ModuleA by nay lin

EFA Monitoring and EMIS Module A1-A5

Training Modules on Systematic Monitoring of EFA

Module A1 School record management Module A2 Data collection and quality control Module A3 Education Indicators and data analysis Module A4 Use of information in monitoring, planning and management Module A5 Data flow and information dissemination

Training Module A Glossary

Glossary Achievement: Performance on standardized tests or examinations that measure knowledge or competence acquired in a specific area. The term is sometimes used as an indication of education quality within an education system or when comparing a group of schools or students. Attendance: The act of attending a class in school. This can apply to students or teachers. Class attendance sheets are used to record student attendance.

selection from multiple choices. (Cf. Openended question) Co-curricular activity: Activities in or outside of school that are organized to accompany and reinforce the learning in class. Completion rate: Proportion of pupils in the final grade who successfully completed his/her studies at the school.

Census: An official survey involving the whole population within a defined system. For example, a school census involves all the schools within the education system.

Current expenditure on education: Expenditure for goods and services consumed within the current year and which will be renewed if needed in the following year. It includes expenditure on: personnel salaries, pensions and benefits; contracted or purchased services; other sources including books and teaching materials; welfare services; and other current expenditure, such as subsidies to students and households, furniture and minor equipment, minor repairs, fuel, telecommunications, travel, insurance and rents.

Child labor: Children working at age below the official age to start work that deprives them of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to their physical and mental development.

Data: Facts, statistics, or items of information from which conclusions may be drawn. In this module, data refers to the educational data mainly recorded in school and within the education management information system.

Class: A group of pupils or students who receive the same instruction in common. Students from different grades may be present in the same class, as occurs in one-teacher or two-teacher schools, or in a multi-grade class. Conversely, a school may have a number of classes for the same grade.

Database: A collection of related information organized for storage usually in computer which enables easy search, retrieval, processing, analysis and production of information.

Capital expenditure on education: Expenditure for assets that last longer than one year. It includes expenditure for construction, renovation and major repairs of buildings and the purchase of durable equipment or vehicles.

Closed-ended question: A form of question which can normally be answered using a simple "yes" or "no" or a

Data collection: Data collection is a term used to describe a process of preparing and obtaining/gathering specific information regarding a phenomenon or an activity in order to keep the collected information on record, to use it to make decisions about important issues, and to pass on information to others. Glossary-1

Training Module A Glossary

Data collection instrument: Data collection or measuring tools such as questionnaires and tests including their instruction manuals or guides. Data quality: Data quality refers to the degree of relevance, reliability and accuracy exhibited by the data in relation to the portrayal of the actual phenomena. Data verification: A process of cross-checking the completeness and accuracy of the data or information provided by the respondents. This process is important for controlling the quality of data in completed questionnaires. Decentralized: Withdrawn from a center or place of concentration; especially having power or function dispersed from a central to local authorities. In this module, it refers to decentralized levels of the education administration such as at the provincial, district or local levels, and to decentralized processes of planning and management of education. Dissemination: Normally it means to spread broadly as though sowing seeds. In this module, it means to distribute and spread education information within the education system and to related stakeholders. Dropout: Pupil or student who leaves school definitively without completing a given school year. Dropout rate by grade: Proportion of pupils from a cohort enrolled in a given grade at a given school year who are no longer enrolled in the following school year.

formal institution (pre-primary or ISCED 0) or as part of a non-formal child development programme. ECCE programmes are normally designed for children from age 3 and include organized learning activities that constitute, on average, the equivalent of at least 2 hours per day and 100 days per year. Education Management and Information System (EMIS) : A system that collects, processes, stores, analyses and disseminates data and information in an organized manner about the functioning of the education system, aiming at informing the stakeholders and to support evidence-based policy-making, planning, management and monitoring of education. Enrollment: Number of pupils or students registered to attend a school or an educational programme. Entrance age: Age at which pupils or students would enter a given level of education or programme. Extra-curricular activity Activities organized by a school for students that are not part of the regular curriculum. Grade: Stage of instruction within a level of education which spans one complete school year, the completion of which enables enrolment into the next higher grade or level of education. Incentives: Rewards offered to incite to action or greater effort. In education, incentives such as school lunch, school uniform, free textbooks, etc. are offered to motivate students to attend school regularly and to improve their academic performance.

Early childhood care and education (ECCE): Programmes that, in addition to providing children with care, offer a structured and purposeful set of learning activities either in a Glossary-2

Training Module A Glossary

Indicator: A piece of data or information which indicates a state or changes. In these modules, it refers to data and information with statistical values that give an indication of the situation with regard to education.

Marginalized: Generally, it refers to being separated from the rest of the society, forced to occupy the fringes and edges and not to be at the centre of things. In education, marginalized children are often those who do not attend school and those who have difficulties learning at school.

Information: Information is a term with many meanings depending on context, but is as a rule closely related to such concepts as meaning, knowledge, instruction, communication, representation, and mental stimulus.

Missing data: Questions and data queries which are not answered, without any footnote nor explanation.

In-service teacher training: In-service training is further education for currently employed teachers to help them develop or upgrade their knowledge and skills.

Monitoring: The act to observe, record, keep track of the state of a system. In this module, it means to keep track of changes in the education system by collecting data and analyzing education indicators.

In-take: New entrants to the first grade of primary education. In-transfer: Pupils who moved to a specific school from another school during a specific school year. Learning needs: Basic learning needs refer to the essential tools for learning (e.g. literacy, oral expression, numeracy, problem-solving) as well as basic learning content (e.g. knowledge, skills, values and attitudes) that individuals should acquire in order to survive, develop personal capacities, live and work in dignity, participate in development, improve quality of life, make informed decisions and continue the learning process. The scope of basic learning needs, and how they should be met, varies by country and culture, and changes over time. The other needs refer to the needs from pupils besides the learning needs. It can be the needs for financial support, the needs for law assistance, the needs for understanding, etc. The same as the basic learning needs, the other needs also depend on the social, economical, political and cultural context of each region/country.

Monitoring EFA: Collecting data and analysing indicators to check progress in achieving the six EFA goals, and to identify shortfalls and issues. Mother tongue: A language of one's mother. It is used to refer to the language that a person learned at home (usually from the parents). Multi-grade class: Pupils of more than one grade are taught in the same class. National language: Language spoken by a large part of the population of a country, which may or may not be designated an office language (i.e., a language designated by law to be employed in the public domain). Net Enrolment Ratio (NER): Number of pupils in the official age-group to attend a given level of education who are enrolled in that level, expressed as a percentage of the total population in that same age-group.

Glossary-3

Training Module A Glossary

New entrants: Pupils entering a given level of education for the first time; this data can be derived by subtracting from enrolment in the first grade of the level, the number of repeaters. New entrants to the first grade of primary education with ECCE experience: Number of new entrants to the first grade of primary school who have attended the equivalent of at least 200 hours of organized ECCE programmes, expressed as a percentage of the total number of new entrants to the first grade. Open-ended question: Open-ended questions allow the respondent to formulate their own answer in their own way, whereas closed questions make the respondent choose between pre-defined answers. (Cf. Close-ended question) Outcomes: End result of learning in school. This refers mainly to the graduates who received a degree, diploma, certificate or other forms of recognition on completing an educational programme or course of study in a university, college, or school, or students who have successfully completed a level or grade of education. Out-of-school children: Children in the official primary school age range who are not enrolled to attend any school or organized educational programme. Over-age enrolment: Pupils or students enrolled at a given level or grade of education who are of the age above the corresponding official school age. Parent-teacher association An organization run jointly by teachers and the parents of students at a school which tries to help and support the school, especially by arranging for and organizing activities that raise funds and support for the school.

Pre-service teacher training: Training of teachers prior to their employment as a teacher. Primary education: Programmes normally designed on a unit or project basis to give pupils a sound basic education in reading, writing and mathematics, and an elementary understanding of subjects such as history, geography, natural sciences, social sciences, art and music. Religious instruction may also be featured. These subjects serve to develop pupilsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ability to obtain and use information they need about their home, community or country. Pupil/teacher ratio: Number of pupils for each teacher in a school, a grade or a class. Qualified teachers: Teachers who fulfill established norms in terms of minimum academic qualification (e.g. highest level of education completed) and/or teacher training received. Quality of education: The quality of education is determined by the quality of the: (a) learning environment, (b) teaching-learning process, and (c) learning outcomes in terms of knowledge, skills, attitude and abilities imparted. Record management: A practice of maintaining the records of an organization from the time they are created up to their eventual disposal. This may include updating, classifying, storing, securing, and destruction (or in some cases, archival preservation) of records. Repeaters: Pupils enrolled in the same grade of education as in the previous year.

Glossary-4

Training Module A Glossary

Percentage of repeaters: Number of pupils enrolled in the same grade as in the previous year, expressed as a percentage of the total enrolment in that grade or level. Repetition rate by grade: Proportion of pupils from a cohort enrolled in a given grade at a given school year who attend the same grade in the following school year. Retention: This term refers to students continuing their studies in school, without dropping out. School-age population: Population of the official age-group to attend a given level of education as indicated by a theoretical entrance age and duration. School census: An official survey covering and involving all schools within the education system. School-entrance age population: Population at the official age to enter Grade 1 of primary school. Secondary education: Programme comprising lower secondary and upper secondary education. Lower secondary education (ISCED 2) is generally designed to continue the basic programmes of the primary level but the teaching is typically more subjectfocused, requiring more specialized teachers for each subject area. The end of this level often coincides with the end of compulsory education. In upper secondary education (ISCED 3), the final stage of secondary education in most countries, instruction is often organized even more along subject lines and teachers typically need a higher or more subject-specific qualification than at ISCED level 2. School Records: School records are documented information evidences of what a school does.

School Records Management System (SRMS) A School Records Management System (SRMS) systematically record, store and update data and information in the form of school records at school so as to enable easy search, retrieval, analysis and use of the stored data and information. Teachers: Persons employed full time or part time in an official capacity to guide and direct the learning experience of pupils and students. Education personnel who have no active teaching duties (e.g. headmasters, headmistresses or principals who do not teach) and persons who work occasionally or in a voluntary capacity are excluded. Teacher’s salaries: Teachers’ salaries are expressed as statutory salaries, which are scheduled salaries according to official pay scales. Reported salaries are defined as the sum of wages (total sum of money paid by the employer for the labour supplied) minus the employer’s contribution to social security and pension funding (according to existing salary scales). Bonuses that constitute a regular part of the salary (such as holidays or regional bonuses) are included in the figures. Additional bonuses (for example, remuneration for teachers in remote areas, for participating in school improvement projects or special activities, or for exceptional performance) are excluded from the reported gross salaries. Teaching aid: The materials or tools used by the teacher to support teaching/learning process at school. Under-age enrolment: Pupils or students enrolled at a given level or grade of education who are of the age below the corresponding official school age. Unreached: There is no exact definition of “unreached”. Generally, it refers to the people who are not Glossary-5

Training Module A Glossary

attend school or education due to various socioeconomic- cultural-political factors, or who are under difficult circumstances due to natural or man-made disasters. More importantly, who can be considered as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;unreachedâ&#x20AC;? should depend on each region/countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s context. Untrained teacher: Teachers who have not received the minimum organized teacher-training (pre-service and/or in-service) required for teaching at the relevant level and grade in the given country

Glossary-6

Training Modules A: EFA Monitoring and EMIS

Module A1:

School record management Contents

1. Purpose and expected learning outcomes .............................................................................. 1 Getting started ....................................................................................................................... 1 Learning objectives ................................................................................................................. 1 2. What does it mean by School Records Management System (SRMS)? ..................................... 3 3. What are the essential elements of a SRMS? .......................................................................... 6 3.1 Student record card ....................................................................................................... 8 3.2 Class attendance sheet ................................................................................................. 11 3.3 Textbook record sheet ................................................................................................. 14 3.4 Student performance summary .................................................................................... 17 3.5 Teacher record ............................................................................................................. 20 3.6 Teacher performance evaluation report........................................................................ 23 3.7 Inventories of physical facilities .................................................................................... 26 3.8 Inventory of teaching/learning materials ...................................................................... 30 3.9 Financial summary ....................................................................................................... 33 4. How to operate a SRMS? ..................................................................................................... 36 5. SRMS roles, responsibilities and competencies..................................................................... 39 6. Data quality assurance ........................................................................................................ 41 7. The use of school records and information ........................................................................... 43 7.1 Individual school records and summary lists ................................................................. 43 7.2 Tally sheets and summary tables .................................................................................. 44 7.3 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Reaching the unreachedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ............................................................................................. 46 8. Standardizing school records ............................................................................................... 48 8.1 Designing standard school records ................................................................................ 50 8.2 Establishing (or upgrading) a nationwide standard school records management system 52 9. Benefits of SRMS ......................................................................................................................... 54 10. Quiz .................................................................................................................................. 57 11. Further studies .................................................................................................................. 61

Training Module A1

Module A1: 1.

School record management

Purpose and expected learning outcomes

Getting started A school manager needs to quickly decide on an important action to take, but realized there was not enough information to help him make a good reliable decision. He knows that some of the information can be gathered within the school, but he will have to make a special effort and spend extra time to collect and analyse the data. “Wouldn’t it be good if all such information were already recorded and readily available now,” he muttered to himself. “What happened after I have decided to start school yesterday one hour later due to local floods and difficulties for children to reach school?” A school manager wants to know how such decisions have been implemented, and what has been the impact. To be able to check an attendance sheet showing how many students attended the delayed first class in the morning would have helped him to know how effective was the decision, and what to do next time. ”Oh no! Not again! How can I find all these data to report to the Ministry of Education?” Filling out school census forms and reporting to higher levels can be a nightmare for many school managers, especially those who do not have regular school record keeping system. Each time they are obliged to rapidly make a special effort to collect and summarize the data in order to meet the reporting deadlines and requirements. And often some of these data are either incomplete or imprecise, or even both. Learning objectives The above are some typical situations facing school managers. This training module aims at: 

helping school managers, inspectors, local and district education officers, education administrators at central and provincial levels to know : o

o o 

effective management of education depends on the availability, flow and use of data and information especially at the school level; it is important for the schools to systematically record data and information on its activities; systematic school record information can improve evidence-based management of schools, reporting to higher levels, and mobilization of support from local stakeholders; how to strengthen systematic school records management and use.

updating specifically education policy-makers and administrators at the central and provincial level about : o

o o

the need to promote and ensure systematic management of data and information in the schools as key to quality of data for monitoring, policy-making, planning and management at central and provincial levels; key school records should be standardized to ensure data consistency, reliability and comparability; how to develop government policies and instructions to implement standardized records management in all schools, and how to task the district education officers, school inspectors and school managers with shared responsibilities to ensure compliance and quality implementation.

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Training Module A1

Education policy-makers, planners and managers in many countries now realize that if the schools can systematically maintain and use school records, not only will more complete and reliable data become available to support evidence-based decision-making at the central, provincial and district levels, but the schools can also be managed in a more efficient and effective manner. Furthermore, strengthening data and information management at the source: namely at the schools, will be crucial to decentralization within the education system. The implementation of systematic school records management can help to spread accountability within the school network, and enable the schools to better communicate and cooperate with the local communities. For monitoring EFA, the content of this training module focuses mainly on basic educational institutions such as primary and lower secondary schools, but many of the principles and practices can also be applied to other levels and types of education.

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Training Module A1

What is School Records Management System (SRMS)?

To put it simply, school records are documented information evidences of what a school does. School records typically contain data and information on students, teachers, classes, facilities, finance, etc. The main idea underlying School Records Management System (SRMS) is to systematically record, store and update key information on what is happening at the school so as to facilitate its use in evidence-based management of the school. School records management1 involves the following activities and practices (see Diagram 1 below): 1) creation – is the act of starting to accumulate information into a record in a systematic and organized manner in order to enable easy access and retrieval; 2) storage – refers to the ways the records are stored and kept, and protected from illicit access and damage; 3) update – is when the information in an existing record is modified to reflect latest changes; 4) retrieval – is the act to search for, locate and extract records from storage; 5) use – relates to the way in which the information contained in the records is used; 6) appraisal and retention – is the process to determine whether a record should be: (i) retained for active use; (ii) archived; or (iii) disposed of. Also to be determined is the duration of retention of different active records. The inactive records will be transferred to the archive; and other records with little or no historical value will be destroyed. 7) archival – is the process to store inactive records in an organized manner so that they are available and can be retrieved for use; 8) disposal – is the act to destroy a record.

Diagram 1.

Functions in school records management

Retention Update Creation

Storage

Appraisal Retrieve & Use

Archival

Disposal

In a school, records management involves different school staff systematically recording data and information in specific pre-designed record forms following defined school regulations and requirements, and storing, updating and retrieving information for use as the basis for decisionmaking and actions to run the school. At the end of each school year, the records accumulated so far are appraised in order to determine which ones should be retained, archived or disposed of. Underlying good record management is the organized classification and filing of the records to facilitate search, access, retrieval and use of the information2. This entails grouping together records 1

Wikipedia: Records Management. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Records_Management)

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Training Module A1

on the same topic or issue within a file, and arranging them in a specific logical order for example by alphabetical order, chronological order, or according to other criteria such as by years of service for teachers or school facilities by type. In a school, student records may be grouped for example according to classes, grades or subjects. If the information is recorded on paper, each file may group together all the relevant supporting documents such as detailed inventories, receipts, invoices, payment records, important correspondences and other related documents. In the case of computerized records management at a school, such paper evidences can also be scanned and stored in electronic form. Computers can help in school records management3 especially in organized storage of information to enable easy sorting, search and retrieval of data. Besides reducing the use and handling of papers, an additional advantage of computer is that it can directly help to analyze the recorded data in generating various summary statistics, performance indicators, tables and graphs, and detailed school management information. Computers can also be used to archive inactive school records in electronic form such as on CD-ROMs, DVDs or other supports, for efficient storage and future retrieval. Each of the record management functions (1) to (8) above has a direct influence on the availability of information and their impact on school management. Since many persons at school generates and uses information, poor recording of the key school management information and poorly managed school records can seriously affect the efficiency and effectiveness of a school. In systematic school record management, it will be necessary to ensure that all the persons involved assume their respective roles in creating and updating school records using correct records forms, terminology and practices, and in submitting the record files on time to the designated place of storage.

Records Management Society of the United Kingdom: Records Management Toolkit for School â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mar 2008. (see http://www.rms-gb.org.uk/resources/848) 3

Dato Rushdi RAMLAN: Innovative Management in Education â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Malaysian Perspective: The Smart School Management System. (see http://www.worldedreform.com/intercon2/11.pdf)

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Training Module A1

Activity 1: Find out from your school colleagues and school managers in your area/district/ province/country about what have been their practices in school record keeping and management, and answer the following questions: For school manager or staff: 1. Does your school keep records of what is happening in school ? 2. What kind of records are kept in your school ? 3. Who creates and updates which record in your school ? How well are they doing it ? What are the problems and needs ? 4. How do the records-keeping practices in your school compare with the SRMS functions defined above ? 5. What do you think should be done in order to improve records management practices in your school ? For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. Do all the schools in your area keep records of what is happening in their school ? Describe the situation. 2. What kind of records are kept in these schools ? And what the most common kind of school records ? 3. Who creates and updates which record in the schools ? Are the assignments effective ? What are the main problems encountered ? What kind of competencies are needed to handle these tasks properly ? 4. How do the records-keeping practices in the schools in your district or local area compare with the SRMS functions defined above ? 5. What do you think should be done in order to improve records management in the schools in your area ? For central and provincial education administrators : 1. Does your country/province have a SRMS policy ? 2. If no, why is there not yet any SRMS policy in your country/province ? Is there a need for such a policy ? Why ? 3. If yes, what percentage of schools are implementing the SRMS ? How are they implementing it ? What are the problems and difficulties they face ? 4. What kind of records are kept in the schools in your country/province? And what are the most common kind of school records ? 5. What needs to be done in order to further improve implementation of SRMS in schools ?

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3. What does a School Records Management System (SRMS) record? Drawing from school management practices in many countries4, priority can be given to recording specific data and information related to the following key aspects of schools: a)

c) d)

e) f) g) h)

Students – about their personal and family characteristics; previous educational experiences; grade admitted to; attendance; academic performance; behaviour; achievements/faults; outcomes (e.g. promotion to next grade, repeating grade, dropout, transferred or graduated; etc.) Teachers – personal characteristics; past education; pre-service and in-service teacher training received; qualification; years of service; employment status; subject specialization; class/subject taught; teaching load; special skills; attendance; performance; behaviour; achievements/faults; etc. Finance – school budget and income by source; expenditure by type; financial balance Physical facilities – quantity and condition of school buildings, classrooms, furniture, equipment and other physical facilities; maintenance, repairs and new constructions; rate of utilization; etc. Teaching/learning materials – quantity and condition by type of material; new acquisitions; rate of utilization; etc. Learning achievement and outcomes – results of tests, examinations and assessments (academic, behavioural and on other student attributes) Extra-curricular and co-curricular activities – type of activities; schedules; staff involved; number of participants; results; impact; etc. School and community interactions – school management board meetings; parent-teacher association activities; school-and-community activities; etc.

Recent practices and experiences in school management, together with the need to monitor EFA goals, suggest that some of the essential school records could include the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Student record card Class attendance sheet Textbook record sheet Student performance summary Teacher record Teacher performance evaluation report Inventory of physical facilities Inventory of furniture/equipment Inventory of teaching/learning resource materials Financial summary

An example of each of these 10 school records is given in the sub-sections 3.1 to 3.9 below, together with explanations and instructions. The design, data items and categories shown in these examples and the instructions can be adapted to correspond to specific country and local school conditions, requirements and practices. These 10 school records, when systematically kept, updated and used by all schools, will not only strengthen information management within the education system, but also enable each school, district, province and central education authorities to effectively monitor many aspects of EFA.

Vitalicy CHIFWEPA: NESIS module on Managing Records at School Level. (see http://www.adeanet.org/adeaPortal/adea/downloadcenter/NESIS/E-records-021065.pdf)

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For school managers, administrative staff and teachers to better plan, organize, conduct, monitor and evaluate their daily school activities, additional school records may be implemented in individual schools such as detailed financial ledgers, records of presence of school staff, records of use of school facilities and teaching-learning materials, school meals, scholarships, etc. Other separate records can also be kept on extra-curricular and co-curricular activities organized, village education committee meetings, school management board meetings, parent-teacher association activities, other school-and-community activities, and updated after each such activity has taken place5. Those additional records which are found to be most useful can become regular components of the record management system at the school. Activity 2: Gather existing school records from your school or schools in your area/district/province/country, review and compare them with the above 8 key aspects of school and the 10 examples of school records, and answer the following questions: For school manager or staff: 1. Which of the above 8 key aspects (a) to (h) of school do you think should be given priority in systematic school records keeping? 2. What other additional key aspects of school require systematic school records? Why? 3. How do existing records in your school match the 8 key aspects and 10 essential records? 4. What other additional record(s) will be needed in your school? Why? 5. How would you go about introducing these additional records? For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. Which of the above 8 key aspects (a) to (h) of school do you think should be given priority in systematic school records keeping? What other additional key aspects of school require systematic school records in your local area? Why? 2. How do existing records in the schools in your area correspond to the 8 key aspects and 10 essential records? Please describe. 3. What other additional record(s) will be needed for the schools in your area? Why? 4. What should be done to ensure that all the schools in your area keep systematic school records? 5. Will it be helpful if all the schools in your area keep certain common standard school records with the same data items and design? If yes, what can be these standard school records? Why do you think they should be kept in a standardized way by all schools? For central and provincial education administrators: 1. From your perspective and based on your information needs, which of the above 8 key aspects (a) to (h) of school do you think should be given priority in systematic school records keeping? 2. What other additional key aspects of school require systematic school records? Why? 3. To your knowledge, how do existing records in the schools in your country/province correspond to the 8 key aspects and 10 essential records? 4. What other additional record(s) do you think will be needed in the schools in your country/province? Why? 5. What should be done in order to ensure that all the schools in your country/province keep systematic school records? 6. Will it be helpful if all the schools in your country/province keep certain common standard school records with the same data items and design? If yes, what can be these standard school records? Why do you think they should be kept in a standardized way by all schools? 5

Udjuni School Management System (see http://www.udjuni.com/login.php)

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Training Module A1

3.1

Student record card

Purpose Student record cards are key reference for the management of individual students. A student record card is created for each student when he/she enrolls to attend a school. It is used by the teacher and the school management to know about the personal and family characteristics of the student, and to record his/her academic and behavioral performance during his/her progression through the grades at the school. Information in the student record cards can also be used to generate summary lists of students by class as well as tallied to constitute summary tables of enrolment, attendance, scholastic performance, repetition, completion and dropout by grade, class, sex, age and other characteristics. Content and presentation Student record cards typically store information on the personal and family characteristics of each student enrolled in a school. Different countries may adjust Example 1 on the next page to include information relevant to national or local conditions and needs. Student records are also essential for recording individual student’s scholastic performance in school especially his/her scores at examinations, plus successes and failures during the student’s progression through the grades as well as observations of teachers and head-teacher. Additional information on whether the student receives school meal, scholarships, uniform, transportation, boarding and/or other incentives to schooling can also be included. Student record cards can exist in printed paper or card form, or as electronic records in a computerized student database, or both. Creation and use A student record card is created by the school management for each student when he/she enrolls to attend the school. Each record is used for one school year and continues to be updated during the school year as and when there are changes in the student’s personal and family data. Information is added at the end of each term about the student’s academic and behavioral performance as well as his/her progression in school. If the student continues his/her study at the same school during the following school year, a new student record can be created in the form of a new paper card or a new record in the student database in the computer. The student record is mainly used by the school in tracking and managing students, and the teachers in managing classes in addition to teaching and counseling specific students. Often, key data in individual student records are extracted to produce summary lists of students by class, for use by class teachers in marking attendance and performance. When a student transfers to another school, a copy of his/her records may be provided to the new school for reference. The same applies to new students transferred into this school. For students who dropped out of school, the item ‘Dropped out’ under ‘Result’ may be circled, together with the date of drop out so that action may be taken to bring the student back into school. Storage, access and retention Completed individual student record cards are usually kept at the school management office, if possible with the information also entered into a computerized student database at the school for easy sorting, search, retrieval, update, further processing and use. Depending on the school record management policy, student record cards can be kept for a number of years even after the student left the school, for use in comparing student profiles and performance over time, and for tracking what happened to them after leaving this school. Before a student record card is archived or destroyed, the essential individual student information can also be extracted into summary student lists and/or entered into computer storage if this has not yet been done.

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Example 1.

Student record card

STUDENT RECORD Id. No:………………………… Record creation date: ………………… Student family name: ………………………………………….First name: …………………………………………………… Home address: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………..Telephone: …………………………………………………… Sex: ……………….. Date of birth: …………………………….Place of birth: ………………………………………………. Nationality: …………………………………Languages spoken at home: …………………………………………………… Ethnicity: …………………………………….Religion: ………………………………………………………………………………… Weight: ……………………………………….Height: ..………………………………………………………………………………… Any physical or mental handicap: ………………………………………………………Blood type:……………………… Any serious illness suffered: ………………………………………………Any allergies:…………………………………… Duration of travel from home to school: …………………………………………………………………………minutes Name of parent/guardian: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Relationship with the student: …………………………………………………………………………………………………… Occupation: …………………………………Highest education level and grade attended: ……………………… Address: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………Telephone: ………………………………………………… Pre-school and school(s) Starting Leaving Grade(s) Results Observations previously attended by student date date 1. 2. 3. Current grade: ……………… Status (Circle one): New entrant Promotee Repeater In-transfer Performance record in grade: ……………… (1 table for each school year) Subject 1st term 2nd term School year National language Foreign language Mathematics Science Social studies History Geography Physical education … Total number of school days Number of days absent Behaviour Result (circle one choice): Promoted to Repeat Transferred Dropped next grade grade out out Observations on student behaviour: Major areas of interests / hobby / skills / participation in extra-curricular activities: Overall observations by Head-teacher or senior teacher:

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Training Module A1

Activity 3: Carefully examine the student record card in Example 1 side-by-side existing student records used in your school/area/district/province/country, and answer the following questions For school manager or staff: 1. Is student record card useful for the management of students in your school? Why? 2. Are the questions and terms easy to understand? Is the design clear and easy to fill out? Please indicate by circling the doubtful questions, terms and parts of design, for discussion. 3. Are the above instructions for the student record clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. Which data items are relevant to your school? Which other data items are not relevant? Why? 5. What other additional data items should be added to the student record? Why? 6. How should the student record card look like taking into consideration your suggestions in questions 2, 4 and 5 above? (Activity: Sketch your preferred new student record card and discuss with your colleagues in order to fine-tune it.) For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. Is student record card useful for the management of students in the schools in your areas? Why? 2. Are the questions and terms easy to understand? Is the design clear and easy to fill out? Please indicate by circling the doubtful questions, terms and parts of design for discussion. 3. Are the above instructions for the student record clear and helpful especially for your work in supervising and supporting the schools in your area? What can be improved? 4. Which data items are relevant to the schools in your area? Which data items are not relevant? Why? 5. What other additional data items should be added to the student record? Why? 6. How should the student record card look like taking into consideration your suggestions in questions 2, 4 and 5 above? (Activity: Sketch your preferred new student record card and discuss with your colleagues and school managers in order to fine-tune it.) For central and provincial education administrators: 1. In what way can this student record card be useful for the overall management of students in schools in the country/province? (Talk to your colleagues and some school managers, and summarize their observations.) 2. Do you find the questions and terms easy to understand? Is the design clear and easy to fill out ? Please indicate by circling the doubtful questions, terms and parts of design for discussion. 3. Do you find the above instructions for the student record clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. Which data items, when summarized, can be of particular interest to education administrators at central/provincial level? 5. What other additional data items should be added to the student record? Why? 6. If you were to standardize the student record for all schools, how would you go about doing it?

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Training Module A1

3.2

Class attendance sheet

Purpose The class attendance sheet is used to monitor the regularity of students attending class in order to ensure their full participation in learning. Teachers are responsible for recording the daily presence and absence of individual students in each class on monthly class attendance sheets like the one in Example 2 on the next page. Such attendance sheets can then be used to produce summary tables of average rates of student attendance by grade, class, sex, age and other characteristics, as well as lists of students with frequent absence from class so that actions can be taken by the school and teachers to enquire into the causes of absence and to find ways to assist the student to regularly attend class. Content and presentation A monthly class attendance sheet (see Example 2 on the next page) contains essentially a list of names of students enrolled in a specific class, together with corresponding cells for each day of the month in which the class teacher records the presence and absence of individual students in a class using specific symbols like those given below the attendance sheet in Example 2. At the end of each month, summary attendance indicators can be calculated on attendance rate by day and number of days absent for each student. By including additional columns with individual student information such as gender, age and other characteristics for example the duration of travel from home to school, the teacher and school management can monitor the pattern of student attendance and identify causes for absenteeism. Attendance sheets are usually in paper form but some schools or classes may be equipped to electronically record student attendance. Creation and use A monthly class attendance sheet is created by the school management for each class of the school according to student registration, printed and given to the class teacher before the beginning of the school year or each month, for use in recording student presence and absence on each school day. The school management is responsible for defining the method and rules for recording class attendance (see symbols to be used on the bottom of Example 2), and for ensuring that all class teachers follow them. Completed class attendance sheets are mainly used by the class teacher and the school management to monitor student attendance, to count for each month the number of days absent for each individual student, to calculate average student attendance rates, and to identify, analyze and solve problems of student absenteeism by grade, class, sex, age and other student characteristics. Storage, access and retention Completed monthly class attendance sheets are kept as records at the school management office, where they are used to: (a) track student presence in classes; (b) identify frequently absent students; (c) calculate average student attendance rates; and (d) produce analytical tables of student absenteeism according to specific personal characteristics. Depending on the school record management policy, completed monthly class attendance sheets are usually kept until the beginning of the next school year, before destruction. The average student attendance rates calculated for each class and grade can be archived for use in comparing attendance patterns from one school year to another.

