An investigation of the practice and challenges of co-curricular activities: EFL teacher-educators and learners of Jimma and bulehora colleges of teachers’ education in focus

The purpose of the study was to investigate the practices and challenges of co-curricular activities (CCAs) in colleges of teachers’ educations (CTEs) of Oromia regional state. The study particularly, investigate the extent to which EFL teacher-educators and learners were engaged in the practices of CCAs and enhance English language proficiency and improve quality of education and factors that affect the implementation of effective CCAs in the colleges. To accomplish this purpose, the study employed a descriptive study method, which was supplemented by both quantitative and qualitative research to enrich data. The study was carried out in two CTEs selected through purposive sampling aimed to make the sample more representatives by including the old and the novice CTEs in the region. Then, 11 EFL teacher-educators and 62 EFL learners were selected from the two CTEs using simple random sampling techniques particularly lottery method. Questionnaire, interview, FGD, and content analysis were data collection tools used for this study. Frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation were utilized to analyze the close-ended questionnaire. The qualitative data obtained through an open-ended questionnaire, interview, FGD, and content analyses were analyzed using narration. Hence, the major results of the study revealed as almost all EFL instructors in the colleges believe in that CCAs are vital in enhancing learners’ educational and social benefits: English language proficiency, learning psychology, and students’ social interactions in general; in the observed CTEs, CCAs has no focal person who coordinate, monitor and evaluate the practice and challenges of the activities to the concerned body; regional education bureau and college top management have no clear and smart guideline which helps them to organize CCAs particularly which enhances students English language proficiency; the very low attention given to CCAs by the college top management result in the very low outcome expected from the activities; even though the number of CCAs on the syllabus or/and curriculum were large in number, most of these clubs were not functioning/inactive in the observed CTEs. Generallythe inadequacy of the budget, unavailability of resources, the absence of in-service training programs on CCAs for teachers, were the major challenges facing EFL teachers to practice CCAs in the colleges. Finally, recommendations were drawn based on the above findings. The point of the recommendations include: awareness creation of the college top management on the purpose of CCAs through seminars and workshops about the practice of CCAs in the college. CTEs should have smart guidelines on how to organize, support, supervise, monitor, and evaluate the practice and challenges of CCAs particularly English language clubs in order to enhance the status of students’ engagement in the CCAs.