Educational Policy Reforms and Implementation Challenges in Ethiopia: A Scoping Review of thePeriod

This scoping review systematically maps and synthesises contemporary evidence on educational policy reforms and their implementation challenges in Ethiopia from 2021 to 2025. It addresses a critical gap by consolidating the fragmented literature on this pressing national issue. The review is guided by three research questions: What are the key educational policy reform areas prioritised in recent literature? What are the predominant, documented barriers to their effective implementation? How does the discourse conceptualise the policy-practice gap? Adhering to the PRISMA-ScR framework, a rigorous search strategy was executed across five academic databases (ERIC, Scopus, Web of Science, JSTOR, and African Journals Online) and relevant grey literature sources. Pre-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria focused on literature addressing Ethiopian educational policy post-2020. Data from selected sources were charted and analysed thematically. Findings indicate a predominant scholarly focus on reforms in higher education expansion, curriculum revision for primary and secondary levels, and ICT integration. However, the synthesis identifies pervasive, systemic implementation challenges, including severe resource constraints, misaligned teacher professional development, and logistical inefficiencies within decentralised governance. The review concludes that while policy ambitions are often well-conceived, their execution is consistently undermined by contextual and capacity-related limitations. This synthesis provides a crucial, evidence-based reference for policymakers and stakeholders, underscoring the imperative for more context-sensitive and resource-aware implementation strategies to translate policy objectives into tangible educational improvement.