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Training Module A1

Example 2. CLASS ATTENDANCE SHEET Grade: Student name

Class: 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Attendance rate(%) Symbols to use: - present

Month: 5

absent

O sick

Year: 14

requested absence

Teacher: 23

DA: Number of days absent

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Training Module A1

Activity 4: Carefully examine the class attendance sheet in Example 2 side-by-side existing attendance sheet(s) and records used in your school/district/province/country, and answer the following questions: For school manager or staff: 1. How have attendance sheets been used in your school to monitor the regularity of attendance of students? What were the problems and issues encountered by the class teachers in updating it, and lesson learned? 2. What other ways, means and tools has your school used to monitor student attendance? What were the results and pro’s and con’s? 3. Are the above instructions for the attendance sheet clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. How should a class attendance sheet look like taking into consideration your comments above? (Activity: Sketch a class attendance sheet and discuss with your colleagues in order to fine-tune it.) For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. How have attendance sheets been used in the schools in your area to monitor the regularity of attendance of students? What were the problems and issues encountered, and lesson learned? 2. What other ways, means and tools have been used by some of the schools in your area to monitor student attendance? What were the results and pro’s and con’s? 3. Are the above instructions for the attendance sheet clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. How should a class attendance sheet look like taking into consideration your comments above? (Activity: Sketch a class attendance sheet and discuss with your colleagues in order to fine-tune it.) For central and provincial education administrators: 1. To your knowledge, how have attendance sheets been used in the schools in your country/province to monitor the regularity of attendance of students? What were the problems and issues encountered, and lesson learned? 2. What other ways, means and tools have been used by the schools in your country/province to monitor student attendance? What were the results and pro’s and con’s? 3. Are the above instructions for the attendance sheet clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. How should a class attendance sheet look like taking into consideration the overall information needs of your country/province? (Activity: Sketch a class attendance sheet and discuss with your colleagues in order to fine-tune it.) 5. If you were to standardize and implement class attendance sheet in all schools, how would you go about doing it?

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Training Module A1

3.3

Textbook record sheet

Purpose That all students possess their own copy of basic learning materials such as textbooks by subject is a minimum prerequisite for quality learning in school. Textbook record sheets are created and used to monitor if all the students in a class have all the textbooks required for all subjects. Their main purpose is to record each student’s possession of the required textbooks and to identify students who do not have certain textbooks so that appropriate action can be taken either to directly obtain and distribute the missing textbook(s), or to contact the parents of the student in order to assist them in acquiring the textbooks. Content and presentation A textbook record sheet (see Example 3 on the next page) lists out the names of all the students in a class and records the number of copies of textbook required for each subject which are in the possession of each student. A ‘0’ is entered under a subject if the student does not have his/her own copy of the corresponding textbook. The list of subjects in the heading of the record sheet may be adjusted according to the kind of subjects offered in each grade, class and school. Creation and use The textbook record sheets are created at the beginning of each school term for use by the teacher to verify and record the number of textbooks by subject owned by each student in a class. Once a textbook record sheet is created or updated for each term, the class teacher and the school management can identify at a glance those students with a ‘0’ under specific subjects, or those with numbers that are below the quantity required for each subject. They can then count the number of missing textbooks per subject for each class in order to take action to help the students to obtain the missing textbooks so that all students learn in an equitable way during the school term. As some students may lose or damage their textbooks during the school year, and also certain subject textbooks may change from one school term to another, it will be useful to create or update the textbook record sheet at the start of each school term, and to repeat the processes of identification and completion of missing textbooks. Storage, access and retention Completed textbook record sheets are kept as records at the school management office, classified by classes of students, by grade or by subject. They serve as reference in monitoring the problem of missing textbooks and actions taken to complete them. They can be accessed and used only by teachers who teach the corresponding class or group of students, and the school management. The textbook record sheets may be updated during a school term when there are changes in the students in a class, and when the class teacher received new information on changes in the textbooks of students, for example due to loss, damage or new acquisitions. The textbook record sheets are to be maintained at the school management for a period of two to three years, for use in comparing textbook availability and supply over time, by grade and subject. Note: Similar record sheets by class can be created and updated on students receiving (or not receiving) free school lunch, free uniform, free stationery, scholarships, or other incentives to attend school.

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Training Module A1

Example 3. Textbook record sheet

Textbook Record Sheet Grade: …………………………Class: …………………………… School year: ……………………… Term: …………………………… Student name

National language

Foreign language

Math

Science

Social studies

History

Geography

Physical education

Others

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 (Indicate the number of copies of textbook for each subject in the possession of each student)

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Training Module A1

Activity 5: Carefully examine the textbook record sheet in Example 3, discuss with class/subject teachers about their practices and problems in monitoring textbooks, and answer the following questions For school manager or staff: 1. How do you and teachers of your school monitor the availability and supply of textbooks? What kind of records are kept in your school to monitor textbooks? 2. How well does the textbook record sheets and monitoring practices described in this section and Example 3 correspond to the needs and practices in your school? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? Why? 3. Are the above instructions for the textbook record sheet clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. What else do you think are needed in such a record? (Activity: Sketch a textbook record sheet and discuss with your colleagues in order to fine-tune it.) 5. How would you go about monitoring textbooks in your school in the future? For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. What kinds of records have been used in the schools in your area to monitor textbooks? Discuss with some school managers and class/subject teachers about the need and possible use of such records, and summarize their experiences and views. 2. How well does the textbook record sheets and monitoring practices described in this section and Example 3 correspond to the needs and practices in the schools in your area? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? Why? 3. Are the above instructions for the textbook record sheet clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. What else do you think are needed in such a record? (Activity: Sketch a textbook record sheet and discuss with your colleagues in order to fine-tune it.) 5. How would you go about monitoring textbooks in the schools in your area in the future? For central and provincial education administrators: 1. To your knowledge, what kind of records has been used in the schools in your country/province to monitor textbooks? Discuss with some district education officers, school managers and class/subject teachers about the need and possible use of such records, and summarize their experiences and views. 2. How well does the textbook record sheet and monitoring practices described in this section and Example 3 correspond to the needs and practices in the schools in your country/province? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? Why? 3. Are the above instructions for the textbook record sheet clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. What else do you think are needed in such a record? (Activity: Sketch a textbook record sheet and discuss with your colleagues in order to fine-tune it.) 5. How would you go about monitoring textbooks in the schools in your a country/province in the future? 6. If you were to standardize and implement textbook records in all schools, how would you go about doing it?

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Training Module A1

3.4

Student performance summary

Purpose Student performance summaries are created and used to consistently record the academic and behavioural performance of a class or a group of students. It is created at the end of each school term or after each test, examination or assessment in order to record, compare and analyze the individual results for monitoring studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; progress in learning among the group of students, on the one hand to compare and identify the top, average and low performers against their past performance records, and on the other hand to draw feedback lessons on this test, examination or assessment in relation to previous ones. Once validated, individual performance results can be added to the respective student record cards for use in student management (see Section 3.1 and Example 1). Content and presentation A student performance summary records the results of a test, term examination or assessment for a class or group of students who took part in the assessment, by inscribing the scores for each student on each subject tested. Presented in the form of a summary list showing the individual names of students and their respective performance scores and behavioural assessments results (see Example 4 below). It can also be extended to include observations made by the teachers responsible for each subject. Additional information on individual student characteristics such as gender, age and other relevant attributes may also be added for use by the teacher and school management to analyze student performance patterns and to identify student learning problems. Creation and use A student performance summary is created by the teacher in charge of organizing the test, examination or assessment, once the results or scores become available, in recording the scores of each student. It is to be used by the teachers who teach this group of students to monitor and compare their performance in order to identify especially students with learning problems which need remedial support. The school management can also use the summaries to monitor individual teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; use of tests and assessments as part of teaching-learning processes. The behavioural performance summary can be created after a first behavioural assessment carried out 1-3 months after the beginning of the school year, and then continuously updated and used by all the teachers of this group of students as well as by the school management to record and monitor student behavioural patterns and incidences, awards and/or punishment given, for taking further remedial or disciplinary measures if needed. Storage, access and retention Completed student performance summaries are kept as records at the school management office, classified by classes or groups of students. They can be accessed and used only by those teachers who teach the corresponding group of students, and the school management. The performance results, once validated, are then recorded in respective individual student record cards or handbooks. The student performance summaries are to be maintained at the school for a period of five or more years, so that they can be used for comparing the performance of the same student cohort over time, or of different student cohorts on the same subject(s).

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Training Module A1

Example 4.

Student performance summary

Student performance summary Grade: …………………………Class: ……………………………School year: …………………………Term: …………………………… Student name

National language

Foreign language

Math

Science

Social studies

History

Geography

Physical education

Behaviour

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42

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Activity 6: Carefully examine the student performance summary in Example 4 side-by-side existing student performance summaries and records used in your school/district/province/country, and answer the following questions For school manager or staff: 1. What kinds of records have been used in your school to monitor student performance? Discuss with the class/subject teachers about the pros and cons, and list down the lessons learnt and proposals for the future. 2. How well does the student performance summary in Example 4 correspond to the needs and practices in your school? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? What else are needed in such a record? 3. Are the above instructions for the student performance summary clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. How should a student performance summary look like taking into consideration your comments above? (Activity: Sketch a student performance summary and discuss with your colleagues in order to fine-tune it.) For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. What kinds of records have been used in the schools in your area to monitor student performance? Discuss with some class/subject teachers and school managers about the pros and cons, and list down the lessons learnt and proposals for the future. 2. How well does the student performance summary in Example 4 correspond to the needs and practices in the schools in your area? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? What else are needed in such a record? 3. Are the above instructions for the student performance summary clear and helpful? What can be improved especially when used in your work to supervise and support the schools? 4. How should a student performance summary look like taking into consideration your comments above? (Activity: Sketch a student performance summary and discuss with school teachers and managers in order to fine-tune it.) For central and provincial education administrators: 1. To your knowledge, what kinds of records have been used in the schools in your country/province to monitor student performance? Obtain some samples and discuss with class/subject teachers and school managers about the pros and cons, and list down the lessons learnt and proposals for the future. 2. How well does the student performance summary in Example 4 correspond to the needs and practices in the schools in your country/province? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? What else are needed in such a record? 3. Are the above instructions for the student performance summary clear and helpful? What can be improved for use both in schools and by district and local education officers and inspectors to support schools? 4. How should a student performance summary look like taking into consideration the overall information needs of your country/province? (Activity: Sketch a student performance summary and discuss with district education officers, school teachers and managers in order to fine-tune it.) 5. If you were to standardize and implement student performance summary in all schools, how would you go about doing it?

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Training Module A1

3.5

Teacher record

Purpose A teacher record is created for each teacher teaching in a school, in order to record information on his/her personal, educational and employment characteristics plus his/her role and responsibilities at the school (see Example 5 on the next page). Using the teacher records, the school manager can know and compare the educational background, experience, competencies and aptitude of teachers so as to determine their assignment, duties, responsibilities and workload. Through updates based on periodic evaluation of teacher performance (see Section 3.6 below), the school management can further improve the assignment of teachers and their career development. When individual teacher records are tallied and summarized, the resulting list of teachers and tables can give an overall picture of the composition by sex, age, qualification, work assignment and performance among the teachers, thereby showing the availability and gaps, strengths and weaknesses of the teaching staff in the school. Part of such data can also be directly used in reporting to annual school censuses (see Module A2). Content and presentation Teacher records are individual records which include information on the personal and academic details of teachers in a school, and particulars about their previous work experiences and current responsibilities (see Example 5 on the next page). Like student records, teacher records can also accumulatively incorporate key results of periodic evaluation of the performance of individual teachers. Information on pre-service and in-service teacher training they received, as well as plans for future career development may also be included. Creation and use Teacher records are created when a new teacher joins a school. The school manager is responsible for ensuring that the record is correctly filled and the information given is correct, before validation for the teacher record to be maintained at the school and the information entered into the computerized teacher database. The same procedure applies when information updates and new performance evaluation results are added to the record. Information contained in teacher records are mainly use by school manager and education administrators at district, provincial and/or central Ministry of Education to manage the assignment, working condition, transfer, promotion, in-service training, discipline and career development of teachers. Storage, access and retention Teacher records are kept at the school management office, and continuously updated when new information or performance evaluation results become available. If possible, all or part of the information in teacher records can also be entered into computerized storage in a teacher database either at the school or at the central ministry level, or in some countries into the teacher service register to facilitate sorting, search, retrieval, further processing and use. When a teacher retired, resigned, died, left or transferred elsewhere, the corresponding teacher record can be archived, but should not be destroyed.

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Training Module A1

Example 5.

Teacher record

Teacher record School name: ……………………………………………………………………………………File number: …………………………………………… A. PERSONAL DETAILS Family name: ………………………………………………………………..First name: ……………………………………………..…………………. Home address: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………Telephone: ……………………………………………………………….... Sex: ………………Date of birth: ………………………………………..Place of birth: …………………………………………………………….. Nationality: ………………………Ethnicity: ………………………….Languages spoken: …………………………………………………….. National identity number: ……………………………………………Passport number: ……………………………………………………… Marital status: …………………………………Number of children: …………………………Boys: ……………….Girls: …….………….. Religion: ………………………………………….Physical or mental disability: ……………………………………………………………….… Any major illness suffered: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… B. CONTACT PERSON Name of contact person: …………………………………………………….….……Relationship: ……………………………………………… Contact address: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………Telephone: …………………………………………………………………. C. EMPLOYMENT HISTORY Previous position Name and contact address of employer Dates 1. 2. 3. Date of first appointment as teacher: …………………Date of appointment at this school: ……………………….………….. Current employment status (circle one): Permanent Contractual Probation Temporary Other Date of last promotion: ……………………………………….Date of end of contract: …………………………………………………….. Present position: ………………………………………………….Present salary scale: ………………………………………………………….. D. QUALIFICATION AND SPECIALIZATION Academic qualification

Institution

Year received

Institution

Year received

Institution

Year received

1. 2. 3. Teacher training received 1. 2. 3. Other training received 1. 2. 3. Subject specialization: Major…………………………………………………… Minor……………………………………………………….… Teaching subject(s): Major…………………………………………………… Minor…………………………………………………………. Special skills: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Number of teaching hours per week: ..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Date: …………………………………………Signature: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

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Training Module A1

Activity 7: Carefully examine the teacher record in Example 5 side-by-side existing teacher records used in your school/district/province/country, and answer the following questions For school manager or staff: 1. Are teacher records useful for the management of teachers in your school? Why? 2. Are the questions and terms easy to understand? Is the design clear and easy to fill out? Please indicate by circling the doubtful questions, terms and parts of design, for discussion. 3. Are the above instructions for the teacher record clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. Which data items are relevant to your school? Which other data items are not relevant? Why? 5. What other additional data items should be added to the teacher record? Why? 6. How should the teacher record look like taking into consideration your suggestions above? (Activity: Sketch a teacher record and discuss with your colleagues in order to fine-tune it.) For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. Are teacher records useful for the management of teachers in the schools in your areas? Why? 2. Are the questions and terms easy to understand? Is the design clear and easy to fill out? Please indicate by circling the doubtful questions, terms and parts of design for discussion. 3. Are the above instructions for the teacher record clear and helpful especially for your work in supervising and supporting the schools in your area? What can be improved? 4. Which data items are relevant to the schools in your area? Which data items are not relevant? Why? 5. What other additional data items should be added to the teacher record? Why? 6. How should the teacher record look like taking into consideration your suggestions above? (Activity: Sketch a teacher record and discuss with your colleagues in order to fine-tune it.)

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

For central and provincial education administrators: In what way can this teacher record be useful for the overall management of teachers in schools in the country/province? (Activity: Talk to your colleagues and some school managers, and summarize their observations.) Do you find the questions and terms easy to understand? Is the design clear and easy to fill out ? Please indicate by circling the doubtful questions, terms and parts of design for discussion. Do you find the above instructions for the teacher record clear and helpful? What can be improved? Which data items, when summarized, can be of particular interest to education administrators at central/provincial level? What other additional data items should be added to the teacher record? Why? (Activity: Sketch a teacher record and discuss with your colleagues in order to fine-tune it.) If you were to standardize the teacher record for all schools, how would you go about doing it?

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3.6

Teacher performance evaluation report

Purpose To improve teaching/learning at school, teacher performance evaluation can be organized on a periodic basis for each teacher, and the results can be summarized in individual reports (see Example 6 on the next page). Such reports can be used by the school management and higher levels of the education administration to improve the assignment of teachers and to determine continuation of employment, transfer, promotion, demotion, further training, disciplinary measures, etc. For purposes of school improvement, it is important that such reports are systematically produced and kept at the school for reference in the management of teachers. The key performance evaluation results can also be added to the corresponding teacher record as and when they become available. Content and presentation A teacher performance evaluation report6 (see Example 6 on the next page) typically presents the evaluation results regarding a teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aptitude and actions in: (a) planning and organizing teaching/learning events; (b) using instructional techniques and strategies; (c) adhering to established curricular objectives; (d) creating and maintaining a conducive learning environment. The evaluation results can also cover the teachers performance with respect to: (e) implementation of national and school policies, norms, rules and regulations; (f) teamwork with other teachers, school staff and substitutes; (g) keeping accurate and timely records and providing data when required; (h) communication with students, parents and other local community members; (i) participating in supporting co-curricular, extra-curricular and other activities at school. A teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance with regard to each of these attributes can be scored quantitatively so as to calculate the total scores for each attribute as well as the overall total score. Creation and use Teacher performance evaluation should be organized for every teacher at least once a year, towards the end of the school year. Persons involved in the evaluation contribute to scoring each teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance according to each attribute, in completing the teacher performance evaluation report. The report is then reviewed, checked and validated by the school manager in consultation with the corresponding teacher, before storage and use in managing the employment and career development of the teacher. The key findings of these reports will also be summarized and reported to higher levels of the educational administration. Individual teachers can learn from the report about their strengths and weaknesses so as to take actions to further improve their work and to plan career development. Storage, access and retention Teacher performance evaluation reports should be kept confidentially at the school management office, with restricted access granted only to top school management staff and the corresponding teacher. Key summary results of the evaluation can be added to the corresponding teacher record for reference. Once created and validated, such reports will not be modified. When a new evaluation takes place, the new report will be added to past reports as update. When a teacher retired, resigned, left or transferred elsewhere, the corresponding evaluation report can be archived at the school. Only when it is learned that the teacher died can the report be destroyed. 6

Hermosa Beach City School District: Guide to performance evaluation for teachers. (see http://hbcsd.org/contract/images/Appendix%20E.PDF)

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Training Module A1

Example 6. Teacher Performance Evaluation Report

TEACHER PERFORMANCE EVALUATION NAME: …………………………………………………………………………………………………DATE: ……………….…………………… POSITION: ………………………… ………………………….………………………….GRADE(S) TAUGHT: ……………………………… SUBJECT(S) TAUGHT: ……………………………………………………………………HOURS PER WEEK: ………….…………………… OBSERVATION DATES: …………………………………………REVIEW DATES: ……………………………………….…………………… Scoring: Please tick an appropriate box for each evaluation item according to the scores below. 1 PERFORMANCE IN THIS AREA IS UNSATISFACTORY/NOT MEETING STANDARDS 2 SATISFACTORILY MEETS STANDARDS OF EXPECTATIONS MOST OF THE TIME 3 SATISFACTORILY MEETS STANDARDS OF EXPECTATIONS ALL OF THE TIME A.

PLANNING

a. Systematically plans for instruction b. Assesses students on course objectives as required. c. Provides for instruction of students with exceptional needs

EVALUATORS COMMENTS: B.

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES

a. Selects appropriate lesson objectives for curricular adherence and/or student level b. Selects teaching methods and practices strategies appropriate to the accomplishment of the objective c. Adjusts teaching techniques to meet the needs of the students d. Presents materials clearly e. Monitors student progress and understanding throughout the lesson/unit

EVALUATOR COMMENTS: C.

ADHERENCE TO CURRICULAR OBJECTIVES

a. Adheres to curricular objectives and goals while considering students' individual differences b. Uses appropriate instructional materials, as available

EVALUATOR COMMENTS: D.

ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF A SUITABLE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

a. Provides an educational environment to reflect subject areas taught; stimulates student achievement b. Maintains student discipline and classroom control consistent with school standards c. Maintains an orderly and safe physical environment

EVALUATOR COMMENTS: E.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

a. Employs grading practices which are consistent with school and national grade level policies b. Provides plans and materials for substitutes c. Keeps accurate, timely records and provide requested data from them d. Communicates with students, parents, and other personnel in a professional manner e. Participates in curriculum review and revision, and school plan development and implementation f. Actively supports co-curricular and extra-curricular activities g. Assumes responsibilities in accordance with school policies

EVALUATOR COMMENTS: EVALUATOR OVERALL COMMENTS: OVERALL RATING: Re-Employment Recommendation: (Circle one choice only)

Retain

Retain but must show improvement

Do not retain

Refer to School Board

SIGNATURE EVALUATOR _____________________________________________________________________ DATE _______________ SIGNATURE EVALUATEE ______________________________________________________________________DATE ________________ This report has been reviewed and discussed with me in consultation with the evaluator. An opportunity has been extended to me to append comments regarding this evaluation. (A SIGNATURE ON THIS FORM DOES NOT NECESSARILY SIGNIFY AGREEMENT WITH THE EVALUATION.)

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Training Module A1

Activity 8: Carefully examine the teacher evaluation report in Example 6 below and the instructions above, and answer the following questions For school manager or staff: 1. What kinds of records have been used in your school to monitor teacher performance? Discuss with other school managers about their experiences and pros and cons, and list down the lessons learnt and proposals for the future. 2. How well does the teacher performance evaluation report in Example 6 correspond to the needs and practices in your school? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? What else are needed in such a record? 3. Are the above instructions for the teacher performance evaluation report clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. How should a teacher performance evaluation report look like taking into consideration your comments above? (Activity: Sketch a teacher performance evaluation report and discuss with your colleagues in order to fine-tune it.) For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. What kinds of records have been used in the schools in your area to monitor teacher performance? Discuss with other school managers about their experiences and pros and cons, and list down the lessons learnt and proposals for the future. 2. How well does the teacher performance evaluation report in Example 6 correspond to the needs and practices in the schools in your area? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? What else are needed in such a record? 3. Are the above instructions for the teacher performance evaluation report clear and helpful? What can be improved especially when used in your working to supervise and support the schools? 4. How should a teacher performance evaluation report look like taking into consideration your comments above? (Activity: Sketch a teacher performance evaluation report and discuss with school teachers and managers in order to fine-tune it.) For central and provincial education administrators: 1. To your knowledge, what kinds of records have been used in the schools in your country/province to monitor teacher performance? Obtain some samples and discuss with school managers and district education officers about their experiences and pros and cons, and list down the lessons learnt and proposals for the future. 2. How well does the teacher performance evaluation report in Example 6 correspond to the needs and practices in the schools in your country/province? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? What else are needed in such a record? 3. Are the above instructions for the teacher performance evaluation report clear and helpful? What can be improved for use both in schools and by district and local education officers and inspectors to support schools? 4. How should a teacher performance evaluation report look like taking into consideration the overall information needs of your country/province? (Activity: Sketch a teacher performance evaluation report and discuss with district education officers, school teachers and managers in order to finetune it.) 5. If you were to standardize and implement teacher performance evaluation report in all schools, how would you go about doing it?

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Training Module A1

3.7

Inventories of physical facilities

Purpose The purposes of keeping and updating inventories of physical facilities at school are: (a) to record the available quantity of buildings, classrooms, furniture, equipment and other physical facilities; (b) to monitor the conditions of facilities in order to determine maintenance work, repairs, replacements and new construction/acquisitions; (c) to assess the physical capacity of the school in relation to the number of students and the scale of school operations. If needed, such inventories can also gather additional data on the frequency of use of specific facilities so as to ensure that they are fully used. Content and presentation An inventory of physical facilities (see Example 7 on the next page for buildings, classrooms, school ground and other structures; Example 8 for furniture and equipment) contains summary tables of the quantity of different school facilities and their respective condition of maintenance and use, if needed together with information on past repairs, replacements and new constructions/ acquisitions. Each country can identify and define the most common types of existing school facilities, furniture and equipment, and adapt the tables accordingly. If deemed important, additional data on the material used for the building, roof and/or floor, lighting, ventilation, noise level may be recorded. It may happen that some facilities are not used due to either bad conditions of the structure, or inadequate number of students or teachers. It can be useful to know about the degree of unused or under-utilization so as to devise actions to make maximum use of existing facilities. Creation and use Inventories of physical facilities are created by the school management especially the school staff responsible for their acquisition, maintenance, repair and replacement. These inventories are to be created with the opening of the school, and regularly updated as and when changes are observed or made in these facilities, especially before the beginning of the next school year. The school management uses the inventories to monitor the quantity and condition of use of different school facilities in order to plan new constructions or make new acquisitions, to regulate maintenance work, and to schedule future repairs and replacements. These inventories can also help the school management to determine if the school facilities are either adequately used for catering to the needs of the student and teacher population, or under-utilized. Storage, access and retention The inventories are kept at the school management, with access restricted to school management staff. Purchase orders, receipts and other documents from the suppliers as well as construction plans and schedules must be systematically kept as evidences of acquisitions, new constructions and repairs, besides their use for accounting purposes. If possible, data and information on physical facilities can also be entered into computerized storage in the school database to facilitate updates, search, retrieval and use in planning and commissioning repair, new acquisitions or construction work. Inventories of physical facilities at school are created and maintained continuously from one school year to another, as long as such facilities are available. Records of school facilities which are no longer available or used can be archived for future reference.

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Training Module A1

Example 7. Inventory of school facilities

INVENTORY OF SCHOOL FACILITIES 1. Buildings, classrooms and other built structures Type of structure

Total

Quantity in use To To repair replace

Date: ……………………………… Quantity not used

Total surface area 2 (m )

Area not used 2 (m )

Total surface area 2 (m )

Remarks

Buildings Classrooms Teacher rooms Administration rooms Library Laboratory Storage rooms Toilets Water facility Electric facility … …

2. School ground 2

Type

Area in use (m ) Total To repair

Remarks

Playground Garden School farm Bicycle/car park …

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Training Module A1

Example 8. Inventory of furniture and equipment

INVENTORY OF FURNITURE AND EQUIPMENT 1. Furniture Type of furniture

Date: ………………………………………

Total

Quantity in use To repair

Total

Quantity in use To repair

To replace

Quantity not used

Remarks

Quantity not used

Remarks

Classroom desks Classroom chairs Teacher desks and chairs Blackboard Whiteboard Cupboards Open shelves … … …

2. Equipment Type of Equipment

To replace

Telephone Calculators Photocopying machines Computers Printers Projectors Scanners Radio TV DVD Science equipment Language equipment Art and craft equipment Sports equipment … …

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Training Module A1

Activity 9: Carefully examine the instructions above and the inventories of school facilities, furniture and equipment in Examples 7 and 8 side-by-side existing inventories and records used in your school/district/province/country, and answer the following questions For school manager or staff: 1. What kinds of inventories and records have been used in your school to monitor school facilities, furniture and equipment? Discuss with the relevant school staff about their experiences and pros and cons, and list down the lessons learnt and proposals for the future. 2. How well do the inventories of school facilities, furniture and equipment in Examples 7 and 8 correspond to the needs and practices in your school? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? What else are needed in such records? 3. Are the above instructions for the inventories of school facilities, furniture and equipment clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. How should the inventories of school facilities, furniture and equipment look like taking into consideration your comments above? (Activity: Sketch inventories of school facilities, furniture and equipment and discuss with your colleagues in order to fine-tune them.) For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. What kind of inventories and records have been used in the schools in your area to monitor school facilities, furniture and equipment? Discuss with school managers and relevant school staff about their experiences and pros and cons, and list down the lessons learnt and proposals for the future. 2. How well do the inventories of school facilities, furniture and equipment in Examples 7 and 8 correspond to the needs and practices in the schools in your area? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? What else are needed in such records? 3. Are the above instructions for the inventories of school facilities, furniture and equipment clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. How should the inventories of school facilities, furniture and equipment look like taking into consideration your comments above? (Activity: Sketch inventories of school facilities, furniture and equipment and discuss with school managers and relevant school staff in order to finetune them.) For central and provincial education administrators: 1. To your knowledge, what kinds of inventories and records have been used in the schools in your country/province to monitor school facilities, furniture and equipment? Discuss with school managers and relevant school staff about their experiences and pros and cons, and list down the lessons learnt and proposals for the future. 2. How well do the inventories of school facilities, furniture and equipment in Examples 7 and 8 correspond to the needs and practices in the schools in your country/province? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? What else are needed in such records? 3. Are the above instructions for the inventories of school facilities, furniture and equipment clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. How should the inventories of school facilities, furniture and equipment look like taking into consideration your comments above? (Activity: Sketch inventories of school facilities, furniture and equipment and discuss with school managers and relevant school staff in order to finetune them.) 5. If you were to standardize and implement inventories of school facilities, furniture and equipment in all schools, how would you go about doing it?

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Training Module A1

3.8

Inventory of teaching/learning materials7

Purpose Teaching/learning materials are crucial factors supporting teaching-learning processes in school. Their use determines the quality and outcomes of education. In schools which receive teaching/ learning materials from central or provincial education authorities, keeping inventory of these materials at school can inform the school management and teachers about their availability so as to facilitate access and use during the school year. Such inventory will also enable the school to plan and take actions to ensure that all students have the necessary textbooks, and to replenish those teaching/learning materials that are, or will be, in short supply. Requests for teaching/learning materials from the schools based on up-to-date inventories will inform central and/or provincial education authorities to increase production and/or improve distribution accordingly. Content and presentation An inventory of teaching/learning materials (see Example 9 on the next page) consists essentially of summary tables of the quantity of different materials available at the school(e.g. teaching aids; textbooks by grade and by subject; supplementary reading and learning materials; sports, music, arts, and practical work equipment and materials; etc.) If needed, additional information about new acquisitions, distribution to students, frequency of use and disposal can be added. For learning materials like textbooks by subject for each student, Section 3.3 and Example 3 above describe the practice of keeping textbook record sheets which can inform actions at school to obtain the missing textbooks and to improve distribution to needy students. The inventory of teaching materials may also record the number of times each such material has been used per week or per month so as to derive the utilization rates. Different countries may take into account the prevailing situation and practices in determining the types of teaching/learning materials to be inventoried in the tables. Creation and use Inventories of teaching/learning materials are created by the school management in particular the person in charge of managing the stock, distribution and use of such materials. A major update is made at the beginning of every school year to ensure that all the students and teachers have the necessary teaching/learning materials. Obsolete or irrelevant materials can be disposed of on the same occasion. During the school year, they are continuously updated based on new acquisitions, distributions, and disposal. Schools which have a library may decide to either create a separate inventory for the library collections and use. The school management uses the inventory to monitor the quantity, distribution and/or use of different teaching/learning materials so as to identify shortages and gaps in order to take timely actions to get new supplies and new acquisitions, and to ensure that such materials are optimally distributed and used by the teachers and students. School inspectors can be required to systematically verify such inventory data during school visits. Storage, access and retention The inventories are kept at the school management, with access restricted to school management staff, relevant teachers and inspectors. If possible, the data and information can also be entered into computerized storage in the school database to facilitate tracking, updates, search, retrieval and use. The inventory of teaching/learning materials is to be continuously maintained and updated as long as the school is in operation. 7

Kaye Sanders: How to Work with Teaching Aids. (see http://www.howtodothings.com/education/a3096how-to-work-with-teaching-aids.html)

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Training Module A1

Example 9. Inventory of teaching/learning materials

INVENTORY OF TEACHING/LEARNING MATERIALS 1. Teaching material Type of Teaching material

Date: ………………………………………

Total

Quantity in use To repair

To replace

Frequency of use (per week)

Remarks

To replace

Frequency of use (per week)

Remarks

Maps Wall charts Flip charts Flash cards Kits Scientific models Toys … … …

2. Supplementary learning materials Type of supplementary learning materials

Total

Quantity in use To repair

Books Newspapers Magazines Charts Kits Models Sports equipment Music instruments Visual art instruments Audio tapes, CD-ROM & DVDs Video tapes, CD-ROM & DVDs Access to computers Access to internet … … …

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Training Module A1

Activity 10: Carefully examine the instructions above and the inventories of teaching/learning materials in Example 9 side-by-side existing inventories and records used in your school/district/ province/ country, and answer the following questions: For school manager or staff: 1. What kinds of inventories and records have been used in your school to monitor teaching/learning materials? Discuss with the teachers and relevant school staff about their experiences and pros and cons, and list down the lessons learnt and proposals for the future. 2. How well do the inventories of teaching/learning materials in Example 9 correspond to the needs and practices in your school? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? What else are needed in such records? 3. Are the above instructions for the inventories of teaching/learning materials clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. How should the inventories of teaching/learning materials look like taking into consideration your comments above? (Activity: Sketch inventories of teaching/learning materials and discuss with your colleagues in order to fine-tune them.) For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. What kinds of inventories and records have been used in the schools in your area to monitor teaching/learning materials? Discuss with school managers, teachers and relevant school staff about their experiences and pros and cons, and list down the lessons learnt and proposals for the future. 2. How well do the inventories of teaching/learning materials in Example 9 correspond to the needs and practices in the schools in your area? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? What else are needed in such records? 3. Are the above instructions for the inventories of teaching/learning materials clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. How should the inventories of teaching/learning materials look like taking into consideration your comments above? (Activity: Sketch inventories of teaching/learning materials and discuss with school managers, teachers and relevant school staff in order to fine-tune them.) For central and provincial education administrators: 1. To your knowledge, what kinds of inventories and records have been used in the schools in your country/province to monitor teaching/learning materials? Discuss with school managers, teachers and relevant school staff about their experiences and pros and cons, and list down the lessons learnt and proposals for the future. 2. How well do the inventories of teaching/learning materials in Example 9 correspond to the needs and practices in the schools in your country/province? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? What else are needed in such records? 3. Are the above instructions for the inventories of teaching/learning materials clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. How should the inventories of teaching/learning materials look like taking into consideration your comments above? (Activity: Sketch inventories of teaching/learning materials and discuss with school managers, teachers and relevant school staff in order to fine-tune them.) 5. If you were to standardize and implement inventories of teaching/learning materials in all schools, how would you go about doing it?

