Birhanu, Ermiyas Tsehay

2 Publications in AERD

Author Publications

The Learning Potential of Workplace Environment and Civil Servants' Self-Directed Learning Readiness: A Mixed-Method Approach

By Birhanu, Ermiyas Tsehay

The workplace is becoming a site of learning for employees, intending to equip employees with the skills and knowledge demanded by the world of work. This research had the objective of examining the learning potential of Amhara National Regional State regional bureaus' workplace environment and the self-directed learning readiness of civil servants. The researchers used a mixed research approach by collecting data from a population of (N = 6921) through questionnaires (n = 303), and interviews (n = 10). The research found that (1) public sector workplace environments (both technical and sociocultural) have above-average learning potential, except for the presence of a restrictive learning environment technically and poor social capital with the presence of suspension and mistrust among civil servants; (2) sampled civil servants in regional bureaus had average and above self-directed learning readiness. Finally, the researchers forwarded recommendations to stakeholders based on the research findings.

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Challenges of Learning Postgraduate Class with No Prior Work Experience: A Phenomenological Study

By Birhanu, Ermiyas Tsehay

The main purpose of this research was to explore the lived experience of students who learn postgraduate classes without having prior work experience. To achieve the intended objective, the team of researchers used a qualitative research approach. The phenomenological research design was used to have the real lived experience of novice scholarship students. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, focus group discussion, and unstructured participant observation. The participants were ten postgraduate students who enrolled in the College of Education and Behavioural Sciences at Bahir Dar University. Data analysis was guided by Smith's Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, and we construct themes based on data we obtain from participants. The study revealed that postgraduate students with no prior work experience have both good and bad experiences. The good experiences were related to the opportunity they have to learn at a young age, and the bad experiences were the challenges they faced as a result of being novices in the work environment. They faced psychological challenges, economic challenges, language-related challenges, lack of information about the world of work, sexual harassment, and other challenges. At the end of the research, we infer implications based on the findings of the research.

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