supervisors in the region to enhance the quality of education. To this end, the study used a concurrent mixed methodology study design. The study selected 333 respondents using stratified sampling techniques. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from respondents using questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussion (FGD). The collected data were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods using narratives and organizing data under themes and using Pearson correlation and one-sample t-test. The findings revealed that topics covered are useful and job-related, while some topics are irrelevant to the job being done. Generally, training participants found the training modality to be appropriate. Training has also resulted in improvement in student behavior. These short-term training sessions have enabled trainees to grow as professionals on top of enabling them to acquire knowledge and skills that can directly be applied to the job they are doing. The findings also show that there are support and requirement to implement and report by the directors and supervisors while teachers do not have the support and requirement to report on the implementation of what is learnt from short-term training. Also, almost all teachers, directors and supervisors believe that short-term training contributes to the enhancement of quality of education in the region. While some respondents don't have the belief that training improves quality of education, the majority has the conviction that the short-term training provided by the education bureau has helped improve the quality of education. Thus, in order to improve on the limitations of the short-term training, it was suggested that the region's Education Bureau should conduct a needs assessment before short-term training is organized. Trainees should be supported and held accountable for the implementation of the knowledge, skills and attitudes they have acquired from short-term training, and the Education Bureau needs to make sure that training is conducted in a comfortable environment during the organization and conduct of future training.