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Training Module A1

3.9

Financial summary

Purpose Financial resources are essential for the functioning of the school, hence require strict regulation and management at school. Financial records are to be maintained and regularly updated for management, reporting and auditing purposes. Data on daily financial transactions are recorded in detailed school ledger8 which is used in the regular management and financial control of the school. But the school ledger may be too detailed to be use directly in monitoring and decision-making. Monthly, term and yearly financial summaries of school revenue and expenditure can be produced for use in school management and to give account to higher levels of the education administration, funding agencies, local government and community stakeholders who made financial contributions to the school and who are entitled to know how their contributions have been used. Content and presentation Financial summaries provide information on the flow of a schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financial resources, both into and out of the school. One side of such financial summaries shows the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s revenue categorized by source of funding. The other side records the expenditure of the school by type of expenditure (see example 10 on the next page). The balance between the revenue and expenditure reflects the state of finance and management of the school. Each country may adjust the categories of sources of revenue and type of expenditure according to national practice. Creation and use Whilst detailed school ledgers are kept and updated on a regular if not daily basis, financial summaries can be produced on a monthly, term and/or yearly basis by the school accountant or the person in charge of finance, based on the detailed data recorded in the school ledger. Completed financial summaries are used in the first place by the school manager and the school management board to monitor, verify and control the financial management of the school. These summaries can also be used to complete the corresponding school census form(s) and in periodic financial reporting to higher levels of the education administration, also for incorporation into school reports to inform the stakeholders. During auditions of a schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finance, these financial summaries together with supporting documents such as the school ledger and receipts, invoices, bills and payment records will be used by the auditor to examine the accounts and financial management at the school. Storage, access and retention Financial summaries and ledgers should be kept in the school management office together with all supporting documents such as receipts, invoices, bills, payment records, etc. Access to financial records is restricted to school manager and the school accountant or person in charge of finance, and to the auditor during school audit. Financial summaries can be produced on a periodic basis and made available to the school management board and higher levels of the education administration. All financial records are to be kept at the school for a minimum duration of 5 years.

Bookkeeping Course. (see http://bookkeeping-course.com/)

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Training Module A1

Example 10. Financial summary

FINANCIAL

SUMMARY

Period: ………………………to…………………………

REVENUE BY SOURCE Source of funds 1. a. b. c. d. 2. a. b. c. d. 3. a. b. c. d. e. 4. a. b. c.

Government Central government Provincial government District government Local government Non-governmental Local community Local business NGOs Agencies/associations School revenue School fees Other fees Renting out facilities Products/services Donations Other revenue Interest earned

TOTAL=

EXPENDITURE BY TYPE Amount

Type of expenditure 1. a. b. c. d. e. 2. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. 3.

Amount

Capital expenditure Construction Major repairs Equipment Bulk purchase of books Other capital exp. Current expenditure Teacher salaries Staff salaries Rental of premises Purchase of supplies Scholarships School meals Contracted services Maintenance Transportation Electricity Water Telephone Other expenditure TOTAL=

Name and title of responsible officer: ………………………………………………………………

Signature: ………………………………………………

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Training Module A1

Activity 11: Carefully examine the instruction above and financial summary in Example 10 side-byside existing financial records used in your school/district/province/country, and answer the following questions For school manager or staff: 1. What kinds of records and summaries have been used in your school to monitor the financial situation? Discuss with the relevant school staff about their experiences and pros and cons, and list down the lessons learnt and proposals for the future. 2. How well do the financial summary in Example 10 correspond to the needs and practices in your school? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? What else are needed in such records? 3. Are the above instructions for financial summary clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. How should the financial summary look like taking into consideration your comments above? (Activity: Sketch a financial summary and discuss with your colleagues in order to fine-tune it.) For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. What kinds of records and summaries have been used in the schools in your area to monitor the financial situation? Discuss with school managers and relevant school staff about their experiences and pros and cons, and list down the lessons learnt and proposals for the future. 2. How well do the financial summary in Example 10 correspond to the needs and practices in the schools in your area? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? What else are needed in such records? 3. Are the above instructions for financial summary clear and helpful ? What can be improved? 4. How should the financial summary look like taking into consideration your comments above? (Activity: Sketch a financial summary and discuss with school managers and relevant school staff in order to fine-tune it.) For central and provincial education administrators: 1. To your knowledge, what kinds of records and summaries have been used in the schools in your country/province to monitor the financial situation? Discuss with school managers and relevant school staff about their experiences and pros and cons, and list down the lessons learnt and proposals for the future. 2. How well do the financial summary in Example 10 correspond to the needs and practices in the schools in your country/province? Which of its parts and aspects are relevant, and which are irrelevant? What else are needed in such records? 3. Are the above instructions for financial summary clear and helpful? What can be improved? 4. How should the financial summary look like taking into consideration your comments above? (Activity: Sketch a financial summary and discuss with school managers and relevant school staff in order to fine-tune it.) 5. If you were to standardize and implement financial summary in all schools, how would you go about doing it?

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Training Module A1

How to operate a School Records Management System (SRMS) ?

As shown in Diagram 1 in Section 2, the life cycle of a school record involves many stages from creation to retention to final archival or disposal. It is important to keep in mind that the schedule in managing school records is closely linked to the schedule of school activities and the timing of tasks performed by teachers and school staff to manage the classes and school. Table 1 below sums up some of the tasks and schedules in managing the essential school records suggested in the previous sections. Table 1.

School records management schedule

Type of school record 1. Student record card 2. Class attendance sheet 3. Textbook record sheet 4. Student performance summary 5. Teacher record 6. Teacher performance evaluation report 7. Inventory of physical facilities 8. Inventory of furniture/equipment 9. Inventory of teaching/learning resource materials 10. Financial summary

Management schedule -

Created at enrolment; continuously updated Updated every school day by class teacher Created at the beginning of each term Created at the end of each term Created when teacher joins school; continuously updated Created during teacher performance evaluation Updated at beginning of and throughout the school year Updated at beginning of and throughout the school year Updated at beginning of and throughout the school year Created at the end of each term and of the school year

It can be seen above that school record management schedule may vary depending on: the type of record; what the records were created for; who created them; when they were created; and how many were created. For example, student and teacher records as well as the inventories can be created in the beginning of the school year, and continuously updated and used, whereas teacher performance evaluation report may be created only once a year towards the end of the school year. Other school records such as student performance summaries and financial summaries may be created at the end of each term. The actions of the school staff responsible for creating and updating each type of school record must take into account the overall schedules for planning, conducting, monitoring and evaluation of specific school activities. For example before the beginning of the school year, the inventories of school facilities should be updated and available, for use in organizing and scheduling classes. Once the classes come into session, attendance sheets will have to be systematically updated on every school day, and summarized at the end of each month to monitor the rate of attendance. Example 11 on the next page shows a school records management schedule over a period of 12 months, with three school terms and a major school holiday in November and December to end the school year. It can be seen that this kind of schedule is necessary for school records management, in defining the tasks and reminding the relevant school staff to create, store and update specific records on specific dates. Systematic school records management will require strict adherence to such schedules and frequencies so as to maintain a complete, consistent and uninterrupted information base for monitoring and managing the functioning of a school through time.

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Training Module A1

Example 11. School records management schedule Month

(Holidays)

Record type STUDENT: Student record card Attendance sheet Student performance summary TEACHERS: Teacher record Teacher performance evaluation report FACILITIES: Inventory of facilities Inventory of furn./eq. Inventory T/L material FINANCE: Financial summary

Based on the above and taking into account the organization of activities within the school, each school can set up such a SRMS schedule at the beginning of the school year, together with clear designation of the person responsible for each type of school records, for use in guiding and ensuring systematic school record creation, updating and use in school management.

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Activity 12: Discuss with school managers and staff about their respective roles and responsibilities with regard to the school records management tasks and schedule in Table 1 and Example 11 above, and answer the following questions For school manager or staff: 1. Are school records management tasks and responsibilities well-defined in your school? If yes, please list them. If no, why not? 2. Does your school have a school record management schedule like the one in Example 11? If yes, how does it look like? How is it implemented in reality? 3. If no, would such a schedule be needed? Why? (Activity: Sketch such a schedule based on your knowledge of school calendar and school record management practices) 4. What does it take to ensure that the school record management schedule is followed? For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. Are school records management tasks and responsibilities well-defined in the schools in your area? If yes, please gather and show some examples. If no, please find out and explain why not? 2. Do the schools in your area have a school record management schedule like the one in Example 11? If yes, please gather and show some examples. 3. If no, would such a schedule be needed? How will it look like? (Activity: Sketch such a schedule based on your knowledge of school calendar and school record management practices) 4. What does it take to ensure that the school record management schedule is followed? For central and provincial education administrators : 1. To your knowledge, are school records management tasks and responsibilities well-defined in the schools in your country/province? If yes, please gather and show some examples. If no, please find out and explain why not? 2. Do the schools in your country/province have a school record management schedule like the one in Example 11? If yes, please gather and show some examples. 3. If no, would such a schedule be needed? How will it look like? (Activity: Sketch such a schedule based on your knowledge of school calendar and school record management practices) 4. What does it take to ensure that the school record management schedule is followed?

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Training Module A1

SRMS roles, responsibilities and competencies

Different school record management tasks must be clearly defined and assigned to those school staff who are best suited to perform these tasks in relation to their roles, responsibilities, duties and skills within the school. For example, class teachers are responsible for updating class attendance sheet; the school accountant for maintaining ledger and producing financial summaries; administrative staff for updating inventories of physical facilities and teaching/learning materials; etc. Systematic and timely creation and updating of school records under their respective responsibilities and according to defined school records management schedule can form part of their performance evaluation and accountability. It may happen that the school staff responsible for a specific type of school record is not available, immediate decision must be made to assign another person to fill in the gap so as not to interrupt systematic school record keeping. Small schools which have very little school staff may face difficulties in managing and updating the full range of key school records. In such cases the district or local education officer may advise on which records must absolutely be maintained, and how best to maintain them considering the limited staff resources at the school. When there is no head of school, the local education officer together with the inspector can find ways to guide and support other staff of the school to manage at least a minimum set of key school records. To help school staff to correctly perform their SRMS tasks, initial training is to be organized by either the school manager or a knowledgeable school staff. The training content can cover general school records management principles, terminology and practices, as well as on specific school records. Try to ensure that in each school, at least two school staff know how to maintain each type of school record, so there will not be interruption when one of the two staff is absent. If needed, such training can be supported by the district or local education officer or the school inspector who together with the school manager must be trained prior to training other school staff using for example this Module A1. Besides the creation, storage, update, retention and retrieval of school records, it will be important to train the relevant school staff in evidence-based school management by using the school records and information to9:     

organize and conduct daily school activities; deliver school services consistently and with integrity; comply with school policies and regulatory requirements; monitor and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of school activities; assist all stakeholders inside and outside of the school to make good use of the information generated from school records in better understanding the school’s achievements and shortcomings, and to provide relevant support.

These aspects are covered in the following sections. Once the school staffs are trained in school records management, regular supervision and support will be needed from the school manager and experienced staff to ensure that they apply what they learned in properly creating, updating, storing and using school records in a timely manner.

ARMA International: What is Records Management? (See http://www.arma.org/pdf/WhatIsRIM.pdf)

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Training Module A1

Activity 13: Find out about and review the practices in your school/district/province/country in: (a) defining and assigning roles and responsibilities in school for SRMS; (b) training relevant school staff to upgrade their competencies and capacity for the SRMS tasks; (c) ensuring they apply the SRMS knowledge and skills, and answer the following questions: For school manager or staff: 1. Are roles and responsibilities clearly defined in your school for the management of various school records? For which kind of school records? 2. How do you go about assigning people to different school records management tasks? Based on what criteria do you select and assign these persons? 3. What kind of training do you give to those persons responsible for school records management? How do you do that? 4. What kind of problems and issues do you face in ensuring that the persons assigned to school records management tasks apply their knowledge and skills in fulfilling their SRMS roles and responsibilities? For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. Are roles and responsibilities clearly defined in the schools in your area for the management of various school records? For which kind of school records? How can these definitions be improved? 2. How do school managers in your area go about assigning people to different school records management tasks? Based on what criteria do they select and assign these persons? What do you think of these practices? 3. Have you assisted the schools in your area to train persons assigned to records management? What kind of training have you given? How do you do that? 4. To your knowledge, what kind of problems and issues do school managers in your area face in ensuring that the persons assigned to school records management tasks apply their knowledge and skills in fulfilling their SRMS roles and responsibilities ? For central and provincial education administrators: 1. To your knowledge, what kind of problems and issues can occur in the schools in your country/province when assigning school staff to school records management tasks and trying to ensure that they fulfill their records management roles and responsibilities? 2. How would you propose to help school managers in your country/province to go about improving the definitions of school records management roles and responsibilities? 3. What can be done from your level to help school staff to acquire the competencies and knowhow to manage school records?

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Training Module A1

Data quality assurance

As discussed in more details in Section 6 of Module A2, an effective SRMS (school records management system) embodies clear and well-defined procedures, criteria, norms, mechanisms and practices to ensure that the data and information recorded are complete, relevant, accurate and reliable, and can be easily retrieved, summarized, analysed and used in supporting sound management of the school as well as in reporting to higher levels of the education administration and local stakeholders. A number of principles can be followed in ensuring data quality in school records: a) Regularity – all relevant school staff and teachers adhere to the planned SRMS schedule in systematically recording, storing and updating the school records under their respective charge; b) Completeness – fill in as much as possible all the data required in a record; if there are omissions or partial data, footnote and explain clearly the reasons; c) Accuracy – data quality norms and practices are clearly defined, understood and followed in gathering and entering data and information into the record forms; d) Consistency – make sure that data are recorded based on the same concept, definition and measurement among schools and over time. The design of the school record forms and summaries must therefore be clear, unambiguous and easy to create, fill in and update. All the terms and concepts must be clearly defined and explained in the instructions on school records management (see Sections 3 to 5 above). Thorough training and practical supervision of record-keepers, plus technical guidance and support to them, can decisively help to increase the quality of data in the school records. It is the role of the school manager to ensure that all school records are regularly created, completed, updated, stored and used. Frequent checking may be done to verify if all the school records have been submitted on time, well-completed and up-to-date, so as to determine if each staff responsible for specific type of records is performing his/her SRMS duties in a correct and timely manner. Another data quality assurance measure is for the school manager and other administrative staff to make frequent use of different school records in school management and reporting. During such use, one can verify if the data are up-to-date, complete and correct. Through clear assignment of SRMS responsibilities and schedule, any deficiencies or errors in the school records can be referred back to the responsible person for correction and completion. District and local education officers together with school inspectors can also play key roles during their visits and interactions with the school in verifying if school records are well-managed and if data quality assurance measures have been correctly applied in all schools in their area. Systematic cross-checking of summaries and tally sheets against the original individual record forms, and comparisons of the resulting information and indicators, can also contribute to further identifying errors and inconsistencies in data quality. During analysis, interpretation and use of the data and information, additional data problems can be found that call for additional re-check and correction of data. Many of the data quality control methods suggested in Section 6 of Module A2 can also be applied to school records.

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Activity 14: Gather instructions used in school records management in your school/district/province/ country. Examine their content to see if they include data quality assurance principles and practices. Ask relevant school staff about their experiences in actual school records data quality assurance, and answer the following questions: For school manager or staff: 1. From your experience and those of your school staff, what kind of data quality problems and issues occurred in records management at your schoo ? How did they happe ? 2. What kinds of measures have been taken in order to ensure data quality during school records management? Please describe how effective is each of these measures, and the lessons learnt. 3. What would you do to strengthen data quality assurances in records management at your school? For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. To your knowledge, what kind of data quality problems and issues occurred in records management at the schools in your area? How did they happen? 2. What kind of measures do you think should be taken in order to minimize those problems and to ensure data quality during school records management? 3. What would you do to strengthen data quality assurances in records management at the schools in your area? For central and provincial education administrators: 1. What kind of data quality problems and issues have you noticed in the school reports and data provided in response to the annual school censuses? 2. Knowing that improving the quality of data at the source, namely in the school records, can make a difference, how would you go about strengthening data quality assurances in records management at the schools in your country/province?

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Transformation, analysis and use of school records and information

All the efforts in creating, storing, updating and managing school records will be wasted if the data and information are not fully and properly used in: (a) strengthening monitoring and management in school; (b) reporting to higher levels of the education administration(see Module A2); and (c) informing and mobilizing support from the stakeholders(see Module A5). School record data and information can be used either directly, or transformed into other forms so as to facilitate analysis, interpretation and dissemination (see more below and in Modules A3, A4 and A5). 7.1

Individual school records and summary lists

It may be helpful to know that school records can exist in four forms: (i) records of individual persons (e.g. students, teachers or school staff) or of physical items (e.g. classrooms, furniture, equipment, teaching/learning materials, ledger of financial transactions, etc.); (ii) summary lists (e.g. of students, teachers, textbooks, equipment, etc.) (iii) tally sheets to count the number of persons or occurences; and (iv) summary tables. They complement each other in recording and presenting data and information in ways appropriate for use by different persons for different purposes. As mentioned in Section 6 above, they can also be used to cross-check data quality. Individual records like for example a student record card (see Example 1) has the advantage of recording more detailed information on each individual student such as gender, age, grade attending, previous education, language spoken at home, physical and mental conditions, disabilities, family conditions, performance scores in subjects and behavior, etc. The same applied to teacher records. These individual records can be created and added whenever a new student or teacher joins the school. They can also be archived or disposed of when a student or teacher left the school. But if one wants to get an overview or to compare the characteristics of all the students in a class, it can be quite laborious to flip through a deck of student record cards back and forth in trying to compare the data. Often, a summary list can be created by copying and listing one-by-one the names and specific characteristics of the students in each class (see Example 12 below). In this way, comparisons can be made and interpreted at a glance across the list, for example regarding students’ sex, age, attendance and scores by subject like in the summary list below. Example 12. Summary list of student characteristics and performance Name

Sex

Age

Grade

No. of days absent

National Language

Math

Science

Social studies

Behaviour

Himani MEHTA Somsak VIROT Vishnu SHRESTHA Laxmi BHATTA Mira JOSHI Manju LAMA … … …

F M M M F F … … …

8 9 9 8 8 9 … … …

2 2 2 2 2 2 … … …

3 5 11 22 0 8 … … …

93 72 66 52 84 90 … … …

88 81 71 68 59 78 … … …

85 77 76 63 82 67 … … …

95 65 89 64 87 79 … … …

A B B C A A … … …

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7.2

Tally sheets and summary tables

Another frequent practice in school records management is totally or count the number of occurrences of individuals or items according to specific criteria or characteristics, and to analyze and interpret the tally sheet. Example 13 below shows how a tally sheet can look like. This example shows the results of going one-by-one through either the individual student record cards or summary student list like in Example 12 above, in order to tally in the ‘Tally area’ the number of occurrences of under-aged, correct age and over-aged enrolment in Grade 1 by gender in a school. Example 13. Tally sheet of under-aged and over-aged enrolment in Grade 1 by gender Male

Tally area Female

Male

Counts Female

Total

Under-aged

││

││││

Correct age

││││ ││││ │││

││││ ││││ │

Over-aged

││││ │││

││││ ││

Age

In Example 13 which tallies the number of male and female students who are under, over or at the correct age to enroll in Grade 1. If say the correct official age for Grade 1 is 6 years old, one can go through one-by-one the individual student records and look at the ‘Sex’ and ‘Date of birth’ in order to identify the gender and age of the student. For each student who is under, over or at the correct age, a new stroke is added to the corresponding box in the table in Example 13. The strokes can be grouped five-by-five or follow local practice so as to facilitate final counting of the total number of occurrences in each box. The tally counts can then be summarized in the part of the table on the right for further analysis. Another important form of school records are the summary tables. Taking Example 13 above, the tally counts on its right-hand side can be further elaborated into the form of a summary table, as shown in Example 14 below.

Example 14. Summary table of under-aged and over-aged enrolment in Grade 1 by gender

Age Under-aged Correct age Over-aged Total

Male

Number Female

Total

2 13 8 23

4 11 7 22

6 24 15 45

Percentages of under-/over-aged by sex (%) Male Female Total

8.7% 56.5% 34.8% 100.0%

18.2% 50.0% 31.8% 100.0%

13.3% 53.4% 33.3% 100.0%

It can be seen that such summary tables serve the dual purposes on the one hand of synthesizing detailed individual data into numbers in a structured table that can be directly analyzed, interpreted and use in monitoring and management. On the other hand and as illustrated in the percentages on the right-hand side of Example 14, the summary numbers obtained on the left can be used to

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calculate various indicators to help in better assessing the situation, identifying problems and issues, and supporting decision-making at the school and higher levels of the education administration. In Example 14 above, one can see for instance in the last column that only a little over half (53.4%) of the students in Grade 1 in this school are of the correct age whereas a third (33.3%) are over-aged and 13.3% are under-aged for Grade 1 attendance, and proportionally speaking there are less girls than boys at the correct age or over-aged but more tendency for girls to be enrolled early (underaged). Consequently, one can draw insights regarding ways to reduce over-aged and under-aged enrolment and the differences between boys and girls. An additional benefit of the summary tables is that, very often, such tables can be systematically designed and generated to sum up individual school records in ways which correspond to the data tables in the school census forms or school reports, so that the tallied summary data can be directly copied or transferred in response to school censuses or in preparing school reports. This will considerably reduce the workload in having to each time specially search for data or tally individual records in order to fill out the school census forms. Take for example the key summary table showing student enrolment by grade and age (see Question 21 in the example school census questionnaire on p.38 of Module A2, and Example 10 in Module A3). This table can be produced by using the summary lists of students for each class in the school (see Example 12 above) to tally the number of students by age, grade and sex in the agegrade enrolment table.

Diagram 4.

Use of school records at school

Other reports

Analysis, research

Indicators

School reports

School censuses

References

Tallies, summaries

Other data

School records

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Diagram 4 on the previous page shows how the original school records can be transformed into summary lists, tallies and summary tables for use in analysis and reporting. Some of the summaries can be transformed and copied into the corresponding tables in the annual school census questionnaire, and in preparing school reports. More importantly, indicators including those for EFA monitoring can be directly calculated from the tallied counts in the summary tables. The summaries together with indicators can then be further analysed and interpreted to give a more complete picture about what is happening with EFA in the local area. Of particular relevance to the information in the school records are other data on the local population by gender, age-group, literacy level, educational attainment, employment, occupation, poverty, household conditions, etc. Such data are either available at the local government or can be obtained from the national statistics office. They are needed in order to calculate a good number of EFA indicators such as enrolment ratios, gender parity index, etc.(See also Module A3) and for ‘Reaching the unreached’ as described in the next section. 7.3

‘Reaching the unreached’

Through its proximity to the local area and population, very often the school staff, government official and/or development bodies in the local area have much more precise and detailed information on the disadvantaged population in terms of: Who are they? Where are they? What are their learning needs? What are their difficulties in accessing and participating in education? How well do they learn in school? Such data can help to know who and where are the ‘unreached’ children, their characteristics and needs, so that more appropriate measures can be taken to encourage and help them to participate in and complete basic education within the EFA perspective. Through daily contacts of teachers and students, and frequent interactions between the school management and local communities, the school authorities can gather information on children in the local area who are not attending school, and those who dropped out of school. Preliminary records may be made of their where-abouts, for the school manager and teachers to make follow-up visits to the families in order to collect more detailed information on who exactly are these ‘unreached’ children, and to understand the circumstances and reasons for them not attending school. Based on the results of these visits, more effective strategies and measures can be taken to reach these unreached children. Other relevant data can be obtained from civil registrations, household surveys, and other sources on the conditions of health, nutrition and sanitation of the local population, parents’ employment and occupation, and on early childhood care and schooling in local area (see Section 5 of Module A2 and Section 6.2 of Module A3). These can be combined in analysis with school record data and summaries especially on grade repetition and drop-out so as to better understand the challenges facing education in the local area, for new actions to be defined and implemented. With respect to more advanced use of data and information contained in the school record to reach the unreached, please refer to Training Modules A3 and A4 for more details about indicators and data analysis, on the use of information in monitoring, planning and management of education, and Training Module A5 regarding data flow and information dissemination,.

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Activity 15: Examine existing school records in your school/district/province/country and classify them according to the four forms shown in Examples 1, 12-14. Relate them to Diagram 4 to determine what possible uses can be made of each kind of existing school records. And answer the following questions : For school manager or staff: 1. What are the main forms of school records in your school? Please list down the existing records and indicate their correspondence to which of the four forms. 2. How do you use each kind of existing school records? 3. Which existing school record(s) can be further transformed into summary lists, tally sheets or summary tables? How can the resulting summaries be used? 4. How would you improve the use of school records for the purposes (a), (b) and (c) in the first paragraph of this section 7? For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. What are the main forms of school records in the schools in your area? Please list down the existing school records and indicate their correspondence to which of the four forms. 2. How should the data and information contained in each kind of existing school records be used by the district and local education offices? 3. Which existing school record(s) should be further transformed into summary lists, tally sheets or summary tables for use by the district and local education offices? What kind of summaries? How will they be used? 4. What should be done in order to improve the use of school records for the purposes (a), (b) and (c) in the first paragraph of this section 7? For central and provincial education administrators : 1. What to your knowledge are the main forms of school records in the schools in your country/province? Please list down some of the existing school records and indicate their correspondence to which of the four forms. 2. How should the data and information contained in each kind of existing school records be used by the central and provincial education administration? 3. Which existing school record(s) should be further transformed into summary lists, tally sheets or summary tables for use by the central and provincial education administration? What kind of summaries? How will they be used? 4. What should be done in order to improve the use of school records for the purposes (a), (b) and (c) in the first paragraph of this section 7?

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8. Standardizing school records Imagine the situation when different schools keep different kinds of school records using different formats to record different types of data following different practices. The variety of information recorded and the diversity of data quality based on different terminologies and definitions, not to mention possible discrepancies in the methods and tools used to record information, can make it very difficult to understand and meaningfully compare the performance of schools, not to mention exchanging information. The establishment of a nationwide standard school record management system presents an occasion to address these problems by standardizing key common school records. The aim is to promote the systematic use in all schools of a uniform and common core set of school record forms and practices. This can help to ensure firstly that essential data and information are kept at all schools, and secondly that they are all comparable and consistent over time for interpretation and use both at the school as well as at higher levels of the education administration. As can be understood, not all the information generated in a school needs to be recorded. Similarly, not all the school records need to be standardized. Standardization applies when there are identified common data and information needs among the schools and at higher levels of the education administration for use in monitoring, management and planning purposes, and the necessity to collect and record such data and information in a uniform and comparable way using standardized record forms and following well-defined common definitions, norms and practices. Standardization of school records can be organized following the steps below: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

determine key data and information to be systematically recorded in all schools; clearly define what are these data and information, and explain how they can be recorded; design standard school record forms which can be uniformly applied in all schools; specify the norms and requirements to be respected in ensuring data quality; describe good practices to be followed in managing such key school records; document all these in standard instructions for use in guiding and training school managers.

The end product of this standardization process is a set of key school record forms accompanied by instructions on how to correctly fill out, update and manage each record, together with definitions of terms and data quality norms. As can be seen in Examples 1 to 10 in Section 3, these standard forms and instructions should be professionally designed and fulfill the following requirements: (a) be clear, compact and easy to use in recording data and information at school; (b) data are recorded according to uniform definitions and quality norms hence are more consistent, reliable and comparable; (c) the records are designed for organized storage so as to facilitate search and retrieval of data; (d) many possibilities exist to extract, analyze, interpret and use the data within the school and for reporting data to higher levels and stakeholders. In addition, the design of these standard forms and instructions can take into account the need to use them to rapidly and reliably produce summary data for reporting to higher levels, and in organizing training and self-learning among school staff plus technical support to the schools in SRMS.

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Case example: Standardization of school records in some states of India The Departments of Education in some states of India instruct all schools within the state to maintain specific standard school records. 34 types of school records are required in Andra Pradesh; 59 in Maharashtra; and 101 in Kerala. The practice is to include and list these types of school records into the handbook of rules and practices for school head-teachers, as part of their regular duties. Some states only provide the list of titles of the school records and leave it to the school head-teachers to design and manage such records. Some other states also provide standard formats for the school records. (Source: Information gathered during the Technical Workshop to Develop Training Modules on Systematic Monitoring of EFA held from 15-19 March 2010 in Chennai, India)

Activity 16: Discuss with the manager of 3-5 schools in your district/province/country about the need for standardization of key school records described in this section, and answer the following questions For school manager or staff: 1. Do school records in the neighboring schools record the same data and information in the same way and according to the same norms as your school? 2. Which kinds of data and information from school records can be reliably compared among schools? 3. Will it be useful to try to standardize some key school records that are common to many schools? 4. If yes, please indicate which are these key school records? For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. Do school records in the neighboring schools record the same data and information in the same way and according to the same norms as your school? 2. Which kind of data and information from school records can be reliably compared among schools? 3. Will it be useful to try to standardize some key school records that are common to many schools? 4. If yes, please indicate which are these key school records? For central and provincial education administrators: 1. Are there standard school records in your country/province? If yes, which are these school records? 2. Can the data and information drawn from these school records be reliably and meaningfully compared? 3. Will it be useful to try to standardize some key school records that are common to many schools? 4. If yes, which are these key school records from the central/provincial perspective?

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8.1

Designing standard school records

In designing a standard school record, one must first have a clear understanding of the following:        •

the purpose of the record what data and information will be recorded who generates the data and information who will record and update the information who will access and use the information when will the information be recorded and updated how will the information be recorded, updated and used how will the record be stored and maintained

The answers to the above questions to a large extent determine the design of each standard school record in terms of contents, organization and presentation. They also determine the practices to manage the record and the data quality norms, which can be summarized in the instructions accompanying the school record form. As explained in Section 7, there can be different forms of school records such as: records of individual persons (e.g. students, teachers and school staff); records by class or by grade (e.g. attendance sheets and summaries of examination results); and records for the school as a whole (e.g. inventories and financial records). They serve different monitoring and management purposes, and are created and used by different persons in the school. They may also generate other summary records in the form of other summary tables or lists for further analysis, interpretation and use in monitoring and decision-making. Some of the principles to follow in designing standard school records are listed below:         

Simple Capture all the needed data and information Clearly presented and unambiguous All the terms are clearly defined and explained Easy to fill out and update Easy to keep/maintain/protect Well-defined data quality norms Complete and practical instructions Easy to understand and use the recorded data

An additional aspect to be considered in the design of standard school record forms is the complexity and cost to produce such forms, and the availability of the right kind of material in different school locations (e.g. paper cards, size of paper, quality of paper, printing facilities, etc.) Three alternative options can be adopted: (i) the central or provincial education administration prints the standard school record forms in large quantities for distribution to the schools; or (ii) the schools produce these forms based on models provided by the Ministry of Education; or

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(iii) for schools which are equipped and capable of handling computerized school records, to provide them with standard computerized templates of the standard school records, for them to use on their computers to create, store and update such records. These computerized templates of school records may also incorporate built-in features to check for data errors and to calculate certain monitoring indicators such as percentage of boy/girl students, percentage of qualified teachers, etc. To ensure that the standard school records have been designed properly to fulfill their purposes, the forms and instructions must be systematically field-tested in as many different schools as possible in order to identify problems and to gather feedback information on how to improve and finalize them. During actual implementation of these standard school records, a systematic effort may also be made by the Ministry of Education to regularly gather feedback and suggestions from the schools, for further upgrading the school record management tools and practices.

