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Salient Components of Itiopiawinnet: Meaning‑Making and Sense of National Identity among Students in Washera Qenie School

DOI:10.1007/s12187-022-09989-3
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Taglo Kassa at Addis Ababa University
Taglo Kassa
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Abstract

Based on feldwork in Washera Qenie School, this article explores Ethiopian national identity from Qenie students’ viewpoint. Given a distinct line of knowledge system they come across, Qenie students viewed Ethiopia and Itiopiawinnet difer- ently. Individual and group interviews with 66 Qenie students (12 to 18 years old) uncovered traits that the children identifed as signifcant markers of Itiopiawinnet. These were presented under three key psychological dimensions as cognitive, emo- tional, and behavioral manifestations of national identity. By illuminating salient aspects of Ethiopian identity, this study contributes to the literature on Ethiopian national identity and for policymakers as a stepping board for further reconstruction or reframing of a multifaceted Ethiopian identity. Keywords Children · EOTC education · Itiopiawinnet · National identity · Qenie student
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https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-022-09989-3
1 3
Salient Components ofItiopiawinnet: Meaning‑Making
andSense ofNational Identity amongStudents inWashera
Qenie School
TagloKassa1
Accepted: 21 October 2022
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2022
Abstract
Based on fieldwork in Washera Qenie School, this article explores Ethiopian
national identity from Qenie students’ viewpoint. Given a distinct line of knowledge
system they come across, Qenie students viewed Ethiopia and Itiopiawinnet differ-
ently. Individual and group interviews with 66 Qenie students (12 to 18years old)
uncovered traits that the children identified as significant markers of Itiopiawinnet.
These were presented under three key psychological dimensions as cognitive, emo-
tional, and behavioral manifestations of national identity. By illuminating salient
aspects of Ethiopian identity, this study contributes to the literature on Ethiopian
national identity and for policymakers as a stepping board for further reconstruction
or reframing of a multifaceted Ethiopian identity.
Keywords Children· EOTC education· Itiopiawinnet· National identity· Qenie
student
It is commonly acknowledged that individuals’ sense of national identity lays its
foundation during childhood (Scourfield etal., 2006). In the past half a century or
so, quite a number of researchers built a groundwork to comprehend national iden-
tity and how it takes root in childhood. Piaget and Weil (1951) viewed children’s
national identification vis-à-vis their respective stages of cognitive development.
Similarly, other scholars (e.g., Barrett, 2000; Barrett et al., 2003; Nesdale, 2004)
examined the age children begin identifying themselves with the nation. The find-
ings revealed that it was at six or seven years of age that children begin categoriz-
ing themselves as members of the national group. At this early age, however, more
than national identity their gender, age, and local city identities are typically impor-
tant to children. The importance of national identity then increases during middle
* Taglo Kassa
taglo21@gmail.com
1 School ofPsychology, Addis Ababa University, 31772AddisAbaba, Ethiopia
Child Indicators Research (2023) 16:777
-
796
/ Published online: 8 November 2022
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
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