Education is a pillar of the socio-economic development of a nation. Higher education (HE) is an engine for national development through producing the required skilled manpower, technology, innovations, research, and training services. The purpose of this study is to highlight the functioning, challenges, and emerging initiatives in public universities in Ethiopia. It employs a narrative review method for the synthesis of the findings. A total of 2004 published articles were searched using Boolean syntax from Scopus, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, and Web of Sciences databases, and 40 articles were maintained for analysis. Thus, the Ministry of Education (MoE) oversees the overall system of higher education. Public universities have shown relatively rapid expansion in the last three decades compared to the 1950s, followed by an increase in gross enrollment rate (GER). However, concerns were raised about the sustainability of these changes due to low investment in the educational sector. Various reforms have been introduced into the higher education system like differentiation, curriculum changes, national comprehensive exit exams for undergraduates, and admission tests for postgraduate programs. The higher education system is struggling with persistent challenges such as quality concerns, inadequate educational inputs, rigid structure, poor working environments, unemployment, and professional skill gaps. Due emphasis should be given to strengthening leadership, supplying adequate educational resources, sustainable financing, staff development, improving service delivery, and quality education.

Research has shown that the development of cognitive and social skills in preschool predicts school readiness in kindergarten. However, most longitudinal studies are short-term, tracking children’s development only through the early elementary school years. This study aims to investigate the long-term impact of preschool predictors, intelligence, and mothers’ education on grade six school performance. This study presents the results of an eight-year-long longitudinal study. The sample includes 202 Hungarian children (89 boys) from a disadvantaged region of southeastern Hungary. The independent variables were the preschool measures: DIFER (Diagnostic System for Assessing Development), a widely used, standardized school readiness test that measures cognitive and social skills; the Raven intelligence test; and socioeconomic status. The dependent variables in grade six were: National Standardized tests in math and reading (NABC, National Assessment of Basic Competencies) and school grades (GPA). Cronbach’s alpha reliability of each test is above 0.76. Correlations and a series of multiple regressions were used for analysis. All three independent variables have significant predictive power for school performance in sixth grade. DIFER skills were the best predictors for reading achievement, intelligence for math achievement, and GPA was best predicted by mothers’ education. The results show that developing preschool skills, mothers’ education and IQ in preschool are essential to long-term learning success.

Learning motivation, self-handicapping, executive function, and school achievement are interrelated variables affecting students’ intension of learning in higher education. However, many educators are unaware of the ability of these predictive variables and fail to encourage students’ further education. Therefore, with the aim of helping educators, this study was conducted to predict students’ intention of learning in higher education based on their learning motivation, self-handicapping, executive function, school achievement, and mothers’ education. We sampled Hungarian 12th graders (N = 1330) who participated in this study while collecting the data online during class hours. Questionnaires were used to measure learning motivation, self-handicapping, and executive function. Findings showed that higher learning motivation, lower self-handicapping, stronger working memory, and mother’s education could increase students’ intention of learning in higher education. Beyond our expectations, higher school achievement (GPA) was not a significant predictor. Comparing different theoretical perspectives, we deduced reliable predictors underlying Hungarian students’ intention of learning in higher education. Therefore, this study is of great importance for educators to pick out the real support for their students’ intention of learning in higher education by following our research findings.

Precise assessment of school readiness is critical because it has practical and theoretical implications for children’s school and life success. However, school readiness assessment mainly relies on teacher reports and a few direct evaluations requiring a trained examiner. Studies indicate that 80% of games and apps target preschool children and education, suggesting that apps are familiar and fun for this age group. Previous reviews have focused on these apps’ training capability but not on their assessment of school readiness. This Scoping review examines 31 studies published from 2011-2019. The Evidence Centred Design (ECD) framework was used to evaluate game-based assessment (GBA) suitability to assess school readiness domains. Results show that it is possible to assess school readiness using GBA. Most studies assessed cognitive domains in school settings and adopted an external assessment of the tasks. However, most studies only evaluated one competency, and few intervention strategies targeted the enhancement of school readiness. Besides, few studies followed the ECD framework strictly. Implications include expanding the assessment to other school readiness domains with a real-time inbuilt assessment that conforms to the ECD framework. GBA provides a new approach to assess school readiness outside or inside the school settings in this online era.

Cross-national comparisons represent an avenue for investigating milestones achieved by one region that can help improve standards in another country. This study compares the development of executive functioning in Hungarian and Kenyan preschoolers as they prepare for school readiness. The study's cross-sectional design entailed sampling preschoolers from Hungary (n = 187) and Kenya (n = 420) aged between 4 and 8 years nested in 35 classrooms. Preschool class teachers rated the children's executive functioning using the Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory (CHEXI). The two-factor structure of the CHEXI demonstrated a strong measurement invariance for the two countries, Hungary and Kenya. Significant gender differences were noted on both subscales in the Hungarian sample but not in the Kenyan preschoolers. Additionally, no differences were found in the executive functioning of boys from both countries. However, the girls exhibited variances in the inhibition subscale. Contrary to expectations, no linear mixed effects were observed for country or the interactions between age and country apropos difficulties related to inhibition and total executive functioning except for working memory. Better working memory skills noted in the Hungarian sample were attributed to a superior preschool education system.

Young children’s mastery motivation and neurodevelopmental evaluation can contribute to overall early assessment for early intervention evaluation. At present, children born preterm (<37 weeks gestation) and with a low birth weight (LBW; <2500 g) are at increased risk of experiencing developmental delays and more nuanced cognitive and language challenges. The main objective of this exploratory study was to examine the connection between preterm children’s mastery motivation and their neurodevelopment, as well as to determine whether assessing mastery motivation can enhance assessment practices for early intervention (EI) programs. Parents of children born preterm completed the revised Dimensions of Mastery Motivation Questionnaire (DMQ18). Neurodevelopment was measured on the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID-III). Results revealed significant correlations between DMQ18 and BSID-III measures. Multivariate analysis showed that infants and toddlers born with a very low birth weight (VLBW; <1500 g) scored significantly lower on the infant DMQ18 and the BSID-III measures. Regression analyses revealed that birth weight and home environment were significant predictors of the children’s eligibility for EI programs. Infants’ social persistence with other children, gross motor persistence, and mastery pleasure, as well as toddlers’ objective cognitive persistence, social persistence with adults, gross motor persistence, mastery pleasure, and negative reaction to frustration, were important markers for evidenced-based practices in EI programs. This study demonstrates the utility of the DMQ18 as a contributory assessment measure and the importance of birth weight and home environment in predicting EI enrollment.