Activity 17: Discuss with the manager of 3-5 schools in your district/province/country about the design of standard school records described in this section, and answer the following questions For school manager or staff: 1. What do you and other neighboring school managers think about the criteria, principles and way to design standard school records described in this section? 2. How would you and other neighboring school managers go about standardizing some common school records? For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. What do you and school managers in your area think about the criteria, principles and way to design standard school records described in this section? 2. How would you and school managers in your area go about standardizing some common school records? For central and provincial education administrators: 1. From the central/provincial perspective, what do you think about the criteria, principles and way to design standard school records described in this section? 2. How would you go about standardizing some key common school records?

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8.2

Establishing (or upgrading) a nationwide standard school records management system

Strengthening information management and use at school is a key to fundamental improvement of the school system. Implementing an effective nationwide standard school record management system is an important step forward. For all countries, this training module offers some latest ideas and examples for establishing and upgrading the existing school records management system, especially within the ongoing worldwide thrust of EFA. As the implementation of such a nationwide standard school record management system requires the understanding and cooperation of a wide range of education officers and school managers across the country, it will be necessary for appropriate policies and instructions to be defined and issued in the first place to ensure that all schools comply and correctly implement the system. It is the role of the central Ministry of Education to lead this process of policy-making, and to oversee its implementation. The steps to be taken by the Ministry of Education to develop policies for and ensure implementation of a nationwide standard school record management system include the following: Step 1: Survey the information needs of the key stakeholders: the schools; Ministry of Education and provincial and district education offices; local government and community members. Step 2: Review existing school record management practices, tools and capacities, and how they correspond to the information needs identified in Step 1 so as to identify gaps, issues and priorities. Step 3: Determine the kinds of information that require standardized recording, storage and access at school; design (or upgrade) the set of standard school record forms, data quality norms and recommended good practices to be applied in recording, accessing and using the required data and information at school. Step 4: Prepare detailed instructions to accompany the issuance of policy, specifying how the schools are expected to implement the nationwide standard school record management system, and the respective roles of the other stakeholders especially the district and local education offices in supporting implementation at the schools. Step 5: Plan IEC (information, education and communication) strategies to sensitize, train and support school managers and staff to implement standard school record management. Such IEC strategies can include measures to incorporate training in school record management into regular pre-service and in-service training programmes for school headteachers, teachers and administrative staff. Step 6: Elaborate and issue the policy accompanied by the instructions, standard forms, norms and recommended good practices, and activate the IEC strategies to promote and support nationwide implementation in all schools. Parallel administrative instructions can also be issued to provincial, district and local education officers and school inspectors, requiring them to support and ensure that all the schools within their respective areas implement correctly the standard school record management system. Cascading multiplier training may be organized to train the relevant staff from provincial down to the school level, and self-learning materials can be produced and made available in both printed and electronic form.

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Activity 18: Discuss with the manager of 3-5 schools in your district/province/country about the steps described in this section for establishing (or upgrading) a nationwide standard school records management system, and answer the following questions For school manager or staff: 1. Do you agree to the need to establish (or upgrade) a nationwide standard school records management system? Why? 2. What do you think about the suggested steps to take in order to establish (or upgrade) a nationwide standard school records management system? How would you go about it based on national practices? 3. If it is decided to establish (or upgrade) a nationwide standard school records management system, will your school be prepared to participate in and contribute to this process? For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. Do you and the schools managers in your area agree to the need to establish (or upgrade) a nationwide standard school records management system? Why? 2. What do you and the schools managers in your area think about the suggested steps to take in order to establish (or upgrade) a nationwide standard school records management system ? How would you go about it based on national practices? 3. If it is decided to establish (or upgrade) a nationwide standard school records management system, will you be prepared to participate in and contribute to this process? For central and provincial education administrators: 1. From the central/provincial perspective, do you agree to the need to establish (or upgrade) a nationwide standard school records management system? Why? 2. What do you think about the suggested steps to take in order to establish (or upgrade) a nationwide standard school records management system? 3. If it is decided to establish (or upgrade) a nationwide standard school records management system, how would you go about it based on national procedures and practices?

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9. Benefits of SRMS From the descriptions of SRMS and its features and functions in the preceding sections, one can see that a fully operational school record management system can produce many immediate benefits for the school managers and education officers at the local and district level, as well as long-term benefits for policy, planning, coordination and monitoring at the provincial and national level. In essence, systematic organized school record management helps:    

School managers to assess the performance therefore the strengths and weaknesses of the school, to take informed decisions, and to more easily and reliably respond to school censuses; Local government and community to better understand and support the functioning of the school; District and provincial education officers and central education ministry to better monitor and evaluate the performance of schools, to identify problems and issues, and to establish policies, plans and measures to provide more appropriate guidance and support; To provide documented evidences to enable future school managers to continue to improve the management of the school.

A good school record management system is one that fulfils the above expectations, and which enables systematic and reliable recording and updating of data and information. Such a system embodies mechanisms, procedures, tools and practices to record data and to keep them in organized storage for easy access, retrieval and use. School records can therefore be used to assess: (a) how the school uses various resources in organizing educational programmes and activities; (b) how such programmes and activities took place; and (c) what were the outcomes, issues and lessons learnt. This kind of information is important for both the school manager and education administrators at higher levels to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the school’s activities, and to improve the future planning, coordination and management of such educational activities. School records must therefore respond to the information needs of three main groups of stakeholders/ beneficiaries (see Diagram 5 below). Diagram 5.

School records and main stakeholders/beneficiaries

School management

School records MOE, PEOs, DEOs

Local stakeholders

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Foremost among them are the school managers and school staff including teachers. They need information on a daily basis in order to better plan, organize, conduct, evaluate and manage school and class activities. They also need the most detailed and comprehensive data and information, plus the possibility of frequently and directly access them. At the school level, some of the immediate benefits would include: (a) better monitoring and understanding of the situation and problems in the school over time; (b) more informed decision-making to improve the functioning of the school; (c ) easy and reliable reporting and responding to annual school censuses; and (c) informing both the local stakeholders as well as higher levels of the education administration for their support (see Diagram 6 below). Diagram 6.

Why we need school records?

Better records Better information Better understanding Better planning Better monitoring Better management Better results

A second group of beneficiaries are the education administrators at the district, provincial and central ministry levels. They need data and information on what is happening in the schools under their respective jurisdiction so as to identify the achievements, gaps and issues for better policy, planning, management and/or coordination of the education system at their respective levels. This second group may not need to directly use the detailed school records, but rather summary information that are reported through responses to the annual school censuses (see Module A2: Data Collection and Quality Assurance) and in various school reports. A third group of beneficiaries are the government officials, community leaders, parents and students in the local area, who can benefit from information about the school in order to better understanding how the school operates and how they can participate in supporting it. This group includes members of the school management board and parents-teachers association. The school records enable the extraction and dissemination to them of relevant and reliable information.

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Information generated from systematic school records can increase the accountability and credibility of the school management. By reporting and disseminating more complete and reliable information on the school, for example to members of the school management board and/or parent-teachers association, they can become better aware of the achievements as well as the challenges faced by the school. They can in turn help to mobilize support from the local government, community and other development partners. School records therefore constitute the most important source of data and information for ongoing and future management of the schools in the country. Systematic school record keeping will not only support sound management of the school itself, but also help to better inform local stakeholders as well as higher levels of the education administration to mobilize their support. Furthermore, proper school records keeping can greatly facilitate reporting to annual school censuses by providing summary data based on solid source records to ensure the completeness and reliability of data. For non-governmental schools, school records are important for meeting government legal and fiscal requirements. School records must therefore be designed taking these factors into account.

Activity 19: Discuss with your colleagues the implications, benefits and constraints in establishing an effective school record management system in your school/district/province/country, and answer the following questions For school manager or staff: 1. Do you agree with the benefits of SRMS described above? What other benefits can exist as well? 2. In what way do you think your school can benefit from improved school record management? More precisely speaking, in which aspects of school management? 3. What can be the constraints affecting the successful implementation of SRMS in your school? What can be done to address these constraints? 4. After having completed this training module, how do you plan to apply the knowhow in your school? For district and local education officers and school inspectors: 1. Do you agree with the benefits of SRMS described above? What other benefits can exist as well at your level and for the schools in your area? 2. In what way do you think the schools in your area can benefit from improved school record management? More precisely speaking, in which aspects of school management? 3. What can be the constraints affecting the successful implementation of SRMS in the schools in your area? What can be done to address these constraints? 4. After having completed this training module, how do you plan to apply the knowhow in the schools in your area? For central and provincial education administrators: 1. Do you agree with the benefits of SRMS described above? What other benefits can exist as well at your level? 2. In what way do you think the schools in your country/province can benefit from improved school record management? More precisely speaking, in which aspects of school management? 3. What can be the constraints affecting the successful implementation of SRMS in the schools in your country/province? What can be done to address these constraints? 4. After having completed this training module, how do you plan to apply the knowhow at your level and in the schools in your country/province?

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Training Module A1

10.

Quiz

Q1.

School records are mainly used for: (Please tick all correct cases) □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Q2.

Which are the key aspects of schools requiring systematic records? (Please fill in the blanks marked by dotted lines) 

     

Q3.

all school staff, students and parents to access them opening new schools strengthening data and information use in monitoring at school sharing with other schools, districts or countries directly sending to the Ministry of Education reporting data to higher levels of the education administration managing school finance selling to businesses for use in marketing promoting evidence-based management at school informing local stakeholders and mobilizing their support

Students – personal and family characteristics; previous educational experiences; grade admitted to; attendance; academic performance; behaviour; achievements/faults; outcomes (e.g. promotion to next grade or repeating grade or drop out or transferred or graduated; etc.) ...................................................................................................................................................... Physical facilities – quantity and condition of school buildings, classrooms, furniture, equipment and other physical facilities; maintenance, repairs and new constructions; rate of utilization; etc. Teaching/learning materials – quantity and condition by type of material; new acquisitions; rate of utilization; etc. ...................................................................................................................................................... Extra-curricular and co-curricular activities – type of activities; schedules; staff involved; number of participants; results; impact; etc. School and community interactions – school management board meetings; parent-teacher association activities; school-and-community activities; etc.

Name the ten key standard school records that can be implemented in schools? (Please fill in the blanks marked by dotted lines) 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10)

Student records ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Textbook record sheet Student performance summary ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Teacher performance evaluation report ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Inventory of furniture and equipment Inventory of teaching/learning materials …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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Training Module A1

Q4.

Type of school records and management schedule: (Please write in the brackets below the table the management schedule which correspond to the listed types of school records A-J) Type of school record

A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I.

A.(

Q5.

Management schedule

Student record card Class attendance sheet Textbook record sheet Student performance summary Teacher record Teacher performance evaluation report Inventory of physical facilities Inventory of furniture/equipment Inventory teaching/learning resource materials Financial summary

) B.(

) C.(

) D.(

) E.(

1 2

Created at the end of each term Created at the end of each term and of the school year 3 Created after teacher evaluation at the end of school year 4 Updated at beginning of and throughout the school year 5 Updated at beginning of and throughout the school year 6 Created at the beginning of each term 7 Updated at beginning of and throughout the school year 8 Created at enrolment; continuously updated 9 Updated every school day by class teacher 10 Created when teacher joins school; continuously updated

) F.(

) G.(

) H.(

) I.(

)

J.(

)

All school staff must be trained in using the school records to: (Please tick all correct cases) □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

□

falsify information for personal interest; monitor and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of school activities organize and conduct daily school activities deceive students, parents, school manager and colleagues set up their own schools maintain and manage school facilities contradict school policies and regulatory requirements mis-inform the local government and community assist all stakeholders inside and outside of the school to make good use of the information generated from school records in better understanding the school’s achievements and shortcomings so as to provide relevant support enhance the quality of education in the school

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Training Module A1

Q7.

What are the stages in school record management? (Please fill in the blanks marked by dotted lines) 1) creation – is the act of starting to accumulate information into a record in a systematic and organized manner in order to enable easy access and retrieval; 2) storage and protection – refers to the ways the records are stored and kept, and protected from illicit access and damage; 3) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4) access and retrieval – are the acts to search for, locate and extract records from storage; 5) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6) appraisal and retention – is the process to determine whether a record should be: (i) retained for active use; (ii) archived; or (iii) disposed of. Also to be determined is the duration of retention of different active records. The inactive records will be transferred to the archive; and other records with little or no historical value will be destroyed. 7) archival – is the process to store inactive records in an organized manner so that they are available and can be retrieved for use; 8) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q6.

What do the following key principles of data quality in school records mean ? (Please write in the brackets below the table the number of the meaning which correspond to the each key principle)

Key principles A. Regularity B.

Completeness

Accuracy

D. Consistency

A.(

Q8.

)

Meaning 1 data quality norms and practices are clearly defined, understood and followed in gathering and entering data and information into the record forms 2 make sure that data are recorded based on the same concept, definition and measurement among schools and over time 3 adhering to planned roles and schedule in systematically recording, storing and updating the school records 4 fill in as much as possible all the data required in a record; explain clearly the reason for any omissions or partial data

B.(

)

C.(

)

D.(

)

School records can be directly used to generate: (Please tick all correct answers) □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

National education policy Summary lists School textbooks Summary tables and graphs Better examination results among students Indicators Misunderstanding of what the school does Students dropping out of school Responses to school census questionnaire Annual report of the Ministry of Education

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Training Module A1

Q9.

There is a need to standardize key school records because: (Please fill in the blanks in the paragraph below using the following words: ‘definitions’, ‘discrepancies’, ‘terminologies’, ‘types of data’, ‘formats’) “Imagine the situation when different schools keep different kinds of school records using different ………………………… to record different ……………………………. according to different practices. The variety of information recorded and the diversity of data quality based on different ……………………………… and …………………………….., not to mention possible …………………………………in the methods and tools used to record information, can make it very difficult to understand and meaningfully compare the performance of schools, not to mention exchanging information.”

Q10.

The principles to follow in designing standard school records are as follows: (Please fill in the blanks using the following words: ‘Complete and practical’, ‘data quality norms ‘, ‘unambiguous’, ‘Capture’, ‘keep/maintain/protect’)

       

Simple ……………………………..all of the needed data and information Clearly presented and …………………………………….. Easy to fill out and update Easy to …………………………………………………………… All the terms are clearly defined and explained Well-defined ………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………….instructions  Easy to understand and use the recorded data

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Training Module A1

11.

Further studies

 Adrie J. Visscher, Phil Wild and Alex C.W. Fung: Information Technology in Educational Management – Synthesis of experience, research and future perspectives on computer-assisted school information systems. 2001. Kluwer Academic Publishers. (can be accessed at: http://www.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=_E_1Sn_SmvIC&oi=fnd&pg=PA3&dq=%22school+ management%22+%27data+flow%27+%27information+flow%27%22&ots=o0rRXuaHex&sig=_5c 328-iWdkyDM-_vZcI34a93Ig#v=onepage&q=&f=false) 

Adrie J. Visscher: The implications of how school staff handle information for the usage of school information systems. University of Twente, the Netherlands. (can be accessed at: http://doc.utwente.nl/26603/1/Visscher96implications.pdf)



Kerri L. Briggs and Priscilla Wohlstetter: Key Elements of a Successful School-Based Management Strategy. Working Paper, University of Texas at Austin and University of Southern California. October 21, 1999 (can be accessed at: http://www.nihool.org/photogallery/matagot/briggsandwohlstetter1999.pdf)



Jadwiga Brzdąk and David Oldroyd: From Diagnosis to School Improvement - A case study of quality assessment, development and culture in a Polish secondary school. (can be accessed at: http://www.oki.hu/oldal.php?tipus=cikk&kod=quality-06-brzdak)



The National Forum on Education Statistics: Forum Guide to Building a Culture of Quality Data: A School & District Resource. NCES, 2004. (can be accessed at: http://nces.ed.gov/PUBSEARCH/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2005801)



Records Management Society of the United Kingdom: Records Management Toolkit for School – Mar 2008. (see http://www.rms-gb.org.uk/resources/848)



Vitalicy CHIFWEPA: NESIS module on Managing Records at School Level. (see http://www.adeanet.org/adeaPortal/adea/downloadcenter/NESIS/E-records-021065.pdf)



Udjuni School Management System (see http://www.udjuni.com/login.php)



Hermosa Beach City School District: Guide to performance evaluation for teachers. (see http://hbcsd.org/contract/images/Appendix%20E.PDF)



Kaye Sanders: How To Work with Teaching Aids. (See http://www.howtodothings.com/education/a3096-how-to-work-with-teaching-aids.html)



Bookkeeping Course. (see http://bookkeeping-course.com/)

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Training Module A2

Training Module A: EFA Monitoring and EMIS

Module A2: Data collection and quality control Contents 1. Purpose and expected learning outcomes..................................................................................... 1 Getting Started ............................................................................................................................ 1 Learning objectives ...................................................................................................................... 1 2. The Need for Data by Level .......................................................................................................... 3 3. General Introduction of Data Collection........................................................................................ 5 3.1 What is Data Collection? ........................................................................................................ 5 3.2 Sources of data---Where we can get the data?........................................................................ 7 3.3 Process of Data Collection-How to conduct data collection in general? ................................. 10 4. School census ............................................................................................................................ 17 4.1 Why do we need school census? – Purpose and role of school census ................................... 17 4.2 Contents of school census .................................................................................................... 19 4.3 What to do during the process of school census? - The role of key stakeholders .................... 42 5. Data Collection for “reaching the unreached” in EFA ................................................................... 47 6. Data quality control ................................................................................................................... 49 6.1 Purpose of data quality control ............................................................................................ 49 6.2 Sources of problems in data quality ..................................................................................... 49 6.3 Data quality control during data collection ........................................................................... 51 6.4 Data quality control during data entry and processing .......................................................... 52 6.5 Data quality control during data analysis and interpretation................................................. 52 6.6 The role of stakeholders in data quality control for school census ......................................... 53 7. Quiz ........................................................................................................................................... 59 8. Further studies .......................................................................................................................... 63

Training Module A2

Module A2: Data collection and quality control 1. Purpose and expected learning outcomes Getting started My country has committed to achieve the EFA goals by the year 2015. The Ministry of Education periodically reports to the international community about progress made. To do so, relevant data and information must be systematically collected on how children are attending, or not attending, schools across the country. The Ministry of Education uses such data to derive EFA indicators for comparing achievements and identifying gaps so that more actions can be taken to reach the unreached and to improve learning outcomes in schools. Provincial, district and local education officers can play a key role in assessing the size and where-about of pockets of out-of-school children in order to find ways to get them to attend school and learn. In helping the Ministry of Education to collect reliable data from the schools, they directly benefit from first-hand information about the latest EFA situation and issues in their areas, so that appropriate measures can be rapidly planned and implemented to effectively achieve EFA. The schools are a key source of data on EFA. Through school records management and frequent interactions with the local community (see Module A1), the schools hold the most up-to-date and detailed information on what is happening to education in the local areas. By systematically reporting reliable EFA data to the district, provincial and central education administration, they not only contribute to EFA monitoring for the country as a whole, but can also become major local centres of EFA actions to bring out-of-school children to school and to provide quality teaching/learning. Based on the school records management system described in Module A1, this module will focus on how to implement good-quality data collection through school census. Learning objectives The main purpose of this module is:



to help education officers at all levels (from school to district to province to central level) to understand:



the close relationship between school records and data collection through the annual school census the key roles and responsibilities of school managers as well as district and local education officers in the process of data collection and transmission by means of annual school census how to organize and conduct a school census basic knowledge and knowhow in handling reporting to school census data collection how to improve data quality control during school censuses

   

A2-1

Training Module A2

The content of this training module specially focuses on how to upgrade, for purposes of EFA monitoring, the practices of data collection by means of annual school census organized by the central or provincial education administration. As the data come from the schools, it also describes the principles and tips that can be applied by school managers, district and provincial education officers to fully contribute to school census data collection at their respective levels.

A2-2

Training Module A2

2. The Need for Data by Level of Education Administration Before going into specific aspects of data collection, it is important to first understand for what purposes do we conduct a school census? As Diagram 1 below shows, education officers at different levels of the education system have different needs and use for data: ď&#x201A;ˇ

Education officers at central national level need data from all the schools in order to make policies, plans and strategies regarding the education system as a whole.

ď&#x201A;ˇ

Education officers at provincial level utilize the data collected from the districts and schools to improve the monitoring, coordination and management of education within their province.

ď&#x201A;ˇ

At the district and school level, school managers and district education officers have to frequently use more detailed data recorded in school to handle daily school operations, transactions and ensuring quality delivery within the local school network.

It goes without saying that data are needed all the time for policy-making, planning, management, monitoring and evaluation at all levels of the education system.

Diagram 1. Need for Data by Level of Education Administration

The main objective of this module is to help the readers to understand that although different levels of the education administration have different use of data, certain common core data are needed at all levels to ensure consistency in education planning and management across levels. Besides making sure that such core data are systematically recorded in all schools (see Module A1), school managers and education officers at district, provincial and central levels have well-defined roles and responsibilities in the process of school census data collection. Emphasis will be given in this module to the acquisition by all of them of practical knowhow in ensuring good quality data collection during annual school censuses.

A2-3

Training Module A2

Activity 1: With reference to Diagram 1, please review your functions and the type(s) of data you need in education, and answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4.

What type(s) of data do you need in your functions? Please give examples. How do you go about getting the data you need? Have you ever heard of data collection by annual school census? What was your experience with school census? What kinds of difficulties have you experienced in responding to school censuses?

A2-4

Training Module A2

3. General Introduction to Data Collection 3.1 What is Data Collection? 1 Data collection is a term used to describe a process of gathering or obtaining specific information regarding a phenomenon or an activity. The data collected can be kept in records or databases, analyzed and used in monitoring and evaluation. The quality of the data collection directly influences subsequent data processing, data analysis and decision-making. In the education sector, the overall goal of data collection through school censuses is to obtain relevant, reliable and comparable data and information regarding the education system as a whole so as to support sound policy- and decision-making at all levels of the education administration down to the school level. Five key maxims can be followed in such data collection:     

Relevance: the collected data should be relevant to the topic to be analyzed and studied Simplicity: the collected data are simple in concept and easy to measure Accuracy: the collected data accurately describe the phenomenon, activity, topic or issue Clarity: the collected data are clear, unambiguous and easy to interpret and understand Practicability: the collected data can be easily accessed and reliably used

In other words, to achieve good quality data collection in order to support assessment and accountability of the education system, one can follow the 5-right principles2 below: 1. Get the right data---To collect data which are relevant to the specific topic or issue. For example: In order to better understand gender disparity in school, one must collect data on students separately for boys and girls. 2. Get the data right--- To collect data with precise definition and appropriate method of measurement. For example: Data on new entrants in Grade 1 must not include those who actually attended another school, dropped out then enrolled in this school for the first time. 3. Get the data right away --- To get the most current and timely data For example: To organize school censuses as soon as enrolment and attendance in schools stabilized after the start of the school year. 1

Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) Working Group on Education Statistics: Data collection for education statistics and management: national experiences. 1997. (see http://www.adeanet.org/adeaPortal/publications/en_pubs_wges.jsp) 2

Glynn D. Ligon: A Technology Framework to Support Accountability and Assessment How States Can Evaluate Their Status for No Child Left Behind. U.S. Department of Education Secretary’s No Child Left Behind Leadership Summit. (See http://www.espsolutionsgroup.com/espweb/assets/files/NCLB_State_Readiness_ESPSolutionsGroup.pdf)

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Training Module A2

4. Get the data the right way --- To get data through a rigorous process which can guarantee data quality and ensure consistency. For example: Clear instructions and data standards are given and explained; people involved are trained in data collection.

5. Get the right data management --- To collect reliable data which is guaranteed by good quality control conducted by related stakeholders. For example: Involving all the stakeholders at different levels to check and ensure that the collected data are reliable and complete before they are processed, analyzed and used.

Past experiences in national school censuses showed that there has been a tendency for education administrators to want to collect more and more detailed data, but without making full use of them. One must resist such temptation by keeping in mind the trade-off in data collection that: ‘The more data you want to collect; the less data you will get.’ due to the negative effects of increased reporting burden on the schools. Always respect the motto: ‘Do not collect data that will not be used.’

Activity 2: Reflect on data collection activities in which you participated, and answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3.

How did each of these data collection activities fulfill the key principles of relevance, simplicity, accuracy, clarity and practicability? To what extent were the 5-right principles above applied? What were the difficulties in applying all these principles?

A2-6

Training Module A2

3.2

Sources of data---From where can we get education data? 1,3

In order to collect information for education planning and management, it is necessary to understand from where such information can be collected. There can be mainly five sources of education data as shown below in Diagram 2. Local education system The local education system is the main source of education data. It includes not only the formal educational institutions such as primary, secondary and other schools, but also non-formal educational centres and programmes. School records constitute the basis and original source of data in the local education system. They are also the main source of data for the annual school census. Household information The second major source of data is the households which can provide basic information regarding household social-economic-cultural background and demographic characteristics of school-age children, youth and adults in the households. These data are crucial for the analysis of factors affecting access and retention in education. (See Training Modules B1-B5) Diagram 2. Sources of Education Data

UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and The Pacific (1991), Micro-Level Educational Planning and Management Handbook. pp. 39-48. Bangkok.

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Training Module A2

Individuals The individuals are people who are directly and/or indirectly involved in educational activities, such as students, teachers, principals, parents, local community leaders, etc. Detailed information on individual students and teachers can be considered as the most micro-level of education information. Individual persons can provide information not only about their participation in the local educational system, but also information which can enable a better understanding of the environment and realities within the local area. More importantly, based on information gathered from the individuals, reasons for children excluded from the education system, irregular class attendance, dropout from school, impact of education, etc. can be examined in further details (see also Module A4). Local administration The local government administration and other relevant local bodies may keep and continuously update detailed information on the local area and population, available public institutions, facilities and programmes, infrastructure, employment, social welfare and especially the disadvantaged population groups. These are information which can have direct and indirect impacts on actions to ‘reach the unreached’ under EFA and equitable access to quality education. Other sources 4,5 There are other data sources which can provide additional information about education-related aspects of the local community. For example:  Health centers and health workers - about family health status; epidemics; hygiene and nutrition; disabilities; etc.  Police stations - about juvenile delinquency; crime; security; etc.  Religious centers - about disadvantaged local population groups; social events; etc.  Local business entrepreneurs - about employment situation and need for educated manpower; etc.  The media (printed/electronic) - on community events; social activities; etc.  NGOs and social workers - about local development issues and disadvantaged population  Community neighborhood bodies - about children not attending school and factors; etc.

Although this module focuses on the first data source: the schools, the readers are advised to keep at the back of their mind that data from the other sources will be needed in order to more effectively monitor education and in particular EFA. More details are given in Module A3. 4

UNESCO Bangkok Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All Unit: Developing Management Information Systems for Community Learning Centres: a Guidebook. P.19. (see http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001835/183534e.pdf) 5

UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Monitoring and Evaluation of Literacy and Continuing Education Programs (Practitioners’ Manual). p.44. Bangkok.

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Training Module A2

Case example: NGO in Cambodia - "NGO Education Partnership (NEP)" NEP is a membership organization that coordinates dialogue and cooperation among key stakeholders to improve the quality and accessibility of education in Cambodia. NEP is committed to developing dialogue between government and civil society on education issues, undertaking and disseminating research on key issues, and helping education NGOs to increase their effectiveness. NEP organizes monthly information sharing meetings and workshops, facilitates enrolment campaigns, releases various research reports on education, participates in education policy reform discussions, etc. NGOs can be a significant data source to link up local people and government.

Information and data from monthly meetings, workshops, etc.

Local People

Information and data from monthly dialogue, reports, etc.

NGOs

Government

(Source: NGO Education Partnership http://www.nepcambodia.org/index.php)

Activity 3: Please review the 5 sources of data above in relation to the reality in your country/ province/district/local area, and answer the following questions: 1. What kinds of data can be collected from the local education system? For what purpose(s)? Please give examples. 2. What kinds of data can be collected from local households? For what purpose(s)? Please give examples. 3. What kinds of data can be collected from local individuals? For what purpose(s)? Please give examples. 4. What kinds of data can be collected from the local administration? For what purpose(s)? Please give examples. 5. What are the other source from which can be collected data related to education? For what purpose(s)? Please give examples.

A2-9

Training Module A2

3.3

Process of Data Collection - How to conduct data collection?6,7,8,9

Data can be gathered from different sources using different approaches and methods. In essence, the process of data collection must be systematic and based on well-defined procedures that are appropriate within the national context. The most frequently used approach within the education system is questionnaire-based school census. In this part, a concise introduction will be made to the process of school census data collection by means of questionnaire. Diagram 3. The Process of Data Collection

According to Diagram 3 above, the process of school census data collection can be divided into seven stages:

UNESCO (1996) Data Collection and Analysis improving the information base for literacy programs Basic Manual. p.16. Paris. 7

UNESCO (2001) Educational management information systems Module 2A School Census Methodological and Technical Tools: Questionnaires and Data Collection. Bangkok. 8

UNESCO (1991), Mirco-Level Educational Planning and Management Handbook. pp.44-45. Bangkok: UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and The Pacific 9

UNESCO (1983) Training Seminars on Education Statistics, Basic Background Material Book 3 (Statistics of Education in Developing Countries) pp.49-66. Paris.

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Training Module A2

Stage 1: Identification of information needs A thorough and clear identification of information needs must precede any data collection. As can be seen in Section 2 and Diagram 1, education stakeholders at different levels of the education system have different roles, responsibilities and functions, and hence have different needs for information. It is necessary to gather from all of them, clear ideas about what information they really want and for what purpose they need the information so that common core information can be identified. Stage 2: Translation of information needs into data categories After identifying the information needs, the second stage is to sort out the common core information needs, prioritize them, and then translate them into specific data types and categories (See Section 4.2 below). These data types and categories can be taken as the main content of the school census questionnaire. More detailed data items such as the number of students by age and grade can then be defined and explained in practical terms for data collection. Most important of all, the data categories should be respondent-friendly, which means they should be easy-to-understand and easy-to-respond-to by the respondents. Stage 3: Design, testing of forms/questionnaires and revision After deciding on the data types and categories, the next step is to organize them into questions and tables in designing the school census questionnaire. Designing the school census questionnaire Choosing an instrument A data collection instrument is a tool or device for monitoring or measuring something. It can be used to measure status, progress, shortcomings, performance, achievement, attitudes, or other particular attributes of the objects to be analyzed which in this case are the schools, students, teachers, and teaching/learning activities. Most school censuses use questionnaires as the data collection instrument. Interviews, observations, group discussions can also be used to collect supplementary qualitative data. Design of the questionnaire In designing the questionnaire, specific questions related to each data type and category should be listed. There are some practical tips which should be kept in mind, as follows: Tips:  The questionnaire should be respondent-friendly, which means that it is clear and easy for the respondents and which motivates them to complete it from the beginning to the end.  The questions are written in simple, clear language.  The questionnaire should not be too long, and the questions should be in logical order.  It will greatly help the respondents if at the beginning of each question there is a concise explanation of the terms used, of the questions and how to fill them.  There are always enough space and possibilities for the respondent to answer each question. Sometimes, open-ended questions like ‘Others. Please specify:…..’ can enable the respondents to provide additional information which is not included in the choices provided.

A2-11

Training Module A2

Concise instruction and explanation At the beginning of the questionnaire, it is recommended to give a concise general instruction and explanation to guide the respondents to correctly understand and complete the entire questionnaire. Additional explanations and instructions may be attached to certain questions or tables which either contain more technical terms or are a little complicated to answer or fill. Sometimes, parts of the questionnaire may change from year to year. It will be necessary to indicate and explain the changes. Pre-Test and Feedback a. Pre-Test It is very important to try out the questionnaire with a sample of the targeted respondents before distributing them to all respondents. The purpose of this is to see how the questions are understood, interpreted and answered in the real situation. More importantly, this step can help designers to collect more information to fine-tune the questions as well as the answer choices which are most familiar with the majority of respondents. At this stage of pre-test, many of the questions in the questionnaire can be shown as open-ended questions so as to collect various possible responses from the respondents for setting up close-ended questions and choices. In addition, one should may sure that the characteristics of the sample involved in the pre-test must be similar to those of the final target respondents. The pretest results can then be used by the designers to finalize the questionnaire for full-scale data collection. b. Feedback and finalization of the questionnaire Feedback from the questionnaire pre-test should be taken seriously and be fully analyzed and used in finalizing the questionnaire. The feedback information can help the designer to further fine-tune the questions, choices, instruction and explanations in the questionnaire in order to improve its clarity and practicability for successfully collecting a maximum amount of accurate data. Such feedback information from the sample pre-test respondents can decisively help to ensure that the school census questionnaire is designed to be used efficiently and effectively in collecting relevant, comprehensive and reliable school data. Stage 4: Actual data collection After finalization, the questionnaire can be distributed to all respondents. This is when actual data collection begins. Compared to the first three stages in which educational officers at the central Ministry of Education and provincial levels have more responsibilities, educational officers at the district and local level especially the school managers are now the main actors at this stage of actual school census data collection. Such data collection at the school and district levels involves more direct interactive processes. For example, educational officers at the district or local levels can play a key role in closely following up to support school managers in correctly completing the school census questionnaire, and in ensuring that the results are reported to higher levels on time. Such interactive processes can on the one hand strength the ties between the district education officers and the school managers, on the other hand they can help the education officers at all levels to gather first-hand data in order to form a clear picture of the concerns and needs of the schools. Regarding the data collection process, several points deserve attention:

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Date of distribution and collection of the questionnaire School census data collection is to be launched at a moment when data are available and are most representative of the situation in all schools in the country. The timing can influence the quality of the data collected. Annual school censuses often start in the beginning of the school year at a date when enrolment data has stabilized. It will be useful for the Ministry of Education to closely consult education officers at each level to come to a consensus regarding the appropriate date. This date will also determine subsequent deadline for the return of questionnaires, which must realistically take into consideration the difficulties for schools in the remote areas to return the completed questionnaire on time. School Registry and list of respondents In order to make sure the questionnaires have been sent to all relevant respondents, the School Registry with information on the schools and school managers must be updated through prior communications with district and local education offices and/or direct contact with the schools by telephone or other means. The School Registry must be as up-to-date and as comprehensive as possible to serve as a master check list for use in distributing the school census questionnaire and to check the responses in order to ensure full responses as well as to verify and further update the School Registry. The district education officers can also be call upon to help to update the School Registry on a regular basis. Distribution of the questionnaire to the respondents When the date of launching the annual school census is fixed, the questionnaires can be distributed by mail or through the administrative channel to the schools, based on the updated master check list of relevant respondent schools and/or school managers. In many countries, the questionnaires are printed centrally and distributed in a cascading manner from the Ministry of Education to the educational offices at lower levels. The district education offices are often in charge of forwarding the questionnaire to all the relevant schools within the district (see Diagram 4 on the next page). Some national Ministries of Education decentralized to the provincial education offices the responsibilities to print and distribute school census questionnaires. In some other countries, the distribution and return of the questionnaire is implemented either completely or partially through USB stick, CD-ROM or e-mail for schools which have access to email account, or through direct online reporting to the web site of the Ministry of Education.

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Diagram 4. Flows of Questionnaire Distribution and Collection

Completion of the questionnaire School managers are responsible for completing the school census questionnaire. It is recommended that they first read the general instructions and explanations before starting the completion process. In filling out the questionnaire, they must make sure that all the questions are accurately and clearly answered in accordance with the completion instructions. If some of the questions cannot be answered or if some of the data reported are partial, appropriate footnotes and explanations must be given. At this stage, frequent communications between school personnel and education officers at distinct and local levels are crucial to ensure that any problems and issues are addressed, and all parts of the questionnaire are completed properly. Collection In some countries, the completed questionnaires are collected by the district education officers, and then sent to the provincial level for further transmission to the central level. Often, a copy of the completed questionnaire is kept at the education office at each level. In some other countries, the school directly sends back the completed questionnaire to the Ministry of Education, and provides a separate copy to respectively the district and provincial education offices. With recent spread of information and computer technology, some countries have begun using emails and the internet for conducting school censuses, by either directly emailing the electronic questionnaire file to and back from the school, or for the school manager to log on to the MOE web site in order to fill out the questionnaire online.

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Stage 5: Follow-up reminders It is important for the district education officers to maintain close contact with all the school managers in the district so as to ensure that all schools submit their questionnaires on time. The district education officer is also responsible for reminding the schools in the district about the deadline for returning the completed questionnaire, by actively tracking the reporting status of each school and assist them if they need help. With computerized school databases, the MOE can automatically track the reporting status of each school, and inform district education officers and school inspector to follow-up reminding and assisting the schools which have not returned the questionnaire on time. Stage 6: Data verification and rectification This is the process of cross-checking the completeness and accuracy of the data reported in the questionnaires returned by the schools. This stage is particularly important for controlling the quality of data in the completed questionnaires (see more details in Section 6 below). It is not uncommon for the schools to make errors or omissions when completing the questionnaire. Some of the errors can be detected directly by the school managers and corrected at the school level. Some other errors and omissions can be identified by the district education officer and inspectors, or when comparing the data with those from other schools in the district. In such instances, immediate contact can be made with the school managers to rectify these errors. When the school data reached the Ministry of Education, other errors and omissions can be identified during data entry into the databases, preliminary data processing and data analysis. The procedure to follow is for the MOE to inform the relevant district education office to take action in contacting the school so as to correct or complete the data. Educational officers at the district and local levels are expected to play a key role and responsibility in such data quality assurance procedures. As can be seen in more details in Section 6, there can be three main types of data problems: Missing data: There remain questions which have not been answered, or data cells in tables which have not been filled but without any footnote nor explanation. Errors: There can be obvious and not-so-obvious errors in the data. For example: The total is not equal to the sum of the parts; or the number of girl students is greater than the total number of students of both sexes; or the total area of all classrooms is bigger than the reported total area of the school. Inconsistencies: Data in the same category are different in different tables. For example: The number of female student in Grade 2 in the table on enrollment is 300, whilst the same number in another table is 289. Some of the ways to prevent or handle these data problems are presented in Section 6.

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Stage 7: Processing and storage After data verification and rectification, the answers to questions and the data in the tables can be coded or entered directly for computerized processing. For countries or provinces which have many schools, it is recommended to enter, store and process the data on computers. The EMIS database must be designed to capture, process and store each and every piece of data requested in the school census questionnaire, to check data quality, to calculate the indicators, and to present the data and indicators in tabulations and graphs. In case of missing or erroneous data which cannot be completed nor corrected right away, it will be necessary to back-up the stored data for future corrections and updating. For countries or provinces which do not have computer facilities to process and store the data, it will be necessary to have professional staff to properly keep and manage these data in paper files. Activity 4: Please compare the processes, stages and tips with your own experience and responsibilities, and answer the following questions. For school managers and personnel: 1. What are your roles and responsibilities regarding the stages of data collection above? 2. What kind of difficulties have you ever encountered when completing the school census questionnaire at your school? 3. How did you solve these problems when completing and returning the questionnaire? 4. What caused the missing data or errors when the completing the questionnaire at school level? How to minimize such problems? For district education officers: 1. As officers at district level, what are your responsibilities regarding the stages of data collection above during a national-wide school census by questionnaire? 2. What kind of difficulties have you encountered when trying to ensure that all the schools in your district complete and return the school census questionnaire on time? 3. What do you think are the most important things to keep in mind during the seven stages of data collection? Why? For central, provincial and regional education officers: 1. What are your responsibilities in a national-wide school census by questionnaire? 2. Based on your experiences, what kinds of difficulties can be encountered when conducting a school census? How to solve them? Please give examples. 3. What do you think are the most important things to keep in mind during the seven stages of data collection? Why? 4. If you were to organize a school census, how would you go about it?

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School census 10

School census using questionnaire is the most common method for the Ministry of Education to collect data from schools. It forms the backbone of monitoring and data collection within the education system in practically all countries. Despite well-defined procedures (see Section 3.3 above), many school managers these days continue to face difficulties in filling out school census questionnaires and in reporting to higher levels. This section aims at helping education administrators at all levels to better understand the purpose of school census and their respective roles and responsibilities. It also shows school managers (and district education officers) the importance of good school records management, and how best to handle reporting to school census questionnaire utilizing data and information from the school records (see Module A1: School Records Management). 4.1

Why do we need school census? - Purpose and role of school census

With networks of schools spreading far and wide across the country territory, and thousands if not millions of students and teachers, the education system has to be closely monitored, regulated and supported not only by the government but also by all the concerned stakeholders plus the general public so as to ensure that it delivers quality education for all. The annual school census is an extensive way to collect data and information from all schools regarding what is happening in education in the country. In relation to Diagram 1 in Section 2, school censuses are organized efforts to collect relevant, reliable and comparable data from all the schools so that the resulting information and indicators can be used as the basis for informed decision-making at each level of the education administration. At the same time, school censuses can also provide useful feedback information for school managers and teachers to compare and improve school management. In addition, through wide dissemination of salient information drawn from school censuses, all the stakeholders such as national and local governments, community leaders, parents and the general public can better understand what is happening in education, what are the latest issues, where are the gaps, and what kind of support is needed from them (see also Module A3 on Education indicators and data analysis, Module A4 on the Use of information in monitoring, planning and management, and Module A5 on Data flow and information dissemination). School censuses are conducted in most countries within one month of the beginning of the school year when enrolment figures stabilized, to collect data on school condition and facilities, enrolment, teachers, textbooks, budget, etc. Some countries conduct a second school census at the end of the school year to gather complementary data on for example the number of dropouts and in-transfers, school income received and expenditure incurred, students and teachers performance, etc. Operations of the EMIS database should be synchronized with school censuses so as to speedily and efficiently process the collected data in producing the education management information and indicators. 10

UNESCO (1983) Training Seminars on Education Statistics, Basic Background Material Book 3 (Statistics of Education in Developing Countries). pp.49-66.

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Activity 5: Please review and discuss with various stakeholders at your level about the purpose and role of school census, and answer the following questions if possible with examples. For school managers and personnel: 1. In what way do you think school census is important? Why? 2. What kind of difficulties have you encountered when responding to school census? What caused these difficulties? Please explain and give examples in detail. 3. According to you, in what way can these difficulties be solved? 4. What kind of feedback information from school census can be most useful to school managers? For education officers at district and local level: 1. In what way do you think school census is important? Why? 2. What kind of difficulties have the schools in your area encountered in responding to school census? What caused these difficulties? Please explain and give examples. 3. In what way can you help to solve these difficulties? 4. What kind of feedback information from school census can be most useful to you at the district and local education office? For education officers at central and provincial level 1. In what way do you think school census is important? Why? 2. To your knowledge, what kind of difficulties have the schools in your country/province encountered in responding to school census? What caused these difficulties? Please explain and give examples. 3. In what way can you help to solve these difficulties? 4. What kind of information derived from school census can be most useful to you at the central/provincial level?

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4.2

Contents of school census 11,12

Components of a school census questionnaire Most countries use questionnaire or forms as the main data collection instrument during school censuses. It is designed to directly and efficiently collect reliable data from schools. In principle the range of data requested in the questionnaire correspond to priority information needs among key stakeholders including national, provincial and local administrators, school managers, community leaders, businesses and parents. The aim is to produce information for all these stakeholders to effectively support policies, planning and management of education (See Section 2 and Diagram 1). School census questionnaire must therefore cover many key aspects of schools (see Section 3 in Module A1). As there can be diversified information needs from different stakeholders, the choice of the types of data to be collected during a school census must be determined with utmost care taking into account the: a)

importance of the decisions to be supported by the data;

feasibility of collecting such data reliably from schools; and

capacities to make good use of the collected data.

In many countries in the past, school census questionnaires were bulky with pages after pages of blank forms to be filled by the school. The sheer size and complexity of the data collection instrument made it difficult for the school manager to assemble enough reliable data to complete it. Nonetheless, large amounts of data were collected but of doubtful quality. But the collected data ended up not having been fully utilized by the Ministry of Education as the basis for policy- and decision-making. Learning from these lessons and applying the criteria (a) to (c) above, the size of the school census questionnaire matters in terms of the amount of data requested and the degree of details and data disaggregation require.. Considering the delicate trade-off between asking for more data and the capacity of school managers to respond, the new approach is not to over-load the questionnaire but rather try to keep the questions, data queries and data details to the essential minimum. Nevertheless, many useful education indicators and information can still be generated by very compact school census questionnaires (see example school census questionnaire in pp. 35-38 of this module). In principle, a national school census questionnaire should include only data that inform common issues and concerns in education across the entire country. If needed, additional optional questions or a separate survey may be addressed to schools in certain regions or catering to special population groups in order to collect data relating to their specific characteristics and concerns. For example, additional 11

UNESCO (2001) Intensive Training course on Educational management information systems. Module 2A: School Census Methodological and Technical Tools: Questionnaires and Data Collection, Bangkok. 12

Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) Working Group on Education Statistics: Data collection for education statistics and management: national experiences. 1997. P.14. (see http://www.adeanet.org/adeaPortal/publications/en_pubs_wges.jsp)

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questions or surveys to collect information on the languages spoken by students at home in areas with ethnic minorities can help to better assess the potentials for more effective learning in the mothertongue and the preservation of linguistic plurality. The degree of information details and data disaggregation also matters. For example, if there remain gender biases in education, the school census questionnaire will have to collect more detailed genderdisaggregated data on both male and female students and teachers so as to better inform policies and measures to be taken to reduce gender disparities. As will be seen later in this part, the kind of information to be collected on school infrastructure and facilities regarding especially specific type of facilities, materials and conditions can be technically detailed and complex, often requiring professional judgement based on specific technical standards and norms. Separate technical evaluation and reports may be needed, whereas the annual school census questionnaire can only limit itself to collecting more general summary data. Based on the above, careful considerations must be made about what data and what details should, and could, be reliably gathered during a school census when designing the questionnaire. Always try to strike a balance between collecting more key aggregate data, or more detailed disaggregated information. Keep in mind the need to make the questionnaire compact, easy-to-understand, easy-tocomplete, and capable of collecting a maximum of relevant and reliable data. In essence, a school census questionnaire can include for example the following key components:

     



Basic instructions and explanation of terms School background information School buildings/furniture/facilities/teaching-learning materials School income and expenditure for previous budget year Teachers Classes and students Additional observations

An example of a concise annual school census questionnaire is given on pp. 35-3813 to demonstrate how all the above key components can be incorporated and presented in practice. The following parts explain each of these components. Basic instructions and explanation of terms Experiences since the past have shown that often for lack of clear instructions and understanding, many school managers faced difficulties in responding to the school census questionnaire, thus resulting in errors, omissions, unreliable data if not outright failure to return the questionnaire. An effective way to solve these problems is to include in all school census questionnaires, concise explanations of the terms

The example of Annual School Census Questionnaire in this section provides the basic structure and design of such a data collection instrument. It can be adapted for use by officers of the Ministry of Education in updating their own questionnaire based on country conditions and needs.

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and clear instructions on how to complete each part of the questionnaire. Such instructions can for example:      

clarify the purpose of the school census explain the definition and meaning of terms present ways and steps to fill in the data list out the special symbols to be used tell about the do’s and dont’s when completing the questionnaire inform about changes from previous school censuses.

In particular, more detailed instructions may be given for questions which tend to pose problems of misunderstanding and errors in completion. Such instructions and explanations can be presented either at the beginning of the questionnaire, as a separate annex to the questionnaire, and/or be embedded among the questions. The example annual school census questionnaire on pp. 35-38 shows ways to embed them next to the questions and tables. This has the advantage that the respondent can immediately find and consult the explanations and instructions when responding to each question or filling in each table. Nonetheless it also has the disadvantage of crowding the questionnaire, plus the fact that some explanations and instructions can be too lengthy to fit in among the questions and tables. A sensible combination of concise explanations in the questionnaire plus a separate instruction/guide may be adopted when designing the school census questionnaire. For school census questionnaires either as an electronic file or on the internet, hyperlinks may be embedded so that by clicking on the hyperlinked word or symbol, the corresponding explanation and instructions can be shown on-screen.

TIPS: Symbols used in questionnaire: As shown in the beginning of the example school census questionnaire on pp. 35-38, general instructions may be needed to explain the purpose of the school census and to indicate the standard special symbols to be used when responding to the questions. Such instructions may also specify other require-ments for completing the questionnaire and the deadline for return. Location of instruction box: Put the instruction boxes beside or below each question, or at least on the same page with the questions so that it is easy for the respondents to find and follow. Moreover, the explanation in the instruction box should be concise, clear and easyto-understand.

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Activity 6: Please gather and review the national school census questionnaire used in recent years, compare with the example questionnaire on pp. 35-38, and answer the following questions. For school managers and personnel: 1. Do you understand the questions and the terms used in the national school census questionnaire? 2. Are there adequate explanations of these terms and instructions about how to respond to each question? If yes, are they easy to find, easy to understand and easy to follow? 3. What kind of additional explanations and instructions do you think will be needed in the national school census questionnaire? For district, provincial and central education officers: 1. Are there adequate explanations of terms and instructions about how to respond to each question in the national school census questionnaire? 2. If yes, are they easy to find, easy to understand and easy to follow? 3. What kind of additional explanations and instructions do you think will be needed in the national school census questionnaire?

School background information As shown in the example annual school census questionnaire on pp. 35-38, the first page of school census collects the latest background information regarding the school, such as the school name, address, telephone number, school type, names of school head and chairperson of the school management board, etc. These can be used to update the background information in the master list of schools that has been stored in the records or database at the Ministry of Education and provincial and district education administration. School name and address: These include the full name and address of the school for use to identify the school and its location. TIPS: ď&#x201A;ˇ Enough space: Provide enough space for the respondents to fill in the full school name and address. Minimize the use of abbreviations and acronyms to the extent possible. ď&#x201A;ˇ Some countries assign each school a school code. Such codes may either be pre-filled in the school census questionnaire by the Ministry of Education or the district education office, or be directly filled by the school manager when completing the questionnaire. The school manager should ensure that such school code is given correctly.

Telephone No./ Fax No./E-mail: It is important that the schools, no matter how remotely they are located, can be rapidly contacted. With increasing spread of information and communication technologies, it is expected that more and more schools will have access to telephone, fax and/or email. Each annual school census must collect and update such information and contacts.

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School type: The schools may be classified according to school ownership by distinguishing between government and non-government schools of which the latter may in turn be sub-classified as community schools, religious schools and private schools with or without government aid (see Question 7 in the example questionnaire on p. 35). Other specific types of school may be identified and included as appropriate in different countries. It is essential that all the identified types of schools are mutually exclusive so that there is no ambiguity of a school belonging to more than one type when responding to this question. The exact meaning of each type of school must be clearly explained in the instructions whilst allowing space for ‘Others. Please specify:’ TIPS:  Make sure that the school types are mutually exclusive with no overlap. Clear and concise definition of each school type must be given in the instruction box.  Open-ended question: Allow for exceptions to the given types by reserving space for ‘Others. Please specify:’ The specifications given can either help to better classify the school, or be re-grouped to form other major type(s) of school.

Information on head of school and chairperson of school management board: Besides identifying the key persons responsible for school management, such information can help to direct all further queries and corrections regarding the data reported by this school. Taking into consideration possible personnel changes, this information should be updated whenever any such change occurs, or at least during each annual school census. Other school background information: Other background information concerning the school may be requested in this section of the questionnaire for different purposes. For example, data on the year of establishment of the school may help to assess the age of school facilities. Data on the level of education offered at the school can be used in many ways including rationalizing the school network and strengthening complementarily among them (see Example 1 below). Example 1. General School Information

TIPS:  The choices given must be based on the national structure of levels of education.  As some schools may offer more than one level of education, one can either provide the possibility of multiple choices of levels, or list out all possible combinations of levels of education and allow only one choice as in Example 1 above.

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Activity 7: Compare the school background information and instructions in existing national school census questionnaires with the example on p.35, and answer the following questions. For school managers and personnel: 1. What kind of school background information are requested in the school census questionnaire used in your country? 2. What kind of difficulties have you encountered when filling in this part of school background information? 3. When compared with the discussion above and the example of school background information on p. 35, what do you think can be improved in your national school census questionnaire? For district, provincial and central education officers: 1. What kinds of school background information are requested in the school census questionnaire used in your country? For what purpose are they included? 2. What are the strengthens and weakness of these questions especially with regard to the difficulties for school managers to respond to them and data quality? Please give examples. 3. When compared with the discussion above and the example of school background information on p. 35, what do you think can be improved in this part of the school census questionnaire?

School building/furniture/facilities/teaching/learning materials Depending on the overall state of school facilities in the country and the need for up-to-date information, the national school census questionnaire may include questions about various kinds of school facilities with different degrees of information details (see Section 3.7 and 3.8 as well as Exampel 7, 8 and 9 in Module A1). For countries concerned with the management of existing school facilities, they may choose to ask more detailed questions about many types of facilities and materials, and into more details about their material of construction, age, conditions and frequency of use. As mentioned in the early part of Section 4.2, separate technical evaluation and reports can also be organized to examine the detailed state and conditions of school facilities, so as not to overload the school census questionnaire and over-burden the respondents,. As can be seen in Part 2 of the example annual school census questionnaire on pp. 35-38, the general approach adopted is to collect data on the following key school facilities:       

Buildings and fixed structures Furniture Equipment Teaching Material Learning Material School Area Electricity/Water supply/Latrine, etc.

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Data collection on school facilities aims at: a) b) c)

finding out if the quantities of these facilities are sufficient to serve the school activities and students and teachers in the schools; assessing the quality and condition of these facilities so as to inform decisions to repair, replace or increase/decrease them; and collecting data on their frequency of use in order to ensure that these facilities are not lying idle, and that the investments in acquiring and maintaining them have not been wasted.

These data should in principle be periodically updated in detailed school records (see Examples 7, 8 and 9 in Module A1), and be directly used in responding to this part of the school census questionnaire.

TIPS:  Most countries have defined national standards and norms for school infrastructure and facilities. Explain clearly and apply these standards and norms in this part of the questionnaire.  Avoid including too detailed and technical questions and data queries. Collect only summary data in the school census to identify schools with specific problems which can then be visited by technical persons to conduct more in-depth inspection and evaluation.

As can be seen in the example annual school census questionnaire on pp. 35-38, there can be different types of buildings in each school. In some cases, the respondents are asked to provide either general information on the buildings, or more specifically on the number of classrooms. In other cases they may be asked to provide detailed information on each classroom for example its year of construction, construction materials used, conditions, etc. Moreover, optional questions about whether the classroom is used for double shifts or multi-grade classes can be considered for inclusion. Decisions to include these additional details should be based on the national context and information needs. Clear explanations of the criteria and norms for determining the conditions of school facilities must be provided to distinguish between “In Good condition”, “To repair” and “To replace”. Avoid leaving the judgement to be based on non-technical subjectivity of the person completing the questionnaire. Apply national norms if available. If no such norms have been defined, more operational examples of definition of these conditions can be found in the instruction box in Part 2 of the example school census questionnaire on p. 35. These can be adapted for use.

Textbooks Textbooks are a key tool for learning, and the main concern regarding learning materials revolves around their availability, adequacy and frequency of use of textbooks. Countries which have policies to provide free textbooks may collect data on learning materials using a table like the one shown in Example 2 below. This table tracks the quantity of textbooks received from the Ministry of Education and those distributed to students in each grade. It can help to manage the supply and distribution of textbooks from the government, and indirectly gauge their availability and adequacy.

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Example 2. Textbooks received and distributed Title of Textbook

New Textbooks Received from MoEYS Total Textbooks Distributed to Students G1 G2 G3 G4 G5 G6 Total G1 G2 G3 G4 G5 G6 Total

A key factor to achieve quality Education for All is to ensure that all students possess a full set of textbooks as a minimum requirement. A different way to monitor this aspect is to collect data on the number of students who do not have the required textbooks by grade and by subject, as shown in Question 14 of the example of school census questionnaire on p. 36. For each school, such data can be summarized from class records of students without textbook by subject (see Section 3.3 and Example 3 in Module A1). The numbers given in response to the school census questionnaire can then be compared among schools and aggregated to target and plan actions to provide textbooks to those students who do not have them (see Section 8.1 and Example 28 in Module A4). Regular updating the class records of students without textbooks will help to identify the target students and to monitor progress in ensuring that all the students have the required textbooks. School environment and the availability of basic facilities such as clean water supply, separate latrine for boy and girls, electricity, school feeding, etc. are among the key school factors influencing achievement of Education for All goals (see Section 7.1 and Example 22 in Module A4). Questions 15 and 16 in the example school census questionnaire on p. 36 present possible ways to collect such data.

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Activity 8: For school managers and personnel: Try to fill out the tables in Part 2 of the example school census questionnaire on pp. 35-36 regarding school building/furniture/facilities/ equipment/teaching/learning materials using recent data available in your school, and answer the following questions. 1. 2. 3.

How relevant and useful do you think are these data on school building/furniture/ equipment/facilities/teaching/learning materials? For what reason(s) ? What kind of difficulties have you encountered in filling out the tables in Part 2 of the example annual school census questionnaire ? Why ? According to you, how best should data on school building/furniture/equipment/ facilities teaching/learning materials be collected ? Please give examples.

For central, provincial and district education officers: Please compare your recent national school census questionnaires with the example tables given on pp.35-36, and answer the following questions. 1. 2. 3.

How useful and important is it to collect data on school building/furniture/equipment/ facilities/teaching/learning materials? Why ? How do the practices and data categories in your country differ from Part 2 of the example school census questionnaire on pp. 35-36 ? To your knowledge, what kind of difficulties can be encountered in collecting reliable data on school building/furniture/equipment/facilities/ teaching/learning materials ? Why ? According to you, how best should data on school building/furniture/equipment/ facilities/ teaching/learning materials be collected ? Please give examples.

School income and expenditure Monitoring the adequacy of financial resources and the management of income and expenditure in schools are key tasks in monitoring achievement of Education for All goals. Besides data on education budget and finance at various levels of the education administration, it is important to directly collect summary data on income and expenditure from the schools in order to identify funding gaps and problems in financial management at school level so that measures can be taken to fill the gaps and address the problems. This will also encourage the schools to maintain detailed and accurate ledgers and accounts as part of standard school management practices(see Section 3.9 and Example 10 in Module A1). With increasing decentralization and autonomy given to schools to generate and manage financial resources, such data collection can help to better understand the degree of diversification of school finance and accompanying issues and gaps (see also Section 5.3.2 and Example 7 in Module A3). This will also strengthen accountability and improve overall financial management within the education system.

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TIPS:  School managers should ensure that detailed and accurate financial ledgers and accounts are regularly maintained and updated at school for school management purposes as well as for responding to school censuses. 

Financial summaries (see example 10 in Module A1) can be prepared periodically for direct use in school management and reporting to stakeholders and higher levels.

Part 3 of the example school census questionnaire on p. 36 shows how data can be collected on both school income and expenditure during an annual school census. School censuses which take place at the beginning of the school year collect financial data referring to the previous school year or financial year. Data on school income are to be categorized by sources of income; expenditure data are to be categorized by types of expenditure. The categories to be applied can either follow standard national practices, and/or include the categories suggested in Questions 17 and 18 of the example school census questionnaire on p. 36. In order to minimize data errors due to misunderstanding of the financial categories and terms, clear and concise definitions and examples must be attached to the questionnaire, if possible accompanied by telephone hotline and internet FAQ assistance. With ongoing decentralization in some countries, the sources of funding of school have diversified from the previous solely central government budget to include provincial, district and local government funding and from non-governmental organizations, local business and communities, private bodies, donations, not to mention from school fees and income derived from products and services provided by the school. Such data on school income categorized by sources of fund can be especially meaningful and useful in gauging the effect of decentralization and at the same time helping to guide schools in mobilizing and managing financial support. To minimize double-counting and errors, clear definitions and instructions will need to be issued to guide in categorizing school income data by source. In most countries, school expenditure is normally classified into capital and current (or recurrent) expenditures. Under each of these two main categories, the detailed sub-cateogries may differ from country to country. As a priority, it is recommended to: (a) apply the national nomenclature of expenditure; and (b) as much as possible collect more detailed data for finer sub-categories of expenditure in schools. For purposes of monitoring Education for All, the example of school census questionnaire on p. 36 includes additional sub-categories like transportation, scholarshiops, school feeding program and boarding which can be important expenditure items to ‘reach the unreached’. In some schools, these data may either be insignificant or even not recorded since such expenditures do not apply. However, considering the importance of such expenditure for schools in remote areas or areas with disadvantaged population, these categories should be included, with the former schools reporting either zero expenditure or ‘not applicable’ for such expenditures in the school census questionnaire. Based on available data, education officers at different levels can take more effective actions to ‘reach the unreached’ and reliably monitor their impact.

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Activity 9: For school managers and personnel: Please try to fill in the tables in Part 3 on school finance in the example school census questionnaire on p.36 using data available at your school, and answer the following questions. 1. 2. 3.

Why is it important to collect data on income and expenditure from schools? What kind of difficulties have you encountered in filling out Part 3 of the example annual school census questionnaire on p.36? What are the reasons for these difficulties? Which sub-categories of school income and expenditure do not apply to your school? Which other sub-categories should be added?

For central education officers: Please compare Part 3 of the example school census questionnaire on p.36 and the discussions above with the practices of monitoring school finance in your country/province/district, and answer the following questions. 1. 2. 3.

How important is it to collect data on income and expenditure from schools? What kind of difficulties have you encountered in collecting data on income and expenditure from schools? What are the reasons for these difficulties? Which sub-categories of school income and expenditure do not apply to the schools in your country/province/district? Which other sub-categories should be added?

Teachers Teachers form the backbone and main driving force in education. EFA cannot be achieved without their devotion, commitment and contributions. Monitoring the teaching force and school personnel are therefore essential components of school censuses. There are mainly two approaches to collect data on teachers during a school census: A.

Summary statistical tables; or

Summary list of teachers

They are separately discussed below.

Summary statistical tables: One or more statistical tables (see Examples 3 and 4 on the next page) can be designed and used to collect head-counts of teachers according to various characteristics such as gender, age-group, qualification, employment status, years of service, subject specialization, language and special skills, and other individual information contained in teacher records as in Example 5 in Module A1.

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Example 3. Number of teachers by gender and age-group Age-groups Below 20 21-30

Gender Male Female TOTAL

31-40

41-50

51-60

Over 60

TOTAL

Example 4. Number of teachers by highest academic qualification and teacher-training

Teachertraining

Highest academic qualification Primary Lower Upper secondary secondary

Technicalvocational

PostUniversity secondary degree or TOTAL non-degree above

Trained Un-trained TOTAL The advantage of these summary tables is that the reported head-count data can be immediately used in calculating various indicators such as male-female teacher ratios and percentages of un-trained or under-qualified teachers (see Section 6.1 and Example 20 in Module A4), etc. The main disadvantage relates to the difficulties of including too many such tables in the school census questionnaire in order to cover most of the teachers characteristics, and for the school managers to do the head-counts according to different cross-tabulations. A solution to these difficulties may be for the schools to set up mechanisms to periodically use the latest teacher records at the school to produce in advance such summary statistical tables, so that the data will be ready for directly copying into the corresponding school census tables without delay. TIPS: ď&#x201A;ˇ Marital status can be a key data when it comes to deployment of teachers to remote or disadvantaged areas, and for determining related salary scales and incentives. ď&#x201A;ˇ Nationality, ethnicity and language capabilities of teachers can help to understand the geographical distribution of teachers of different nationalities and ethnicities in the country and of those who can teach in specific languages.

Summary list of teachers: This can be a single list in tabular form in the school census questionnaire which ask for information on the name of each and every teacher in the school together with his/her essential individual characteristics such as gender, year of birth, highest academic qualification, preservice and in-service teacher-training received, employment status, years of service, main responsibilities, subject and grade taught, average teaching hours per week, etc. (see Part 4 of the example school census questionnaire on p. 37). Not all the characteristics in the teacher records at school can be, and have to be, included in such a summary list. The choice of the type of teacher characteristics to be included in the list can be determined based on the expected use and reliability of the corresponding data.

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The information on individual teachers reported by different schools in the summary list can firstly be used in updating the teacher databases at the Ministry of Education, and if applicable also the teacher records kept at the provincial and district education offices. The updated teacher database at the MOE, if computerized, can then generate a wide range of summary tables showing the number of teachers according to different characteristics including the tables in Examples 2 and 3 above, and these for each school, district, province and the country as a whole. This latter approach has the additional advantage of minimizing the workload of school managers in having to make the head-counts of teachers in their schools according to different cross-tabulations of characteristics, and the risk of making errors in counting, summing up and filling in the statistical tables. But schools which do not regularly maintain and update their teacher records will face difficulties in filling out this summary list. It may be said that a further advantage of this approach is precisely to help schools to maintain and update complete teacher records. TIPS: ď&#x201A;ˇ Clearly define the categories for each kind of teacher characteristics, if possible right next to or under the summary list (see Part 4 of the example school census on p. 37) ď&#x201A;ˇ In some schools, certain teachers may teach more than one grade and subject. The questionnaire should flexibly allow the respondent to indicate more than one grade and/or subject. ď&#x201A;ˇ Teachers who can teach in languages other than the national language can be specially identified in the teacher records, reported in response to the school census, and counted in summary tables by language and location for future deployment. Activity 10: Gather samples of national school census questionnaires used in recent years, review the part on teachers as compare to Part 4 of the example school census questionnaire on p.37, and answer the following questions. For school managers and personnel: 1. How different is Part 4 of the example school census questionnaire as compared to the corresponding part on teachers in your national school census questionnaire? Why? 2. What are the pros and cons of the two approaches from your perspective? 3. Do you maintain and update teacher records at your school? If yes, how would you go about using the detailed teacher records data in responding to the school census? 4. If no, how do you propose to obtain reliable data on teachers for use in responding to the school census? For district, provincial and central education officers: 1. What use do you intend to make of data on teachers collected during a school census? 2. How would you go about collecting reliable data on teachers? Will you use the summary table approach or the summary list approach described above? Why? 3. Does your Ministry or office maintain a teacher database? How do you regularly update this teacher database? How can the annual school census help to update your teacher database? 4. What kind of summary tables can be generated from your teacher database? Or directly from the data reported through the annual school census?

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Classes and Students Students are the main constituents, clients as well as products/beneficiaries of education. Students learn in groups or classes at school. Part 5 of the example school census questionnaire collects data on classes and students. In this part, attention should be paid to the following two basic principles.

TIPS:  Data accuracy: In this part, the respondent will have to fill in many numbers in the tables. Special care must be taken to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the data provided.  Data completeness: Always fill in every cell in the tables. Where appropriate, use the special symbols given in the beginning of the questionnaire in certain cells to indicate the nature of the data provided, e.g. ‘*’ for ‘Estimate’; ‘…’ for ‘Data not available’; ‘-‘ for ‘Magnitude nil/negligible’; etc. For partial data, please add a footnote to explain the limitations.

Number of classes by grade Question 20 in the example school census questionnaire on p. 38 presents a simple table for collecting data on the number of classes in a school. Here, a class is defined as a group of students normally of the same grade who study together in a classroom. The purpose of this question is to identify how many classes or groups of students are there in each grade in a school. The data can be extracted from general school records or class records at school. When dividing the total number of classes by the total number of students, one can obtain the average class-size, or student-class ratio, and this ratio can also be calculated and compared among the classes and grades. However, there can be many different situations with regard to classes. For example, some schools may have classes divided into morning and afternoon shifts. Some others may operate multi-grade classes. How to go about collecting accurate data on these practices? Example 4 below presents an interesting attempt to collect data on the number of classrooms with multiple classes. It may be noted that the data categories in the table are about multi-grade type rooms and not multi-class type room.

Example 5. Number of classrooms with multiple classes

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Enrollment by grade, gender and age, and repeaters and in-transfers The statistical table collecting data on enrolment by grade, gender and age is a key table in school census (see Question 21 in the example school census questionnaire on p. 38). It shows the pattern of participation in education of children of different gender and age, and can be used to detect disparities for planning remedial actions. The data needed for completing this table can be found in student records (see Section 3.1 and Example 1 in Module A1) or student summary lists by class (see Section 7.1 and Example 12 in Module A1). The textbox below explains in a step-by-step manner how school managers and personnel can use the student records and/or the student summary lists for classes in school to produce this summary table in a factual and accurate manner.

TIPS ON PRODUCING THE AGE-GRADE-GENDER TABLE:

1a 1b

Tally sheet Grade: 3 M F

Student records

2 Summary lists of students by class

<6 6 7 8 9 10 >10

Enrolment by age, grade and gender G1 G2 G3 G…

Age <6 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 >12

M 0 1 2 7 6 3 1 0 0

F 0 0 1 10 6 0 0 0 0

Step 1a: Gather together all the student records and regroup them by class and grade. Step 1b: Copy the student names, age and gender into summary lists of student by class (see Section 7 and Example 12 in Module A1). Step 1c: Gather together all the summary lists of students by class/grade if these exist. Step 2: Read through either the individual student records or the summary lists of students by class in order to tally the number of students in each grade by age and gender. Step 3: After having completed the tally sheets for all the grades and students in the school, count the tallies and fill the corresponding numbers into each cell of the age-grade-gender enrolment table, grade-by-grade, and then add the horizontal and vertical totals.  Age : Based on national practice, a date can be indicated as the cut-off date for determining the age of students (see the instruction below Question 21 on p.38).  Grade : Apply the age-grade correspondence as defined in the national education structure.  Reference date : Instructions should be given to require that data on enrolment in all schools refer to a common date or a limited range of a few days.

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o Repeaters, in-transfer students and drop-outs by grade Data on repeaters and in-transfer students by grade are needed for assessing the internal efficiency and indirectly the quality of the school (see also Annex 3 of Module A3). Data on the number of repeaters and in-transfers can be tallied from student records (see Section 3.1 and Example 1 in Module A1) or student summary lists by class (see Section 7.1 and Example 12 in Module A1), and collected using the same table on enrolment by grade, gender and age described above and shown in Question 21 of the example school census questionnaire on p.38. Data on drop-outs by grade can be recorded throughout the school year, and reported separately either at the end of the school year or to the school census questionnaire of the following year. o New entrants to Grade 1 Data on new entrants to Grade 1 are essential for gauging the level of admission, and hence first-time access, to primary education. Data on the number of new entrants into Grade 1 can be tallied in the same way as above from either the student records (see Section 3.1 and Example 1 in Module A1) or student summary lists by class for Grade 1 (see Section 7.1 and Example 12 in Module A1), and directly copied into the statistical table in Question 22 of the example school census questionnaire on p.38. The data collected can be used to identify disparities in access between boys and girls, and the degree of over-aged or under-aged first-time entrance into primary education (see Example 14 in Module A1).

TIPS:  Be careful not to confuse ‘New entrants to Grade 1’ with ‘Enrollment in Grade 1’ as the latter may include repeaters.  To the extent possible, separate ‘New entrants to Grade 1’ from ‘In-transfers into Grade 1’ as far as the school can identify the latter based on information on previous schooling.

Data on the number of new entrants to Grade 1 of primary education who have previous experience in early childhood care and/or education (ECCE) can be useful additional data for monitoring EFA. These can be added to the bottom of the table in Question 22 of the example school census questionnaire on p.38.

o Examination results for the previous school year Tests and examinations can be organized in school to assess progress and problems in learning among students. For schools which organize examinations at the end of each school year and/or each school term, data on the number of students who successfully passed the examination(s) during the previous school year can be extracted from school records (see Example 1 and 4 in Module A1) and used in filling the table in Question 23 of the example school census questionnaire on p.38. Students who passed the examination(s) in the final grade may be considered as students who have successfully completed primary education. Such data can be used to calculate the indicator of completion rate (see Module A3).

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o Duration of travel of students from home to school Experiences in many countries have shown that the distance between students’ home and school, or the duration of travel to and from school, can affect access and participation in education especially student’s regularity in class attendance and learning. Question 24 in the example school census questionnaire presents a table to collect data on the number of students according to the duration of travel from home to school, by grade and gender. Such data can be extracted from student records (see Section 3.1 and Example 1 in Module A1). Example 6 below shows a similar table based on the distance between home and school14. Either type of tables can be used and their common purpose is to identify students who either live too far from school or take long hours to reach school (see Section 5.2 and Example 17 in Module A4). The collected data can help to guide better planning of the location of schools as well as measures to adjust class schedules, organize transportation services, and/or establish boarding facilities for students from far-out areas.

Example 6. Number of students in terms of distance from home to school by grade and gender Time needed

Grade 1 M F

Grade 2 M F

Grade 3 M F

Grade 4 M F

Grade 5 M F

Grade 6 M F

Total all grades F Total

<1 km

1–2 km 2-3 km 3-4 km > 4 km Total

o Other options Depending on specific contexts and information needs, other optional questions or tables can be considered for adding to the school census questionnaire, provided that they apply to all schools and are absolutely essential. Otherwise, special surveys can be organized separately to ask these optional questions to specific schools. Example 7 on the next page from the school census questionnaire in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic requests data on the number of new entrants to Grade 1 by gender and language group. These data can in principle be extracted from the student records (see Section 3.1 and Example 1 in Module A1). They inform the Ministry of Education about the size and location of students from different language groups, so that appropriate actions can be taken to: (a) teach them in the mother tongue; (b) adjust curricula for language teaching; and (c) recruit, train and deploy teachers with different language capabilities.

Distance can be measured either by physical distance or time of travel from home to school, depending on each country/region’s context.

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Example 7. Number of new entrants to Grade 1 by gender and language group

Besides data on languages, data on various disabilities among students can inform decisions and actions to increase their access, participation and attendance as well as to improve their learning (see Example 8 below). Such data can be extracted from the student records (see Section 3.1 and Example 1 in Module A1).

Example 8. Number of students by types of disability, by grade and gender Type of disability

Grade 1 M F

Grade 2 M F

Grade 3 M F

Grade 4 M F

Grade 5 M F

Grade 6 M F

Total all grades F Tot al

Visual Hearing Talking Walking Mental Other Total

Other important aspects to be considered in ‘reaching the unreached’ under EFA may involve collecting data on various impediments to children attending school such as students from poor households, socio-cultural restrictions, health and nutritional problems, etc. provided such data have been reliably recorded in school records. Additional table(s) can be included in the school census questionnaire for these purposes. 

Additional information

It will be useful to reserve some space at the end of the school census questionnaire for the respondents to fill in additional information, as shown in Part 6 of the example school census questionnaire on p. 38. This part can enable the respondents to provide key additional information and data about the school which have not been covered in the questions and table from Parts 1 to 5. The respondent can also use this space to specify possible limitations and problems in the data reported. Any other relevant information that the respondent may wish to add can be included here as well.

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Activity 11: For school managers and personnel: Please try to fill in the tables in Part 5 on classes and students in the example school census questionnaire on p.38, and answer the following questions. 1. Are the data in your school records adequate for responding to Questions 20 to 24? What data are missing in your school records? Will it be useful to record them as well? If yes, how? If no, why? 2. How relevant and useful is the table on the number of classes by grade in your school? What kind of difficulties have you encountered in filling it? Why? 3. How relevant and useful are the four tables in Questions 21 to 24 on students? What kind of difficulties have you encountered in filling them? Why? 4. What other tables and/or data on class and students should be added to the school census questionnaire? Why? How would you go about adding them? 5. What kind of problems and issues should be addressed regarding the collection of data on classes and students during school censuses? For district, provincial and central education officers: Please compare the questions and tables on classes and students in your national school census questionnaire with those in Part 5 of the example school census questionnaire on p.38, and answer the following questions. 1. What are the differences between the two questionnaires with regard to classes and students? What are their respective pros and cons in terms of relevance and usefulness of the data? How would you go about further improving your national school census questionnaire taking lessons from this comparison? 2. What are the differences between the two questionnaires with regard to definitions and classification of the categories? How would you go about harmonizing them? Are there fundamental differences that cannot be harmonized? Why? 3. How would you define and categorize ‘students with special needs’? How would you go about collecting data on ‘students with special needs’?

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Symbols

Coding

Precise explanation of specific categories

Openended question s

Clear, easy-to-understand explanation or definition

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To highlight special question

Non-governmental sources should be given consideration.

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Some special categories should be given consideration depending on the context of the region or country.

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For use in summarizing statistical information on teachers and school staff

For use in teacher management

To provide for teachers who teach more than one grade or more than one subject

To explain “Main” and “Secondary” responsibilities

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Duration

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Roles and responsibilities during the process of school census ?15

4.3

As introduced in Sections 3.3, 4.1 and 4.2, the process of school census data collection involves various stakeholders from the central Ministry of Education to the school level. At different stages in the school census process, these stakeholders at different levels have different roles and responsibilities. These are summarized in Table 1 and explained in more practical terms below. Table 1. Roles and responsibilities during school census Stages Main responsible bodies

Design the questionnaire Ministry of Education (MOE)

Pre-test

Revision

Distribution

MOE with selected schools

MOE

MOE with the help of PEOs and DEOs

Filling the questionnaire School managers

Return School manager to MOE

Processing MOE

1) Designing the questionnaire The Ministry of Education is responsible for organizing the school census, starting by designing the questionnaire. This stage is usually preceded by reviews of past, present and future needs for information from the schools and identification of data to be collected as a matter of priority. When it comes to designing the questionnaire, the following tips and check list can be given attention: TIPS:  Guidelines, explanatory notes and definitions---Give clear definitions and explanations of the terms, categories and data standards in the questionnaire; always provide practical instructions on how to fill in each part of the questionnaire(see the example annual school census questionnaire on pp.35-38)  Clear and simple---Use simple and straight-forward language in the questionnaire that can be easily understood.  Special explanation for changes from one year to another year---If any, explain the changes in the questionnaire from the previous year  Convenient size---Keep the size of the questionnaire small and handy. Its format and the number of pages should be convenient for transmission and completion. To the extent possible, it should not be more than 4 pages.  Design for computerized data processing---For countries which operate computerized education management information system (EMIS), the questions and tables in the questionnaire can be designed in such a way as to facilitate completion for computerized data entry and processing. For example, answers to close-ended questions can be pre-coded, and data reported in the tables can be directly and efficiently entered into computer storage.  Suitable timing for collecting available data---Distribution of the questionnaire and collection of the returns should be fixed at suitable dates when the required data are available and can be easily gathered and filled in the questionnaire. For example, school censuses can take place about one month after the start of the school year, when enrolment data stabilized. 15

UNESCO (1983) Training Seminars on Education Statistics, Basic Background Material Book 3 (Statistics of Education in Developing Countries). pp.49-66

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To reach the unreached in Education for All, the design of questionnaires should take into account different social-economic-cultural-linguistic contexts especially among the disadvantaged population groups of different ethnicities, languages, religions, cultural traditions, attitudes towards schooling, children with various disabilities, etc.

Check list for good design of school census questionnaires o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Is the size of the questionnaire easy to handle and complete ? Is the layout clear and unambiguous ? Is the text easy to read? Is the number of questions kept to a minimum? Is the sequence of the questions logical? Is there enough space for filling in the answers? Does it feature well organized boxes, tables and headings? Do the tables have a limited number of sub-categories? Are tables printed on one page, rather than being split across two pages? Are the closed-ended questions pre-coded? Are the closed-ended responses mutually exclusive? Are open-ended questions kept to a minimum? Is it a self-contained questionnaire (with all the essential explanations and instructions given in the questionnaire)? Are the instructions clear and easy-to-follow?

2) Pre-testing The Ministry of Education is responsible for planning and organizing pre-tests of the school census questionnaire, with the collaboration of selected district education officers who cover a representative sample of school managers who can contribute to the pre-test. Pre-testing is an important step before the finalization and distribution of the questionnaires to collect data from all the schools. The purpose of this step is to check whether the questions and tables are clear, easy to understand and easy to complete without ambiguities and errors. Pre-testing of the questionnaire also aims at gathering more answers to open-ended questions so as to identify more familiar multiple choices for respondents to choose from when it comes to actual school census data collection. TIPS on basic steps in pre-testing school census questionnaire:  Sampling: Select for pre-tests a sample of schools which are as representative as possible of the characteristics of all the schools.  Questionnaire: Make sure a sufficient number of copies of the draft questionnaire are produced for the pre-test.  Gather a maximum amount of feedback: Instruct all interviewers and field-test administrators to take maximum note of respondents’ remarks regarding the questionnaire design, question wording, table format, functionalities, instructions, etc.  Conducting pre-testing: Ensure full distribution of questionnaires to all selected respondents and maximum returns together with feedback comments and suggestions.  Debriefing the interviewers and checking the results: Gather and review all feedback comments from the respondents and interviewers in order to check all the results of the testing to eliminate errors and ambiguities and fill omissions.

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The pre-tests shall attempt to gather a maximum quantity of feedback comments and suggestions regarding the following points: Check list for Pre-testing o Was the questionnaire too long? Or too short? Why? o Are the questions clear and meaningful to the respondents? o Are the respondents able to easily understand the questions and instructions? o Can the respondents easily use the response format for each question/table? o Did the interviewers feel that they were receiving valid information? o Was the order of the question logical and did the interview flow smoothly? o Did some parts of the questionnaire raise suspicion or create ambiguity? o Did some parts of the questionnaire seem repetitive or boring? o Were the respondents able to follow all the instructions? o Is each question and table producing the kind of information needed? o What roles will each data item reported play in the final analysis?

3) Revision Based on the results and feedback gathered during the pre-tests, the Ministry of Education will revise the questionnaire and the instructions. Such revisions will focus on streamlining, finetuning and finalizing the content and design of the questionnaire including its structure, layout, question phrasing, table format, definitions, explanations, instructions, etc. New information needs gathered through the pre-tests will also be taken into consideration in designing and including additional questions, tables and matching instructions in finalizing the questionnaire. 4) Distribution of the questionnaire Distribution of the blank questionnaire to the schools can be done in different ways. In some countries, the Ministry of Education directly sends the questionnaire to the schools. In some other countries, the Ministry of Education sends boxes of questionnaire to the provincial education office which in turn further distributes them to the district education offices before these latter deliver the questionnaire to the final target: the schools. In countries where the provinces have a high degree of autonomy, the central Ministry of Education may provide only the finalized design of the school census questionnaire to the provincial education offices, and allow them to add questions and tables to collect data they need before they print and distribute the questionnaires to their schools. Here, the district and local education officers should keep in mind two important actions required for the distribution and return of the school census questionnaires. TIPS: ď&#x201A;ˇ To update the school list and carefully check and record the distributions so as to make sure that all the schools and their school managers received the questionnaire. ď&#x201A;ˇ To choose the most suitable time for distribution of the questionnaires within the timeline decided by the Ministry of Education, and for reminding and ensuring their timely completion and return.

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With the spread of information and communication technologies, more and more national ministries of education are collecting data electronically from schools. One way is for the Ministry of Education to directly send the electronic file of the school census questionnaire on CD-ROMs or as email attachment to the district education offices or schools which are equipped with computer and access to the internet. The district education offices or schools can either arrange for the questionnaire and instruction pages to be printed on paper for filling in by hand, or directly use a computer to answer the questions and fill the tables on-screen. Return of the completed questionnaire can be done either by mailing the paper pages, or electronically by emailing the completed file(s) as attachment. Once received by the Ministry of Education, the data in the electronic files can be directly transferred into the EMIS database. Yet another new approach to electronic school census data collection is for the Ministry of Education to put the questions and tables of the school census questionnaire onto the MOE website, so that school managers who have access to the internet and who are authorized by the MOE can call up the questions and tables on-screen and directly complete them on-line. When completing the school census questionnaire online, the school manager can click on hyperlinked keywords or symbols to call up and consult relevant explanations and instructions. 5) Filling/completing the questionnaire School managers are responsible for gathering and summarizing data from the school records in order to fill in the tables and complete the questionnaire. District or local education officers may be called upon to provide guidance and assistance if needed. They can also help to ensure that the school managers gather the right data and complete the questionnaire in the right way, plus returning the completed questionnaire on time (see the 5-right principles in Section 3.1). A few tips for school managers who are in charge of completing school census questionnaire: TIPS:  Carefully read all the instructions before starting to fill in the questionnaire.  Follow closely the instructions to complete the questionnaire fully and accurately.  Contact the district education officers as often as possible for assistance/guidance.  Before returning the completed questionnaire, check each page, each question and each table to ensure that they are properly filled in and that no data is missing.  Footnote on the bottom of the page or explain at the end of the questionnaire the reasons for non-response to certain questions or cells, or specific data limitations.  In practice, the school inspectors can join district and local education officers in carrying out the tasks of assisting school managers to correctly complete the school census questionnaire and return it on time. Through their knowledge of the state, strengths and weaknesses of the schools under their inspection, they can be very effective in these tasks. Appropriate training can therefore be extended to school inspectors regarding school censuses, and how they can not only assist the school managers but also get and use the latest data in school improvement.

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6) Return of the completed questionnaires There are mainly three steps for the district education officer together with the school inspectors to assist in ensuring that the schools report to the school census in a timely and proper manner: TIPS: ď&#x201A;ˇ Systematically keep track of schools which have already returned the completed school census questionnaires. ď&#x201A;ˇ Remind schools which have not yet returned the questionnaire of the deadline. ď&#x201A;ˇ Directly assist those schools which have difficulties completing and returning the questionnaire on time. If the practice is for the schools to send their completed questionnaires to the district education office, the district education officer should make preliminary checks of the questionnaires as and when they are received, to make sure that all the pages, questions and tables are properly completed, and that most of the answers and data seem to be logical and correct (see also Section 6 on data quality control for details). In case of discovery of data problems, it is the role of the district education officer to contact the corresponding school manager to clarify and correct any apparent data omissions or errors, before forwarding the completed and rectified questionnaires to higher levels of the education administration. At such point, it is recommended that the district education office keeps a copy of the corrected questionnaires from each school so as to update its records, also for further analysis and use in managing and supporting the network of schools in the district. When the questionnaires are delivered to the provincial level, the provincial education officer should first verify if all the schools within the province have replied, and which other schools have missed the deadline. Measures can be taken to contact either directly those schools, or the corresponding district education offices which cover them, to find out about the reasons for the non-response and possible solutions. As a second step in data quality control (see also Section 6 on data quality control for details), it is expected that provincial education officers will make sample checks for data omissions and errors among the returned questionnaires. Finally when the questionnaires reached the Ministry of Education, the questionnaire response rate will be monitored and actions will be taken to task the relevant provincial and district education officers to help the non-responding schools to complete and return the school census questionnaire without further delay. At the same time, data from those questionnaires which have been received will be entered into the central EMIS database for further quality control before data processing and analysis (see also Section 6 on data quality control for details). Activity 12: Please discuss and clarify with education officers from other levels of the education administration their respective roles and tasks during school census data collection, and answer the following questions. 1. What are the differences between the description in this section and the realities in your country/province/district with regard to the roles and tasks in school census data collection? 2. How would you go about rationalizing and improving these roles and tasks?

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5. Data Collection for “reaching the unreached” in EFA Who are the “unreached”? In basic education, the “unreached” is those children and youth of school-age who are not attending school. Some of them might have never attended in a school, whereas others might have attended school but dropped out. They constitute the priority target population of EFA. There can be many kinds of “unreached” school-age children and youth. They do not attend school for a variety of circumstances and reasons many of which depend on their social, economic, cultural, political characteristics, remoteness, disabilities and often also family awareness about education. Among Southeast Asian countries, the following groups of “unreached” have been identified.16

Unreached and underserved groups in Southeast Asia :  Learners from remote and rural communities  Ethno-linguistic minorities/indigenous groups  Girls and women, especially from rural, ethnic minorities  Under-performing boys, boys at risk of dropping out, male dropouts  Children from migrant families, refugees, stateless children  Learners with disabilities/special needs  Children from very poor families  Child laborers  Street children  Children affected/infected by HIV and AIDS  Children in difficult circumstances, etc.

What data do we need? Getting to know about the “unreached” will be a first step in “reaching the unreached”. Data and information are needed in response to the following questions:      

Who are the ’unreached’?: nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, social group/caste, poor, disability, other characteristics. Where are they?: location, distance between home and school, means of access to school, etc. How many are they?: population size, gender balance, age, etc. Their education situation: past enrollment, performance, drop-out, learning achievement, etc. Reasons for “unreached”: family issues, social issues, health issues, school issues, etc. Others: Previous experiences in attempting to reach them and the results and lesson learned.

A better understanding of the “unreached” population from answers to these questions will enable more adapted approaches and actions to be taken to “reach” them. 16

For details, please refer to the Meeting Report: Reaching the Unreached: Meeting of Southeast Asian Countries to Achieve the Education for All (EFA) Goals Together by 2015, 2-4 September 2008. Bangkok, Thailand

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How to collect data and information on the “unreached” ? Collecting reliably data to identify the “unreached” has been a difficult issue for the education administration in most countries. As school censuses essentially collect data on children who are attending school, data on out-of-school children and youth are mainly derived from population censuses, household survey and other extractions of information from routine administrative records. Such data usually can help to identify the where-about of the “unreached” and who they are in terms of gender and age, if not also their family, household or community characteristics. These are information details that cannot be included in school census without rendering it overly heavy. The education administration at each level including the schools can therefore make maximum use of population census and household survey data to identify some of the “unreached” children and youth. Where appropriate, more detailed information can be extracted from administrative records on specific characteristics of local areas and households in order to better understand the impediments to children attending school. As and when needed, special visits, interviews or surveys may then be conducted by district education officers and inspectors to collect additional data and information from local areas. Being located nearest to the “unreached” children in the local area, the school is perhaps best placed to know about these children through information gathered by the teachers and students based on their daily contacts within the local area and in their neighbourhood or community. For example, students who belong to specific ethnic, linguistic or cultural population groups may be asked to help to find out about other children of their group who are not attending school. Class teachers may also ask their students to do the same in their own neighbourhood, or during their daily travel between their home and the school. Following identification of local “unreached” children, school personnel or teachers may visit the family in order to better understand the circumstances and causes of non-attendance. The information collected can be included in school records and regularly updated, so that appropriate actions may be taken to try to bring these children to school. And the annual school census questionnaire may include an additional question to collect data on the number of out-of-school children by gender and age who are within walking distance from the school.

Activity 13: Please try to collect data and information on “unreached” out-of-school children from the sources mentioned above, and answer the following questions. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

In your country, who can be considered as the “unreached”? Please give examples. What kind of data should be collected regarding the “unreached”? Why? From your experience, which source(s) provide more reliable data on the “unreached”? What kind of difficulties have you encountered in collecting data on the “unreached”? For school managers, how do you propose to collect, record and report data on the “unreached”?

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Data quality control 17

A successful school census collects relevant, comprehensive and reliable data on all the schools. To do so, adoption of rigorous data collection methods and effective instruments must be accompanied by well-defined procedures and strict application of data quality norms and control practices. How best to control and ensure the quality of data must therefore be given special focus throughout the processes of data collection. This section gives a concise introduction to data quality control. 6.1

Purpose of data quality control

A crucial requirement in data collection is to ensure that the quality of the resulting data can be reliably used to correctly inform sound decision-making. In order to fulfill this requirement, data quality control has to be performed seriously at every stage of data collection from updating school records (see Section 6 in Module A1) to summarizing data in the records to filling out school census questionnaire, and during each stage of transmission of the completed questionnaire. Additional data quality control can be carried out when entering and processing the data in computer, and during data analysis, interpretation and use. 6.2

Sources of problems in data quality18,19,20,21

Various problems can affect data quality and influence further data analysis and decision-making. Five main sources of data quality problems can be identified as follows: ď&#x201A;ˇ

Poor school records - inexistent or incomplete school records, plus data errors in the school records (see Module A1), can make it difficult for the school manager to properly and reliably fill out the school census questionnaire. Many schools having such difficulties can affect the overall data quality of the entire school census and the usefulness of the resulting information. For example: If a school does not keep records of students without textbook by subject, it cannot report the number of such students nor of missing textbooks during the school census. The resulting national data will be incomplete and under-represent the real situation, thereby leading to wrong understanding and decisions regarding textbook production and distribution .

UNESCO (2001) Intensive Training course on Educational Management information systems, Module 2B School Census Methodological and Technical Tools: Data Building and Database Management, pp.8-10 ADED (1997) Introduction: Annual school census Data collection: national experiences, p.26 18 UNESCO (2001) Intensive Training course on Educational Management information systems, Module 2B School Census Methodological and Technical Tools: Data Building and Database Management, pp.8-10 19 UNESCO (1996) Data Collection and Analysis, improving the information base for literacy programmes Basic Manual. p.17 20 UNESCO (1983) Training Seminars on Education Statistics Basic Background Material Book 3 Statistics of Education in Developing Countries, pp.61-63 21 Cameron, L., (2005) Methodology for Evaluating Data Quality. Working Paper WP-07-02. Washington, DC: Education Policy and Data Center, (Academy for Educational Development).

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

Bad design of the school census questionnaire - inappropriate structure and presentation of the questions and tables, and missing or unclear explanations and instructions (see Sections 4.2 and 4.3), can lead to misunderstanding and errors in completing the school census questionnaire, if not also many omissions of data. For example: A complex statistical table that presents multiple layers of headings and sub-headings that try to collect data on the number of students, repeaters, in-transfers, drop-outs by gender and age all in one table will be very difficult if not impossible to complete.



Lack of understanding of data terms, concepts and categories - the respondents fill in the questionnaire without fully understanding the data concepts, terms and categories. For example: School managers forget to subtract the number of repeaters from Grade 1 enrolment when providing data on new entrants to Grade 1 for the first time.



Incorrect completion of questionnaire - school managers fill in incorrect data in some cells, or have not completed all the essential cells of the questionnaire. For example:  The number of female new entrants to Grade 1 was 343, but 34 was filled in the questionnaire. This will affect information on the gender balance in this school.  School managers did not fill all essential cells in the questionnaire using special symbols given in the beginning of the questionnaire (see example on p.35).  Wrong use of special symbols (see p 35).



Inadequate and careless checking of the completed questionnaire - the school managers, district education officers, inspectors and other related stakeholders did not thoroughly checked all essential aspects of the completed questionnaires. For example: Both the school managers and the district education officer only checked to see whether all the questions and cells have been filled, without more carefully checking about obvious data errors and inconsistencies.

Problems with data quality can be caused by heavy workload and unclear responsibilities among those who complete and verify the school census questionnaire. Badly designed questionnaire, inadequate understanding of the instructions, intentional or un-intentional miss-reporting, and a host of other factors can also affect data quality during school censuses. A better understanding of these factors will be crucial for appropriate measures to be taken to address these problems.

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6.3

Data quality control during data collection

Data quality control can be done: (a) before and during school census data collection; (b) during data entry and processing; and (c) when analyzing and interpreting the data. The following part introduces some general methods and tips for carrying out data quality control during the processes of data collection. 

School record management

Quality of data begins at its source. Mechanisms and norms can be defined and implemented in all schools to maintain and regularly update standard school records in a systematic and rigorous manner so as to ensure the availability of accurate and complete data in records kept at school (see Section 6 in Module A1), for use in responding to the annual school census questionnaire. 

Design, pre-test and revision of the school census questionnaire

When it comes to organizing the annual school census, remember to build in data quality control mechanisms when designing and revising the school census questionnaire and instructions. TIPS:  Carefully investigate the social-economic and culture aspects of the target provinces or districts which may affect school reporting and quality control practices. Make sure all these aspects are given due consideration when designing the questionnaire.  Design the school census questionnaire with clear structure, presentation, explanations and instruction in an unambiguous and easy-to-understand manner.  Thoroughly revise the questionnaire based on the feedback gathered during the pretest, before implementation on a national scale. 

Completion of questionnaire TIPS:  School managers must fully understand the school census questionnaire and instructions before filling it. Ask district education officers for help when needed.  School managers must carefully check and re-check the data for omissions and errors during and after completion of the questionnaire.  District education officers and school inspectors can conduct training for relevant school personnel, and maintain frequent communication with them to monitor progress in completing the school census questionnaire, and to offer help in tackling reporting problems.

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

Data verification and quality control TIPS:  Data quality control should be done as close to the source as possible so that it is easier for school managers and district education officers to trace data errors and omissions back to records and information at school.  School managers should check for data omissions, errors in totals, inconsistencies in and across tables, wrong use of special symbols, etc.(see next section for details)  District education officers and inspectors can systematically check for non-response and late response, apparent misunderstanding among school managers, data omissions and errors, etc. (see next section for details)  Education officers at the district and provincial levels can be provided training in checking and quality control of the school census returns, and on the procedure and practices to follow in improving data quality.

6.4

Data quality control during data entry and processing

Additional data quality control can take place during data entry and processing using computers. TIPS:  Automatic data verification mechanisms can be designed and incorporated into data entry systems using computers or online to indicate data omissions, errors and inconsistencies for example among row and column totals and across related tables.  After having completed data entry, key missing data and additional data errors can be highlighted by calculating derived statistics such as percentages, ratios and rates which may signal illogical errors, for example girls accounting for 150% of total enrollment, or student-teacher ratios of more than 1000. When school managers enter data online, built-in automatic data verification system can be designed to immediately signal any data omissions and errors on-screen, for corrections to be made. 6.5

Data quality control during data analysis and interpretation

The processes of deriving indicators and analyzing and interpreting the information and indicators extracted from the school census data can help to highlight and identify other data anomalies. TIPS:  Calculation of education indicators and comparing them among provinces, districts and schools can reveal unlikely or illogical results which can be traced back to data or calculation errors.  Further data errors and inconsistencies can be detected when trying to interpret the analytical results and to draw salient observations and conclusions.  Some other readers of the analytical results may be able to pick up data anomalies that were not obvious at the time of producing the analysis.

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When disseminating the information and indicators to the data users and stakeholders, be prepared to receive comments and queries questioning the quality of specific data. Standard procedures can be defined and implemented to refer back to the corresponding district education officer and school manager to correct the data errors and fill the data gaps. 6.6

The role of stakeholders in data quality control for school census

It can be said that a data collection process without serious data quality control is like cooking dishes without tasting them. Similar to the data collection process, stakeholders at different levels of the education administration can play specific roles in data quality control. These are described in more details below. 1.

At school

School as the source of school census data can be considered as the most important level in data quality control. At this level, attention may focus on two aspects: ď Ź

School records

As the main source of data for school census, school records must be created and updated in a systematic, exhaustive and accurate manner. Being kept at the school, school records can be subject to frequent review and updating of data, also as part of data quality control. In responding to the school census, school managers and personnel including the teachers have the role to ensure that the school records contain timely and reliable data on each and every student and teacher in the school, plus all the other data required in the school census questionnaire. Equally important is for the school managers to ensure consistency in the definitions, explanations and instructions between the school census questionnaire and school records (see Section 3 in Module A1 for details). Any omissions or errors will be refer to the school personnel who is responsible for gather and recording the data, for clarification and correction. ď Ź

Filling school census

Filling out the school census questionnaire is another process during which poor quality data may be introduced. This can happen in various ways including the following: o

Poor data quality can be the result of inconsistencies between the school record and the school census questionnaire. The school managers may have misunderstood the meaning of specific data categories in the school census questionnaire which are different in the school records. It is therefore necessary for the school managers to read carefully the explanations and instructions before filling in the questionnaire.

Mis-coding in the questionnaire can also cause poor data quality. It is necessary for school managers to fill in the data carefully based on the code list distributed by the Ministry of Education.

Lack of careful checking of the questionnaire for data omissions and errors before submitting the completed questionnaire to higher level. This is the last but most important step for school managers to control data quality.

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Check list for school managers to ensure data quality: o Check the school code o Check the name of the school, full address, telephone number, etc. o Check to ensure all pages and questions have been properly completed o Check the vertical, horizontal and grand totals in tables---consistency of the data o Check the totals between two related table to verify consistency o Check the balance between school income and expenditure o Check ‘data not available’ ---to see whether it is really not available or not based on school records; whether the reasons for ‘not available’ have been specified or not o Check the use of special symbols in the questionnaire—whether they are consistent with the instructions for the school census

Activity 14: For school managers, please compare the data quality control practices described above with the realities in your school, and answer the following questions. 1. What role do you play in your school regarding data quality control ? 2. How do you ensure the quality of data reported by your school to school censuses ? 3. What kind of difficulties have you encountered in the process of data quality control at school level? What caused these difficulties? 4. Referring to the check list above, what else do you need to check before submission of the completed questionnaire to higher level ?

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District Education Officer (DEO)

The District Education Officer is responsible for ensuring that all the schools in the district receive (or access online) the school census questionnaire and respond on time. When needed, they are expected to provide guidance and assistance to schools in properly completing the questionnaire. District education offices can be considered as the second most important level for data quality control, after the schools. District education officers are normally very familiar with the situation in the schools in the district. DEOs are well placed for carrying out initial checks of the completed questionnaires submitted by schools. Any data omissions, inconsistencies or errors identified at this level can still be rapidly clarified and corrected through direct and easy access to the schools. It is therefore possible for district education officers or school inspectors to directly follow-up by calling or visiting the school. In addition, good school record management is critically important for the quality of school census data. District education officers and school inspectors have the responsibilities to guide and help schools to better manage and update their school records. In checking the completed school census questionnaire, the district education officers may apply the methods below: TIPS:  Coverage check o Check the school list to ensure that all schools returned the completed questionnaire o Contact and remind the non-responding schools o Offer assistance to schools which have problem with the school census questionnaire  Data check o Are all the pages, questions and tables properly completed? Are the answers legible? Contact the school to complete any missing data. o Have the special symbols been properly used to explain data with limitations? o Do the vertical and horizontal totals correspond to the sum of the detailed data? o Are the same data consistent in different tables of the questionnaire? o Are there illogical data (e.g. the number of female students is bigger than the total of male+female students)? o Using other innovative data checks  Feedback on questionnaire design Provide useful feedback to the Ministry of Education on difficulties encountered during school census so as to further improve the design of the questionnaire, instructions and the organization of the school census. Activity 15: For district education officers, please compare the data quality control practices described above with the realities in your district, and answer the following questions. 1. What role do you play regarding data quality control during school censuses ? 2. What kind of difficulties have you encountered in the process of data quality control ? What caused these difficulties? 3. What do you think of the check list above? What else need to be checked and how best to check them ?

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3. Provincial Education Office (PEO) Data quality control accompanies the process of data collection and are repeated at every stage of the process so as to eliminate in a step-by-step manner the remaining data errors and gaps. Depending on the number of schools within the province and the handling capacity of the provincial education office, it may choose to perform the kind of data quality control described for district education office above either on all the schools in the province or on a representative sample of them. Another way will be for the provincial education office to sample check the data quality controlled results of the district education offices. TIPS: Sample check: The PEO may select at random about 10 percent of the questionnaires delivered by the district education offices to verify if data checks and corrections have been carried out properly at the district level, and what other data problems can be found. Any problem discovered in the data will be referred back to the relevant district education office and schools for clarification and correction. Moreover, the provincial education office has the responsibility of providing useful feedback information and suggestions to the Ministry of Education on the situation and issues in specific districts and schools with regard to school census data collection, in order to help to improve the organization of the next round of school census.

Activity 16: For provincial education officers: Please compare the data quality control practices described above with the realities in your province, and answer the following questions. 1. What kind of responsibility do you have in school census data quality control ? 2. How do the realities in your province compare to the practices described above ? 3. What kind of problems have you encountered in school census data quality control in your province ? What cause these difficulties? Please give examples. 4. How can the provincial education offices better contribute to data quality control in the future ?

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4. Ministry of Education (MOE) In the first place, the MOE can impact on data quality by designing, pre-testing and producing highquality school census questionnaire which collects key school data in an easy-to-understand and reliable way. As described in Sections 3.3, 4.2 and 4.3, the following tips can help the MOE to minimize data problems: TIPS:  Design of the questionnaire o Relevant objectives, contents and structure o Clear, attractive and efficient design o Thorough and easy-to-understand explanations and instructions  Pre-testing of the questionnaire o Gather maximum comments and suggestions from the field; seriously review them to identify errors, gaps, inefficiencies and operation problems  Revision of the questionnaire o Incorporate appropriate improvements in finalizing the questionnaire o Update the questionnaire periodically in accordance with changes in the education system and information needs  Access to the questionnaire o Make sure all the schools can access the questionnaire and instructions either in paper form or electronically (e.g. in electronic file or online) For national ministries of education which operate computerized EMIS, automotated data quality control mechanisms can be incorporated during : a) Data entry – by building into computerized data entry programmes, data checking routines which automatically signal missing data and errors in horizontal, vertical and grand totals; data consistency across tables; and data which exceed logic and pre-determined norms, etc. b) Data processing – data cleaning and calculating various percentages, rates, ratios, ranges and other statistics can help to identify anomalies in the data. c) Data analysis – observing and discovering irrationalities in the analytical processes and results which can be traced back to problems with the quality of data. d) Data use – encourage decision-makers and stakeholders to actively use the data and information produced, and to provide comments and queries regarding the quality of specific data. In addition, it is the role of the Ministry of Education to promote the systematic practice of school records management in all schools, which will decisively contribute to data quality in school census.

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Activity 17: For Ministry of Education officers, please compare the data quality control practices described above with the realities in your Ministry, and answer the following questions. 1. To what degree does your Ministry apply the tips above in designing, testing and revising the school census questionnaire ? Please give examples. 2. How does your Ministry carry out data quality control during data entry, processing and analysis ? Please describe. 3. What kind of problems are there with respect to school census data quality control in your country ? What cause these problems ? What can be done to solve these problems ? 4. How should the Ministry of Education improve data quality control in the future ?

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7. Quiz22 Q1.

The use of data in education system can be mainly divided into three levels, please fill the blanks in the diagram with the choices A to C for levels and D to F for purposes.

Level: A. District/School Level B. Provincial/Regional Level C. National Level Purpose: D. Management and Control E. Policy, Planning and Strategy F. Operations and Transactions

Q2.

Data quality control identifies the actions needed to correct faulty data collection practices: (Please tick one box) □ □ □ □

Q3.

but fails to address future occurrences but is unrelated to future occurrences in order to maximizes future occurrences in order to minimizes future occurrences Matching the process of data collection on the left hand with the steps listed on the right hand. (Please insert the letters A to G in appropriate boxes)

A. Actual data collection B. Processing and storage C. Data verification and rectification D. Translation of needs into data categories E. Design and testing of forms/questionnaires F. Identification of information needs G. Follow-up reminders

Statistics Canada (see http://www.statcan.gc.ca/edu/power-pouvoir/ch2/exer/5214909-eng.htm)

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Q4.

The following strategies enhance the design of questionnaire EXCEPT: (Please tick one box) □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Q5.

In designing questionnaire, specific questions related to each data type and category should be listed. Before distributing the questionnaire to target group, there must be a pre-test to try out the questionnaire. The questionnaire should be respondent-friendly, which means that it is clear and easy for the respondents and motivates them to complete it from beginning to the end. The questions are written in simple, clear language. The pre-test can be done by a small number of respondents selected randomly without any requirement. It will greatly help the respondents if at the beginning of each question there is a concise explanation of the questions and how to fill them. There should be open-ended question for the pre-test in order to collect more information which is not included in the choices for the respondents. The questionnaire should not be long, and the questions should be in logical order. The small number of respondents selected for the pre-test should have similar characteristics with the target group. There are always enough space and possibilities for the respondents to answer each questions. Which of the following is the main sources of educational data: (Please tick one box)

□ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ Q6.

Local administration Household survey School volunteer Police station Population census Local business entrepreneurs School records Local restaurants Local hospitals Ministry of Education Normally, school census includes the following components: (Please tick the inappropriate answers)

□ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

School building/furniture/facilities/teaching and learning materials Classes and students Social- economic Information of parents Teachers Students School income and expenditure for previous budget year Social- economic Information of community which school is located School background information Teacher’s salary Guideline and basic instruction

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Q7.

Among the following principles to observe when designing school census questionnaire, please tick the incorrect answers. □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Q8.

The questions in the questionnaire should be simple. To give clear definitions and explanations of the terms, categories and data standards in the questionnaire. There should explain the changes in the questionnaire from previous year if there are. There should be precise explanation of each question to help respondent to understand and answer. The questionnaire must keep small and handy size. In order to save time for respondents, it is better to include only close-ended questions. Distribution of the questionnaire and collection of the returns should be fixed at suitable dates. The questionnaire should not be too long and should be in logical order. To be exhaustive, all if not most questions should be open-ended. The questionnaire provides practical instructions on how to fill in each part of the questionnaire. Assume that the following question is one of the questions in the annual school census. Please select the given explanation of the errors in the following question: (Please tick one or more boxes) Type of school: ______________________ (a) Government school (b) Private School (c) Community School (d) Church School

□ □ □ □

Q9.

There is no explanation for each category. If there is no ‘Church School’ in the country, this choice should not present in the questionnaire. An open-ended choice like “others” should be given in order to help the respondent who can not find suitable choice to fill in the questionnaire. Since there may be other religions in the country, other religious school should be given consideration in the choice.

Please check this school record, find and indicate the number of errors: (Please tick one box) □ 1 error

□ 2 errors

□ 3 errors

□ 4 errors

□ 5 errors

Enrollment, repeaters and in-transfers by age, grade and sex

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Q10. □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

□

Regarding the completion of school census questionnaire, please tick the correct answer: District or local education officers are not responsible for completing the questionnaire. School managers can conduct training for relevant school personnel. It is important to maintain frequent communication with target schools to monitor their progress in completing the school census questionnaire. Before returning the completed questionnaire, what the school managers need to do is only to make sure no data is missing. School manager can offer help in tackling problems in responding to the school census. District education officers and school inspectors have to know the school census questionnaire. School managers only need to fill in the information which they have in their school records. School managers can ask district education officers for help when needed. Since school inspectors are familiar with the state, strengths and weaknesses of the schools under their inspection, it is recommended to involve them to assist school managers to complete school censuses. District education officers and school inspectors must carefully check the data for omissions and errors during and after completion of the questionnaire.

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8. Further studies 

UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and The Pacific: Monitoring and Evaluation of Literacy and Continuing Education Programs (Practitioners’ Manual), pp.30-31, 1999, Bangkok.



Glynn D. Ligon: A Technology Framework to Support Accountability and Assessment How States Can Evaluate Their Status for No Child Left Behind. U.S. Department of Education Secretary’s No Child Left Behind Leadership Summit. (see http://www.espsolutionsgroup.com/espweb/assets/files/NCLB_State_Readiness_ESPSolutionsGro up.pdf)



UNESCO (1983) Training Seminars on Education Statistics, Basic Background Material Book 3 (Statistics of Education in Developing Countries) pp.49-66



UNESCO (1991), Mirco-Level Educational Planning and Management Handbook. pp. 39-48. Bangkok: UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific



UNESCO (1996) Data Collection and Analysis improving the information base for literacy programmes, Basic Manual. Paris: UNESCO



UNESCO (1999). Monitoring and Evaluation of Literacy and Continuing Education Programs (Practitioners’ Manual). pp.30-31. Bangkok: UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific



UNESCO Bangkok Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All Unit: Developing Management Information Systems for Community Learning Centres: a Guidebook. (see http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001835/183534e.pdf)



UNESCO (2005) Quantitative research methods in educational planning Module 8 Questionnaire Design. Paris: IIEP/UNESCO http://www.iiep.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Cap_Dev_Training/Training_Materials/Quali ty/Qu_Mod8.pdf



World Bank. Impact Evaluations and Development: Nonie Guidance on Impact Evaluation (Chapter 8 Start Collecting Data Early). pp49-52. (See http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTOED/Resources/chap8.pdf)



Corlien M. Varkevisser, Indra Pathmanathan, and Ann Brownlee. 2003. Designing and Conductiong Health Systems Research Projects Vol.1: Proposal Development and Fieldwork. The International Development Research Centre. [Module 10A: OVERVIEW OF DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES] (See http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-56606-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html)

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

Dato’ Dr Ahamad bin Sipon. Reaching the Unreached in Education and Achieving the EFA Goals Together by 2015. The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) (See http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/efa/EFA_MDA/10th_EFA_Coordinators/Day_ 2_PPT/SEAMEO_Presentation__FILEminimizer_.ppt)



National Centre for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences. 2004. Forum Guide to Building a Culture of Quality Data: A School & District Resource. (See http://nces.ed.gov/PUBSEARCH/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2005801)



Online Statistics: An Interactive Multimedia Course of Study (See http://onlinestatbook.com/)



UNESCO International Institute for Education Planning. 2006. Guidebook for Planning Education in Emergencies and Reconstruction. [Chapter 34:Data Collection and Education Management Information Systems (EMIS)] (See http://www.iiep.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Research_Highlights_Emergencies/Chapter3 4.pdf)



WHO and ESCAP. 2009. Training Manual on Disability Statistics. [Chapter3: Data Collection Methods and Instruments] (See http://www.unescap.org/stat/disability/manual/Chapter3Disability-Statistics.pdf)



UNESCO Institute for Statistics. 2007. Methods and Approaches of Collecting Education Data. (See http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/aims/UNSIAP_Feb07/04_Chiba__Methods_of_data_collection_in_education.ppt)



State of Victoria (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development), Australia. School Census Information. (See http://www.education.vic.gov.au/management/schoolimprovement/censusdata.htm)



Department for children, schools, and families, the United Standards Site (See http://www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/ethnicminorities/collecting/Pupil_First_Lang/)



UNICEF. Monitoring and Evaluation Training Modules. [Chapter5:Data Gathering]. (See http://www.ceecis.org/remf/Service3/unicef_eng/module5/index.html)



Homeless Management Information System. (See http://www.hmis.info/Resources/725/DataStandards-Training-Module-2-Participation-and-Data-Collection-.aspx)



Statistics Canada. Statistics: Power from Data!. (See http://www.statcan.gc.ca/edu/powerpouvoir/toc-tdm/5214718-eng.htm)



Georgia Tech College of Comuting. Questionnaire Design. (See http://www.cc.gatech.edu/classes/cs6751_97_winter/Topics/quest-design/)



Analytic Technologies. Principles of Questionnaire Construction. (See http://www.analytictech.com/mb313/principl.htm)

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Training Module A3

Training Module A: EFA Monitoring and EMIS

Module A3: Education indicators and data analysis

Contents 1.

Purpose and expected learning outcomes ........................................................................ 1 Getting started ................................................................................................................ 1 Learning objectives.......................................................................................................... 1 2. Concept of Indicator ........................................................................................................ 3 2.1 What is indicator?..................................................................................................... 3 3 Types of Indicators .......................................................................................................... 6 3.1 Quantitative and qualitative indicators ..................................................................... 6 3.2 Monitoring and Evaluation Perspectives ................................................................... 7 3.3 Aspects of education ................................................................................................. 8 3.4 Measurement scale……………………………………………………………………………………………….……9 4. Importance of Using Indicators……………………………………………………………………………………..10 4.1 Purpose of education indicators .............................................................................. 10 4.2 Understanding complex situations .......................................................................... 10 4.3 Tracking changes over time and making comparisions across regions, districts and schools...................................................................................................................... 11 5. EFA Indicators ................................................................................................................ 13 5.1 The EFA indicators .................................................................................................. 13 5.2 EFA indicators at the school and local level ............................................................. 14 5.3 Indentifying EFA Indicators based on school records and cences questionnarie .......149 5.3.1 School characteristics, school facilities and environment………………………………….............19 5.3.2 Finance ........................................................................................................................ 22 5.3.3 Teachers ...................................................................................................................... 23 5.3.4 Students ...................................................................................................................... 24 6. Additional education indicators ...................................................................................... 28 6.1 Additional education indicators based on school data ............................................. 28 6.2 Other EFA indicators and data sources .................................................................... 30 6.3 Gathering data from other sources .......................................................................... 32 7 Selection and Use of Education Indicator ....................................................................... 33 7.1 Indicator selection criteria and practices ................................................................. 33 7.2 Wrong selection and misuse of education indicators ............................................... 34

Training Module A3

Data analysis using education indicator ......................................................................... 36 8.1 Purpose of data analysis ......................................................................................... 36 8.2 Procedures of data analysis ..................................................................................... 37 9. Disaggregation of education indicators ........................................................................... 38 9.1 Importance of disaggregation ................................................................................. 38 9.2 Dimensions of disaggregation ................................................................................. 38 10. Quiz ............................................................................................................................. 41 11. Further Study ............................................................................................................... 45 ANNEX 1 – EFA monitoring, evaluation and assessment indicators ........................................ 46 ANNEX 2 – Mathematical Calculations for EFA MEA Indicators .............................................. 74 ANNEX 3 – Technical Note on Internal Efficiency and Student Flow Model ............................. 76 ANNEX 4 – Methods for Measuring Disparities in Education .................................................. 79

Training Module A3

Purpose and expected learning outcomes

Getting started “There is a lot of talk about EFA indicators. What exactly are they talking about ? What have these to do with us ? ” A district education officer said to another district education officer before the start of a provincial EFA review meeting. An eminent member of the school management board of a community school said to the school principle: “At each school management board meeting, you always prepare and provide us with data tables and analysis about the school. What do all these data really tell us ? Can you make them easier for us to understand?” At a newsstand, a lady accompanied by her daughter in school uniform is glancing at the headlines and she mumbles: “These newspapers often talk about how good our schools and school kids are. I don’t see these at all in my daughter. How can we know the truth about our education system?” Learning objectives The above questions have been asked time and again by all kinds of people concerned with education. This Module aims at providing response to them by:  Clarifying for district education officers, school managers and local community stakeholders: o o o o o

What are education indicators? Why are they needed? How to obtain relevant and useful education indicators especially for monitoring EFA? What to do with education indicators once they become available? How to continue to produce and use more and better education indicators?

 Updating education policy-makers and administrators at the central and provincial level about : o o o

How to understand and make full use of education indicators in policy- and decisionmaking? How to promote the systematic production, dissemination and widespread use of the latest education indicators? How to support district and local education officers, school managers and local community stakeholders to better understand and use education indicators at their respective levels?

This Module A3 aims at helping education officers at all levels of the education administration, from school mangers to the central Ministry of Education, to learn about the following: • • • •

Concept of indicator; Importance of education indicators for monitoring EFA How to select and produce education indicators; Use of education indicators in data analysis and informed decision-making

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The education indicators described in the following sections closely relate to the data in the school records presented in Module A1 and those collected through the annual school censuses explained in Module A2. In order to improve the regular monitoring and evaluation of progress in attaining the Education for All (EFA) goals, it is especially crucial for education officers at district and local levels as well as school managers to understand what indicators can do for them, and how best to produce and use education indicators. Such improvements can lead to significant changes in the management of education and EFA at the local and grass-root level, which will decisively contribute to enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of EFA actions for the nation as a whole.

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2. 2.1

Concept of Indicator What is indicator?

Broadly speaking, indicator indicates. An indicator can be a number, an observation or a signal that helps us to know and understand in a reliable and unbiased manner about an object, a situation, a phenomenon, a happening, a motion, a development process, etc. Indicator can be a simple number, a percentage, a ratio or rate, a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer, a piece of data, or a score. Besides enhancing our understanding of the situation and issues, indicators can help us to define targets, strategies, policies and plans. By regularly using indicators to set benchmark, serve as guide and check progress during implementation, we can make rational and informed decisions about what to do to reach the targets on time, how best to solve problems, as well as how to evaluate progress and outcomes. Indicators can therefore act as “measuring rods” for comparing situations over time and among different localities, population groups, levels or sexes, by transforming raw data into meaningful information. In other words, indicators can provide a more objective basis for measuring progress towards targets, and are the prerequisites for a monitoring system. For education, a good conceptual idea of indicator was given by Oakes (1986)1,2 who said: “An education indicator tells something about the performance or health of the education system.” This concept applies equally well to a school or education in a local area. In order to understand what is happening in education, people realize more and more that just by counting the number of schools, students and teachers does not give the real picture of how the education system is performing. Example 1 below shows that the size of enrolment in a country increased from 325,781 to 367,061 from 2003 to 2007, or a total increase of 41,280 students over a period of four years. Year-on-year, this represents an average increase of about 10,000 students, or around 3 percent, per year. These figures indicate steady progress in enrolment. Example 1.

School-age children enrolled

Enrolment and net enrolment ratios 2003-2007 2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

325,781

336,043

346,024

356,508

367,061

3.15%

2.97%

3.03%

2.96%

458,201

468,679

478,594

490,383

501,449

71.1

71.7

72.3

72.7

73.2

% change year-on-year School-age population Net enrolment ratio (%)

But if we look at the net enrolment ratios over the same five-year period on the bottom line of the table in Example 1, it gives a different picture in that the enrolment ratio only improved very slightly from some 71 percent to 73 percent. If this trend continues, gross enrolment ratio will probably reach only about 77 percent by the target year 2015 for EFA, and the country may fail to achieve universal primary education by then, unless major efforts are made to speedily expand school capacities and enrolment. This comparison goes to show that one set of figures like the 3 percent

Oakes, Jeannie, October 1986: Educational Indicators: A Guide for Policymaker. Rutgers University - Centre for Policy Research in Education. 2

Shavelson, Richard J. , Lorraine M. McDonnell & Jeannie Oakes: What Are Educational Indicators and Indicator Systems? Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation. (see http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=2&n=11 )

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annual growth in enrolment may tell one side of a story, but other indicators like the gross enrolment ratio are needed to help us to get a fuller and more balanced picture of the reality. EFA has six goals. These goals cover different priority areas such as: early childhood care and education; universal primary education; lifelong learning; adult literacy; quality of education; gender equality in education. A wide range of indicators will therefore be needed in order to obtain a more comprehensive picture of progress, achievements and shortfalls with respect to all these six EFA goals (see Sections 4 and 5 below and Annex 1 on EFA indicators). Figure 1: How indicators indicate

GPI for NER

GPI for survival rate to Grade 5

.....

Gender equality

Figure 1 above is another example showing the use of the EFA indicator of gender parity index (GPI) to review gender equality in primary education (see Section 5 and Annex 1 for explanations of GPI). The GPI for net enrolment ratio (NER) in a primary school may be approaching the value of 1, which indicates good gender parity in enrolment between boy and girls. But the GPI for survival rate to Grade 5 may show that more boys than girls continue to Grade 5. Either of the two GPIs when used alone may thus provide a quite different picture of gender equality in this school, but together they provide a fuller and more balanced understanding of the situation. Like a jigsaw puzzle, or like the famous Indian fable of several blind men feeling an elephant, using different indicators to look at an object or a phenomenon from different angles can help us to constitute a clearer and more complete understanding of the whole object or phenomenon. This is a fundamental principle in practicing informed decision-making using indicators3,4. At the same time, one must also be weary of the danger of using the wrong indicator to assess a specific aspect or issue. These are discussed in Section 6 below. TIPS: Do’s:  Always try to use different indicators to view an object or a phenomenon from different angles  Select indicators that can reliably describe the phenomenon in a factual and unbiased manner  Piece together the different views to constitute a fuller understanding and to inform decisions Don’ts:  Try not to base your understanding and decisions only on a single indicator  Do not select indicators which are conceptually irrelevant to the phenomenon, difficult to produce for lack of or incomplete data, or not easy to clearly interpret  Avoid selecting and using overlapping indicators that illustrate the same thing, in the same way, and with the same results

Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA): “3 Meaning and Use of Indicators,” Guidelines on preparing an indicators report. (see http://www.adeanet.org/adeaPortal/adea/publications/en_pubs_wges.html) 4

Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA): “Part 1 Concepts and Nature of Education Indicators” The Midland Reports. (see http://www.adeanet.org/adeaPortal/adea/publications/en_pubs_wges.html)

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Activity 1: Based on each indicator and figure below, describe the performance of a school by summarizing your interpretation results in the space on the right. In case that you cannot draw any meaningful interpretation result, please write down what other information you think is needed in order to tell about this aspect of the performance or health of the school.

Indicator and figure

Interpretation (or additional indicators and data needed)

1. Number of students = 300

2. Share of female students in total = 30%

3. Net enrolment ratio = 78%

4. Number of class room = 8

5. Average score in examinations on mathematics = 80

Overall summary understanding of the health or performance of this school:

Activity 2: Reflect on your own experiences and talk to other people from all walks of life about what kind of data, information and/or indicators can be used to understand the health or performance of the education system, and answer the following questions: 1. Which indicator(s) can reliably tell us about the health of the education system? Why? 2. Which aspect(s) of education does this indicator(s) cover? How reliable and effective is the indicator in describing this aspect(s)? 3. What other aspects of education do you think also need appropriate indicator? Please give examples. 4. What kind of indicators do you think can be used to illustrate these other aspects?

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3. Types of Indicators Various indicators can be produced and used to monitor education especially EFA. Different indicators can be appropriate for measuring different phenomena for different purposes at different levels of the education administration (see also Section 2 of Module A2). Better understanding of the types and characteristics of education indicators can help to determine and select which indicator(s) to use. In this section, four approaches to classify education indicators are introduced, from respectively the perspectives of:    

3.1

quantitative and qualitative measurement monitoring and evaluation of education as a system aspects of education measurement scale.

Quantitative and qualitative indicators

Quantitative indicators describe objects and phenomena using only numbers. Qualitative indicators can use symbols, verbal, visual, textual as well as numerical information to depict a state or an observation. Quantitative and qualitative indicators can be used to complement each other in order to constitute a more complete understanding. Many qualitative observations can also be expressed in quantitative terms. For example, student performance may be measured by the scores they obtained in a test or examination. Evaluative statements like ‘very satisfactory’, ’satisfactory’ and ‘not satisfactory at all’ can be scored respectively 3, 2 and 1 in surveys or evaluations(see Example 6 on teacher performance evaluation in Module A1), for use in comparing performance and calculating average scores. One must nonetheless keep in mind that not all things can be expressed quantitatively in terms of numbers, like feelings, sentiments, nuances, shades of grey, etc. It can sometimes be difficult if not impossible to clearly tell the difference from one quality to another. Also, often quality is judged based on a person’s individual subjective perception and preferences. For example, none of us can say precisely how much, in numeric terms, it is more important to put more efforts in geography classes than in mathematics classes. Some qualitative indicators can be derived by identifying the component characteristics of quality. When assessing the EFA goal of ‘quality of education’, a combination of indicators will have to be used. For example, education quality is often evaluated by looking at the number or percentage of qualified teachers because it is believed that the more there are qualified teachers at school, the better the quality of teaching/learning will be. The percentage of qualified teachers can therefore be taken as a qualitative indicator of education quality, but expressed in quantitative form. Quality of education being a highly complex issue, using only one indicator such as the percentage of qualified teachers as indicator can give a partial if not biased understanding. Additional indicators on the availability, conditions and use of school facilities and teaching/learning materials, and on other school and home factors affecting children’s learning outcome may be needed. Critical analysis of education quality using indicators will therefore have to be conducted using quite a wide range of both quantitative and qualitative indicators.

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3.2

Monitoring and Evaluation of Education as a System

For purposes of monitoring education and EFA, education indicators can be broadly classified into: ď&#x201A;ˇ ď&#x201A;ˇ ď&#x201A;ˇ

input indicators process indicators output/outcome indicators5

Input and process indicators are used essentially for monitoring whether appropriate education policies have been issued, and how they have been implemented. Output and outcome indicators help to evaluate the results, effectiveness and impact of education policies and their implementation. Input indicators in education focus mainly on the human, financial and material resources which have been assembled and channeled into educational activities. Examples of education input indicators (see also Section 5.3 below) include the amount of budget allocated, the number of teachers recruited and trained, the number of school facilities, furniture, teaching/learning materials acquired and distributed to schools, etc. All these resource inputs are used to organize the provision of educational services in terms of classes and learning events which can be considered as intermediate outputs. At the end of the school year, the number or percentage of students who successfully completed their studies and those who have acquired defined knowledge and competencies constitutes the main output of education. Process indicators in education are used to show how the above resource inputs have been used to deliver educational services, and what actually happened in the classroom or during teaching/ learning processes. Class attendance among students, and actual class hours as a percentage of official class hours, if not also the frequency of use of teaching/learning materials are among some of the examples of indicators of teaching/learning processes. Other typical process indicators may include for example repetition rates and drop-out rates (see also Section 5.4 in Module A4). Outcome indicators are used to evaluate the end results of all the educational inputs and processes. They reflect the effectiveness of implementation of education policies and strategies by indicating the degree of achievement of policy objectives especially how much the goals and targets set in the planning phase have been reached or achieved. Outcome indicators can also be used to evaluate the degree of access to and/or satisfaction with the educational services provided. For example, intake rates, enrolment ratios, completion rates and gender parity index can be used as examples of outcome indicators (see also Section 5 in Module A4). Impact indicators are those which show the effects of education on the well-being of individual persons, families, communities, and the nation and society as a whole (see also Section 11 of Module A4). Literacy rate is an example of education impact since it presents the proportion of the population who have acquired the abilities to read, write, understand and to continue to learn using the written words. Other impact indicators may include those which measure the effect of increased knowledge and skills, emotional development, changes in values, attitude and behaviour among students on their family, community, society and nation.

UNESCO Bangkok. EFA Mid-Decade Assessment and Mid-Term Policy Review. References and Resources. (see http://www.unescobkk.org/en/education/efa/mda/efa-mda-reference-materials/ )

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3.3

Aspects of education

Another way to organize education indicators is by re-grouping them according to the key aspects of education, such as:         

School characteristics, environment and facilities Access and participation Retention and progress within the education system Teaching and learning resources Teaching-learning processes Quality of education Equity Learning achievement and outcomes Impact of education

This is the approach presented in Sections 4-11 of Module A4 on the use of education data and indicators. The key concern in this approach is to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of education services. As shown in Figure 3 below, some of the key questions can include: Do all children have access to education? Are all students able to actively participate in education? Do all students benefit from good quality education? Are all students treated with equity? Is the management of education efficient and effective? Are the outcomes of education relevant and satisfactory?

Figure 3. Aspects of Education

Resource inputs

Education System Equity

Next level

Participation Output

Access Quality Performance

Labour market

Dropouts

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3.4

Measurement scale

Indicators can be classified by particular measurement scales using numbers. There are typically four scales of measurement:    

nominal scale ordinal scale interval scale ratio

Nominal scale distinguishes objects and phenomena by naming each one. A typical example is school ownership, as to whether a school is a government school, private school, or community school. Distinguishing the gender of students between ‘Boys’ and ‘Girls’ is another example. Ordinal scale enables comparisons and ranking. However, it cannot tell how much the difference is. For example, if you are asked to decide which one you prefer between apple or orange, you can choose the one you prefer, but cannot clearly show how much is the difference in the degree of your preferences for respectively apple or orange. Interval scale, on the other hand, can help to visualize the difference. As can be guessed from its name, interval scale indicator offers intervals of measurement so that finer comparisons can be made. For example test score is an interval scale indicator. There is an assumption on the use of interval scale that intervals are equally divided. If student A receives a test score of 10 out of 100, and student B receives that of 50, can it be said that student B understands and masters the subject five times better than student A? The answer is ‘Not really’ because the measurement of students’ understanding of one topic depends on the structure, contents and design of the test and the students’ conditions when taking tests. Care must therefore be taken when analyzing interval scale indicators. A ratio scale indicator can help to solve this comparison problem. With ratio scale indicators, it can be shown how much one is different from another. A good example relates to the height or weight of student A and student B. If the height of student A is 100 cm and that of B is 150 cm, student A can be said to be 66 percent or two-third of the height of student B. Shown in this example, ratio scale indicators offers a clearer understanding of how much one is different from another. Other typical ratio scale indicators include pupil-teacher ratio, intake rate, enrolment ratio, etc. There are other ways to classify indicators. The above constitute a good basis for better understanding the ways indicators are organized for use in monitoring EFA.

Activity 3: Review the data, information and indicators you have been using to monitor the performance of your school or education in your district/province/country, and answer the following question: 1. Name two quantitative and two qualitative education indicators, and two qualitative indicators expressed in quantitative terms (i.e. in numbers). Why do you choose them? 2. How would you classify these indicators according to the other classifications above? Please explain why you classify them in the way you proposed. 3. What other classifications of indicators are needed in order to better produce and use education indicators?

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4. Importance of Using Indicators 4.1

Purpose of education indicators

Education indicators can serve a wide range of purposes for different stakeholders at different levels. Understanding these purposes can help to better master the concepts, selection and use of indicators. To begin with, six purposes of indicators for education system can be identified6, to: 1)

describe the conditions and performance of schools and of the education system;

set benchmarks and standards for measuring or assessing progress towards achievement of education goals;

provide information about conditions and factors for achieving the desired outcomes, to enable decision-makers to realistically plan and manage changes;

monitor and compare progress in implementation of plans among geographical areas and target populations, and signal shortfalls, gaps, imbalances, disparities;

help to identify and highlight issues, problems and possible solutions for better management of the education system, e.g. bringing the remaining out-of-school children to school; improving quality of education; reducing dropouts; raising learning achievement; etc.

inform stakeholders in order to generate greater understanding and support to education.

4.2

Understanding complex situations7

Education is a complex system which involves not only hundreds of schools, thousands of teachers, hundreds of thousands of students across the country territory, but also intricate and far-reaching linkages to the development of human beings, society and the nation. Its monitoring is understandably complex, as much as the indicators to be used for this purpose. To monitor the six goals of EFA, it was suggested in Section 1.1 that a range of indicators will be needed. Let us take for example one of the EFA goals: quality of education. Under this goal, several indicators can be used to describe different aspects of education quality, such as the percentage of qualified teachers, pupil-teacher ratio(PTR), pupil-class ratio(PCR), textbook-pupil ratio(TPR), public expenditure on education as percentage of total government expenditure, etc. When evaluating education quality by looking at for example the pupil-teacher ratio PTR, how can this set of indicators help to assess the effects on quality of an increase in the number of teachers at a school? Based on the understanding that a lower PTR like 1:20 would allow the teacher to devote more time to each student than when the PTR was 1:30, does this mean the quality of education has become better when there are more teachers at the school than before ?

ADEA-NESIS: Education Development Indicators Guidebook. 2007. (see http://nesis.intoweb.co.za/en/index.php?module=documents&JAS_DocumentManager_op=viewDocument&J AS_Document_id=1) 7 Asian Development Bank: Indicators for Policy Management: A Guide for Enhancing the Statistical Capacity of Policy-makers for Effective Monitoring of the MDGs at the Country Level. 2005.

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The true utility of PTR only becomes apparent when data are obtained on the other component of this indicator, namely the corresponding number of pupils. In Figure 2 below, there are 10 teachers and 200 students in both School A and School B. Each school hired 10 additional teachers to improve the quality of education. However in the following year, there is also an increase in the number of student in school A to a total of 400. The PTR in School A then remains at one teacher teaches 20 students (20/400=1/20), which is the same ratio as the one before the expansion. If School B continues to have only 200 students, each of its 20 teachers will then teach on the average only 10 students (20/200=1/10), hence better quality of education. Therefore in this case, the indicator PTR gives us more reliable information on the difference in the quality of education in Schools A and B than only information on the increases of 10 teachers per school.

Figure 2: Pupil-teacher ratio (PTR)

School A Teachers: 10 + 10 --> 20

Teachers: 10 + 10 --> 20

Students: 200 + 200 --> 400

Students: 200

Pupil/teacher ratio = 1 : 20

4.3

School B

Pupil/teacher ratio = 1 : 10

Tracking changes over time and making comparisons across regions, districts and schools8

Sound policy-making, planning, management, monitoring and evaluation in education are informed by relevant and reliable data and information. Many education indicators can help to track changes over time and for making meaningful comparisons across regions and among schools. Systematic use of such indicators in tracking and comparisons are important for monitoring progress and achievements in education, and for deciding on the best actions to take. They can also help to identify gaps, shortfalls, problems and issues, if not also some of the causes of the problems. It is therefore crucial that decisions are not made subjectively, but based on verified evidences, indicators and information. Same as the indicator GDP growth rate for the national economy, indicators such as the annual growth rates of the number of schools, students, teachers and government budget can be main component indicators to track changes in education over time. As far as reliable data are available, such growth rates can be calculated for individual schools, districts, provinces and even groups of them, so as to compare the change dynamics among them. The differences among these growth rates like in Example 2 below may be analysed in order to identify problems and issues.

Asian Development Bank: Indicators for Policy Management: A Guide for Enhancing the Statistical Capacity of Policy-makers for Effective Monitoring of the MDGs at the Country Level. 2005.

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Example 2. Comparison of growth rates

School A School B School C School D School E

Rate of growth 2006-2007 (%) Students Teachers Budget +3% +1% +0% -10% -5% -7% +15% +0% +30% -5% +0% +0% +8% -10% -20%

It can be observed in Example 2 that the number of students increased during 2006 to 2007 in 3 schools (Schools A, C, E) and decreased in 2 schools (Schools B, D). The number of teachers remained roughly the same in Schools A, C, D and decreased by 5-10 percent in Schools B, E. Government budget allocation jumped by 30 percent in School C but dropped by 20 percent for School E and 7 percent for School B, with no change for Schools A and D. Analysing the situation school by school, one can notice that the increase in students in School A was accompanied by a slight increase in the number of teachers, but no increase in budget. There were proportionally matching decreases in students, teachers and budget in School B. The big increase in the number of students in School C was matched by a huge increase in budget, but there was no increase in the number of teachers, probably due to difficulties in recruiting new teachers for this rural school. School E can be seen to be facing serious difficulties with an increase in students but at the same time sizeable decreases in both its budget and the number of teachers.

Activity 4: Talk to key stakeholders in your school/district/province/country about what you understood about the importance of education indicators, and answer the following questions: 1. What do you think about the importance of education indicators? 2. For which function(s) will you use education indicators: Policy-making? Planning? Budgeting? Coordination? Management? Monitoring and evaluation? Reporting? Levels? Informing stakeholders? Resource mobilization? Comparing performance? 3. In what other functions do you think education indicators can be used? Why?

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5. EFA Indicators Having understood what is indicator and why they are important for monitoring the education system, let us focus now on the indicators for monitoring EFA. 5.1

The EFA indicators

Within the Dakar Framework of Action, the six global EFA goals are:

1. Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children. 2. Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality. 3. Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes. 4. Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults. 5. Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls' full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality. 6. Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.

In essence, these EFA goals are about ensuring full access and participation of all eligible persons in basic education of good quality so that they can acquire literacy and life skills for a decent living and learning throughout life. The EFA goals place special emphasis on helping disadvantaged population such as girls and children of poor families, ethnic, linguistic and cultural minorities, those in remote areas, with disabilities, and from other vulnerable population groups to fully participate in and benefit from education, under the priority of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Reaching the Unreachedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. This Module A3 shall mainly cover those EFA indicators which are of particular relevance to school managers and education officers in local areas, and their interface with indicator used at provincial and central levels. The main purpose is to help them to more effectively monitor EFA and manage education at the grass-root level, by making maximum use of the data and information available in the school records and school census questionnaire as described in Modules A1 and A2. Such use will also contribute to strengthening informed decision-making and accountability among the key education stakeholders in the local areas.

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5.2

EFA indicators

It can be seen in the list of EFA indicators9 in Annex I and in the UNESCO Institute for Statistics website10 that there are many internationally recommended EFA indicators. To effectively monitor and take actions on EFA especially for school managers and district education officers in the local area, below is a summary list of key EFA indicators for monitoring the six EFA goals. Those indicators marked with an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;*â&#x20AC;&#x2122; relate in particular to Modules A1 to A5 regarding data in school records as well as those reported in school census questionnaire described in Modules A1 and A2. Table 1. Goal 1: ECCE

Goal 2: UPE

Goal 3: Lifelong learning

List of key EFA indicators

1. Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in ECCE programmes * 2. Percentage of new entrants to primary Grade 1 who have attended some form of organized ECCE programme 3. Enrolment in private ECCE centres as a percentage of total enrolment in ECCE programmes 4. Percentage of trained teachers in ECCE programmes 5. Public expenditure on ECCE programmes as a percentage of total public expenditure on education 6. Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) in ECCE programmes including pre-primary education 7. Pupil/Teacher Ratio (PTR) (child-caregiver ratio) * 8. Gross Intake Rate (GIR) * 9. Net Intake Rate (NIR) * 10. Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) * 11. Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) * 12. Percentage of repeaters * 13. Repetition Rate (RR) by grade * 14. Promotion Rate (PR) by grade * 15. Dropout Rate (DR) by grade * 16. Survival Rate to Grade 5 * 17. Primary Cohort Completion Rate * 18. Transition Rate (TR) from primary to secondary education * 19. Percentage of trained teachers in primary education * 20. Pupil/Teacher Ratio (PTR) in primary education * 21. Public expenditure on primary education as a percentage of total public expenditure on education * 22. Percentage of schools offering complete primary education * 23. Percentage of primary schools offering instruction in the mother tongue * 24. Percentage distribution of primary school students by duration of travel between home and school 25. Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for technical and vocational education and training 26. Number and percentage distribution of lifelong learning/continuing education centres and programmes for young people and adults 27. Number and percentage distribution of young people and adults enrolled in lifelong learning/continuing education programmes 28. Number and percentage distribution of teachers/facilitators in lifelong learning/continuing education programmes for young people and adults

UNESCO: Guidelines for EFA Monitoring, Evaluation and Assessment: Identifying and Reaching the Unreached. UNESCO Bangkok. (To be published). 10 UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS): Education Indicators Technical Guidelines. Montreal. November 2009. (see website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/template/pdf/EducGeneral/Indicator_Technical_guidelines_EN.pdf)

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Goal 4: Adult literacy

Goal 5: Gender equality

* * *

* * * * * *

Goal 6: Quality of Education

* * * * * * * * * * *

29. Public expenditure on adult literacy and continuing education as a percentage of total public expenditure on education 30. Number and percentage distribution of adult literacy and basic continuing education programmes 31. Number and percentage distribution of facilitators of adult literacy and basic continuing education programmes 32. Number and percentage distribution of learners participating in adult literacy and basic continuing education programmes 33. Completion rate in adult literacy and basic continuing education programmes 34. Number and percentage of persons who passed the basic literacy test 35. Ratio of private (non-governmental) to public expenditure on adult literacy and basic continuing education programmes 36. Female enrolled as percentage of total enrolment 37. Female teachers as percentage of total number of teachers 38. Percentage of female school managers/district education officers 39. Gender Parity Index for: a. GER in ECCE b. GIR in primary education c. NIR in primary education d. GER in primary education e. NER in primary education f. Survival rate to Grade 5 g. Transition Rate from primary to secondary education h. GER in secondary education i. NER in secondary education j. Percentage of teachers with pre-service teacher training k. Percentage of teachers with in-service teacher training 40. Percentage of primary school teachers having the required academic qualifications 41. Percentage of school teachers who are certified to teach according to national standards 42. Pupil/Teacher Ratio (PTR) 43. Pupil/Class Ratio (PCR) 44. Textbook/Pupil Ratio (TPR) 45. Public expenditure on education as a percentage of total government expenditure 46. Percentage of schools with improved water sources 47. Percentage of schools with improved sanitation facilities 48. Percentage of pupils who have mastered nationally defined basic learning competencies 49. School life expectancy 50. Instructional hours

Example 3 on the next page presents a typical methodological description of EFA indicators which guides the reader in better understanding and correctly producing and interpreting each indicator. More complete methodological descriptions of each of these indicators can be found in both the UIS website10 and the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Guidelines for EFA Monitoring, Evaluation and Assessment: Identifying and Reaching the Unreachedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; referred to above.

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Example 3. An example of methodological description of EFA indicator11

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2009. (see website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/template/pdf/EducGeneral/Indicator_Technical_guidelines_EN.pdf)

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As shown in Example 3 above, these descriptions provide essential information on each indicator about its:        

Definition Purpose Method of calculation Data required Possible data sources Disaggregation for analysis of disparities Interpretation Limitations and constraints

The reader can notice that the six EFA goals cover besides primary education also other levels and forms of education, plus gender equality and quality of education. Many of the indicator concepts and monitoring approaches presented in the present series of Training Modules A1-A5 can be extended to other levels and types of educational institutions and programmes as well. For example, a good number of the indicators listed above for each of the six EFA goals such as PTR, dropout rate, completion rate can also be applied to early childhood care and education centres, secondary schools, technical/vocational training, and adult literacy/continuing education/lifelong learning centres and programmes. Another aspect to be kept in mind is that many of the recommended EFA indicators above are meant for comparisons at the international level, and as such may not be directly suitable for monitoring EFA at the local and school levels. The indicator No. 45: ‘Public expenditure on education as a percentage of total government expenditure’ is a typical example. Appropriate adjustments and modifications may be needed to derive similar indicators for use in local areas by school managers and district education officers, based on the concepts and classifications of education indicators and drawing from the UNESCO methodological descriptions in Section 3 above. Equally interesting is that the data and information contained in the school records and school census questionnaire can also produce many other indicators for monitoring EFA and informing decision-making at the local and school level. For example, average student attendance rate can be calculated based on completed monthly class attendance sheets (see Example 2 in Module A1) in order to monitor and compare the regularity of student participation by class; student performance records (see Example 4 in Module A1) can be analysed by class and by grade to gauge learning achievement; teacher performance evaluation reports (see Example 6 in Module A1) can complement teacher qualification in appraising the quality of education by school; etc. (see also next Section 6) In practice, the school manager or district education officer must first compare the data they have at their disposal against the list of EFA indicators above in Table 1 as well as in the examples shown in this Module and Module A4, so as to identify relevant education indicators which can be reliably calculated, interpreted and used, before proceeding to produce and use such indicators. This process involves careful study of the UNESCO methodological descriptions10, if possible accompanied by actual calculation and interpretation of the indicators so as to determine if the selected indicator can reliably and meaningfully help to monitor EFA and inform decision-making at the school and local level.

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Activity 5: Review the key EFA indicators listed above in Table 1, compare them with what you use to monitor education in your school/district/province /country, talk to some key stakeholders at your level about their experiences, and answer the following questions: 1. How do the listed key EFA indicators correspond to your practices? Which indicator(s) are in common? Which indicator(s) are different? Why? 2. Which other education indicators do you think should be included in the list? Why? 3. How do you find the format of the methodological description of indicators? What other information should be given in this format? In what way can they be improved?

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5.3

Identifying EFA indicators based on school records and census questionnaire

The example school records and school census questionnaire presented in Modules A1 and A2 offer a wide range of data which can be used either directly as indicators, or to derive other education indicators including the EFA indicators for primary education and quality of education listed in Table 1 in Section 5.2. As the structure of data in the example school records and school census questionnaire cover essentially the following four aspects:    

School characteristics, school facilities and environment Finance Teachers Students

they can be used to derive a good number of education indicators as described below. Indicators can also be produced mixing data from the four aspects above, for example to review the organization of teaching-learning in school in terms of student-class ratios and percentage of students without textbooks, or the sharing of school resources among the students and teachers such as education expenditure per student, pupil-teacher ratio, classroom area per student, studentlatrine ratio, etc. 5.3.1

School characteristics, school facilities and environment

The first part of a school census questionnaire usually collects information on the characteristics of the school. The data about school ownership (see Question 7 in the example school census questionnaire in Module A2) can be used to calculate the percentage distributions of different types of schools (e.g. government; private; community; religious; etc.). This information can lead to the kind of table in Example 4 below which includes the corresponding percentage distributions of students and teachers by type of school. Example 4.

Schools Students Teachers

Percentage distribution of schools, students and teachers by type of school

Government schools 71.1% 78.3% 75.8%

Governmentaided private schools 5.5% 9.0% 9.7%

Community Private schools schools 4.1% 12.7% 3.1% 7.7% 4.2% 7.1%

Religious schools 6.6% 1.9% 3.2%

TOTAL 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

It may be interesting to see in Example 4 that more than 70 percent of schools, students and teachers are in the category of ‘Government schools’. ‘Government-aided private schools’ are relatively smaller in proportion (i.e. 5.5 percent of schools) but account for almost 10 percent of the student and teacher population, hence are bigger schools. ‘Community schools’ and ‘Religious schools’ together represent about one-fifth (i.e. 19.3 percent) of the total number of schools, but only about 10 percent of students and teachers, so relatively smaller in size. These describe the overall share of different types of school, and can point to policy issues and measures to rationalize the size of different types of schools.

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Additional indicators on schools which operate shifts, multigrade classes, teaching/learning in mother-tongue, school feeding programme, boarding, school transportation and other affirmative actions in favour of disadvantaged or disabled children can help to understand the level and adequacy of special efforts to reach the unreached. Example 5 below gives the percentages of schools which offer these special arrangements or services. As highlighted in the table, the relatively higher percentages of schools in Regions 3 and 4 confirm that they organize more diversified educational services than in other regions. Such findings may lead to further enquiries into the local conditions in terms of difficulties in access to education and the influence of demographic, economic and cultural factors. The high degree of coverage of school feeding programme highlighted for Regions 1 and 5 for example also deserve more in-depth investigation into their effects on student participation and quality of learning in school.

Example 5. Percentage of schools with special services

Shifts 15.2% 18.5%

Region 1 Region 2 Region 3 Region 4 Region 5 â&#x20AC;Ś â&#x20AC;Ś

64.0% 86.0% 23.3%

Multi-grade classes 2.7% 11.8% 41.3% 58.1% 9.1%

Teaching/learning in mother-tongue 4.5% 1.7% 17.3% 41.9% 5.0%

School feeding 68.8% 47.2% 42.7% 44.2% 80.4%

Boarding 8.0% 2.2% 18.7% 53.5%

Transportation 4.5% 3.9% 36.0% 44.2% 9.1%

7.3%

Data on school facilities (see Examples 7, 8 and 9 in Module A1 and Questions 10-16 in Module A2) take stock of the material inputs which are available for organizing educational services at school. Such information are used in the first place to determine the capacity of the school to accommodate students and teachers, and secondly to examine if these facilities are sufficient to support present and future educational activities. Section 7 of Module A4 provides some concrete examples on how the data on school facilities in the school records and school census questionnaire can be used to derive meaningful indicators and analysis.

Example 6. Indicators on the condition and use of facilities in a school Quantity in use Type of structure Buildings

Quantity

% in good

% to

Total To repair To replace not used 4 1 1 1

condition 50%

repair 25%

replace 25%

not used 25%

Classrooms

44%

33%

22%

Teacher rooms

67%

33%

Administration rooms

100%

Library

100%

Laboratory

100%

Storage rooms

50%

Toilets

67%

33%

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Example 6 on the previous page provides an overview of the condition of various school facilities and their use in a school. The same table can be produced at the district and higher levels by aggregating data from the schools within the area covered. Such table can inform decisions to improve school facilities and capacity so as to accommodate all eligible children in the local area. It can be seen in Example 6 that the percentage distributions of facilities such as ‘% in good condition’, ‘% to repair’, ‘% to replace’, and ‘% not used’ highlight the problems and indicate specifically the needs for prioritizing and planning repair and replacement work, as well as measures to ensure full utilization of school facilities. In addition, Graphs 5 and 7 in Module A4 show how such indicators can be presented in graphic form to make it easier to understand and to make decisions.

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5.3.2

Finance

Data on school income by source and expenditure by type (see Example 10 in Module A1 and Questions 17-18 in the example school census questionnaire in Module A2) are essential information for gauging the financial viability of a school in terms of firstly the financial balance, and secondly the detailed patterns of income by source and expenditure by type when calculating and analyzing their respective percentage distributions (see Example 7 below). Example 7.

School income and expenditure

School income Source of funds 1. Government

School expenditure

Amount

3,615,437

93.0%

348,855

9.0%

2,983,107

76.7%

88,733

d. Local government 2. Non-governmental

Type of expenditure

934,013

21.4%

a. Construction

820,604

18.8%

b. Major repairs

66,348

1.5%

2.3%

c. Equipment

36,975

0.8%

194,742

5.0%

d. Bulk purchase of books

3,775

0.1%

102,281

2.6%

e. Other capital exp.

6,311

0.1%

a. Local community

1,305

0.0%

2. Current expenditure

3,435,017

78.6%

b. Local business

5,843

0.2%

a. Teacher salaries

2,872,155

65.7%

c. NGOs

71,335

1.8%

b. Staff salaries

451,876

10.3%

d. Agencies/associations

23,798

0.6%

c. Purchase of supplies

23,510

0.5%

63,481

1.6%

d. Contracted services

37,780

0.9%

62,630

1.6%

e. Maintenance

3,435

0.1%

b. Rental of facilities

0.0%

f. Transportation

35,578

0.8%

c. Products/services

468

0.0%

g. Electricity

4,327

0.1%

d. Donations

383

0.0%

h. Water

1,328

0.0%

108,450

2.8%

i. Telephone

4,155

0.1%

108,450

2.8%

873

0.0%

TOTAL= 4,369,903

100.0%

a. Central government b. Provincial government c. District government

3. School revenue a. School fees

4. Other revenue a. Interest earned TOTAL=

1. Capital expenditure

Amount

3. Other expenditure

3,889,649 100.0%

Balance = -480,254

Such analysis can point out existing gaps between school income and expenditure, so that appropriate measures can be taken to control specific types of school expenditure such as the construction costs and staff salaries highlighted in Example 7 above, as well as to tap into various other sources of finance in order to fill the funding gaps. The overall financial deficit and a low percentage of community funding shown In Example 7 above may induce the school management board to actively mobilize funding from the local community and businesses in order to fill the funding gap.

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A frequently used indicator in education finance is education expenditure per student which is obtained by dividing total (or current) school expenditure by the total number of students enrolled during the same fiscal year. By comparing the education expenditure per students among schools across different geographical areas and over time, one can better understand the situation and prospects with regard to education finance and existing funding gaps. Comparing education expenditure per student among schools, districts and regions can also help to reveal different costing levels among them, changes over time, and anomalies in certain schools which may call for more in-depth investigation to find ways to address these issues. Such comparisons are especially useful for the government to ensure adequate financing of school and local efforts to achieve the EFA goals.

Example 8.

Education expenditure per student

School name

Hojai Primary School Savar Community School Charati Primary School Ramdia Primary School Patgaon Community School Average:

2000

2009

365 330 255 280 415

580 610 385 335

329

450 472

Average annual growth rate (%) 5.3% 7.1% 4.7% 2.0% 0.9% 4.1%

Example 8 above demonstrates how to compare education expenditure per student in five primary schools over the period from 2000 to 2009. Depending on local cost levels, the figures for the year 2000 can be seen to range from a low of 255 in Charati School to a high of 415 in Patgaon School, with an average of 329. This average rose in general by 4.1 percent per year to 472 in 2009, with per student education expenditure shifted to a low of 335 in Ramdia School and a high of 610 in Savar School. It can be observed in Example 8 that the education expenditure per student increased only by an average annual growth rate of 0.9 percent in Patgaon School, whereas the Savar School almost doubled its per student expenditure to 610, by an average increase of 7.1 percent per year. When the financial data from the schools are aggregated with those from the central, provincial, district and local education administrations, and other educational institutions and programmes, the resulting national public expenditure on education can lead to the EFA indicators No. 5, 21 and 45 listed in Section 4.1 above.

5.3.3

Teachers

The quantity and quality of teachers decisively influence the participation of children in school and their learning outcomes. The data on teachers and students in school records and those given in response to the school census questionnaire can in the first place be used to calculate pupil-teacher ratios(PTR), not only for the school as a whole but also by class and by grade so as to identify classes with disproportionate PTR. These PTRs can then be compared with national norms so as to identify schools, grades and classes which need more teachers to serve the existing student population (see Example 1 and Graph1 in Module A4).

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Based on information regarding teachers according to the academic qualification and teacher training received (see Example 5 in Module A1 and Question 19 in the example school census questionnaire in Module A2), indicators of the quality of teachers can include: Percentage distribution of teachers by highest academic qualification; and percentage of teachers who have received pre-service and/or in-service teacher training (see Example 20 in Module A4). When compared against existing national norms defining the minimum qualification required of teachers, these indicators can inform about the share of under-qualified and untrained teachers so that measures can be taken to upgrade their competencies and to train and recruit more qualified teachers.

Example 9.

Number of teachers % by type of contract

Male Female Male Female

Male and female teachers by type of contract in Banpong district Total 55 64 100.0% 100.0%

Permanent 27 39 49.1% 60.9%

Contractual 18 11 32.7% 17.2%

Probationary 3 6 5.5% 9.4%

Temporary 5 7 9.1% 10.9%

Other 2 1 3.6% 1.6%

If employment status is a determining factor affecting the motivation of teachers and the quality of teaching, calculating the percentage distribution of teachers by type of contract (see Example 5 in Module A1) can help to identify the proportion of teachers with permanent, contractual or temporary employment status. Of the 119 teachers in Banpong district in Example 9 above, 60.9 percent of female teachers are permanent teaching staff as compared to 49.1 percent of male teachers. Together with non-negligible shares of contractual, probationary, temporary and other types of teachers, and noticeable gender differences, these indicate a number of issues in school personnel management needing to be addressed by means of appropriate policies and actions such as increasing the share of permanent teachers and improving the gender balance. An additional indicator of the quality of teachers relates to their performance evaluation results. This indicator can be produced if such evaluation is systematically organized for each teacher in the school (see Example 6 in Module A1). Example 21 in Module A5 shows how the scores obtained for individual teacher performance attributes can be used in practice to indicate teacher quality.

5.3.4

Students

Students being the direct beneficiaries of education, the data on students in the school records and school census questionnaire (see Examples 1-4 in Module A1 and Questions 20-24 in the example school census questionnaire in Module A2) can be used to calculate many key education indicators relating to their access, participation, completion, learning achievement and gender equality. 

Percentage of students by gender, age and grade

A first step in producing indicators on students is to get to know the characteristics of the student population in school. This can be done by calculating the percentage distributions of students by:   

gender age (or age-group) grade

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typically based on the key table showing enrolment by age, grade and sex (see Question 21 in the example school census questionnaire in Module A2 and Example 2 in Module A4). Similar to Example 14 in Module A1, the age distribution of enrolment for a specific grade can be calculated by sex as in Example 10 below. Example 10. Enrolment by age and sex in Grade 4 at Baan Yai Primary School

Age 9

9 14

11 4 3

12 3 1

>12

TOTAL

Number of boys Number of girls

0 0

1 0

0 0

18 21

% of girls

- 75.0% 60.9% 42.9% 25.0% 0.0%

53.8% 100.0% 100.0%

% distribution by age (boys) % distribution by age (girls)

1 3

0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.6% 50.0% 22.2% 16.7% 5.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 14.3% 66.7% 14.3% 4.8% 0.0% 0.0%

If the official age for attending Grade 4 in 9 years old (see shaded column in Example 10 above), this table shows that 53.8 percent of the 39 students are girls, of whom two-third (i.e. 66.7%) are of the official age, against one-half (i.e. 50%) for boys. Of 21 girls in Grade 4, 14.3 percent (or 3 girls) are 8 years old, as compared to 5.6 percent for boys (only one boy). There were 8 over-aged boy students out of a total of 18 (44.4 percent) as compared to 4 out of a total of 21 girls (19.1 percent). This example illustrates how one can extract useful information from such calculations of percentages. In a similar manner, analysis can be made of student enrolment by ethnic, linguistic and religious group if such data are available, to study their patterns of schooling which can uncover factors affecting their access and participation in school. Further calculation of percentage distributions of students by types of disabilities as well as family income levels can help to identify the proportion of students with various disabilities or from poor and disadvantaged background. The purpose of calculating these more specific percentage distributions on the disadvantaged student groups is to see to what extent are they presently included in the school, as compared to the proportions they represent in the local population so as to examine how best to include them in education. 

Enrolment ratios

In addition to percentage distributions, the data on students by gender, age and grade (see Question 21 in the example school census questionnaire in Module A2) can be used to calculate key indicators of access and participation in primary school such as:  gross enrolment ratio (GER)  net enrolment ratio (NER)  age-specific enrolment ratios (ASER). As explained in the UNESCO methodological descriptions and Annex 2 of this Module, net enrolment ratios and the other enrolment ratios can be obtained by dividing the number of students by the corresponding school-age population so as to indicate how many percent of the eligible population have access to and participate in school. The size of school-age children who are not enrolled in school can be obtained either by subtracting those enrolled from the corresponding school age population, or estimated from net enrolment ratios or age-specific enrolment ratios, or directly identified in the local area through information from students and teachers followed by home visits to veriy and to find out causes (see Section 7.3 in Module A1 and Section 5 in Module A2).

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The percentage distribution of students in terms of the amount of time required to travel from home to school (see also Example 1 in Module A1 and Question 24 in the example school census questionnaire in Module A2) can indicate the degree of difficulties for children to come to attend school. Example 17 in Section 5.2 of module A4 demonstrates how to present and analyze such data. The findings can be used on the one hand to rationalize school locations and the school network by ensuring that there are schools within easy reach of the school-age children, and on the other hand to organize transportation and/or boarding facilities for those students who live far away. 

Repeaters and dropouts

Among the students in each grade, there are: (a) those who have been successfully promoted from a lower grade last year to the present higher grade; (b) those who dropped out of school; and (c) those repeaters who repeat the same grade as last year (see Example 1 in Module A1 and Question 21 in the example school census questionnaire in Module A2). It is important to know their numbers so as to calculate the following indicators of internal efficiency:     

percentage of repeaters by grade percentage of dropouts by grade promotion rate repetition rate dropout rate

Section 5.4 in Module A4 and Annex 3 in this Module present the concept and methods to calculate these rates. In addition, there can be similar indicators on the percentage of in-transfers by grade from other schools and previous school drop-outs who re-enter the school this year. These indicators describe what happened to the children during their studies through the grades in school, and the internal efficiency of the school. 

First time new entrants into Grade 1

In Grade 1 of primary education, data on first-time new entrants by gender and age (see Question 22 in the example school census questionnaire in Module A2) can be used to calculate the following indicators:  

gross intake rate (GIR) net intake rate (NIR)

in the same way as for gross enrolment ratios (GER) and net enrolment ratios (NER), when divided by the official school-entrance age population. Before calculating these rates, one must make sure that repeaters in Grade 1 and in-transfers into Grade 1 from other schools are not included in the number of new entrants. The net intake rate (NIR) can be used to estimate the size of schoolentrance age children who are not enrolled, for special enrolment drives to reach them. A useful EFA indicator is the number (and percentage) of new entrants to Grade 1 who have previously received some kind of organized early childhood care and education (ECCE). The data on previous schooling (or pre-school) in the student records (see Example 1 in Module A1 and Question 22 in the example school census questionnaire in Module A2) can be extracted, tallied and summarized to calculate this indicator. This indicator illustrates on the one hand the degree of preparedness of young children to start primary schooling. On the other hand, the percentage of those who have not previously attended ECCE can inform decisions to provide special attention and

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assistance to them at the primary school, as well as to expand ECCE provisions for future new entrants. ď&#x201A;˛

Examination pass rates and completion rates

Based on data on the number of students who have successfully passed the final examination in the previous school year (see Question 23 in the example school census questionnaire in Module A2), the indicator of pass rates by grade and by gender can be calculated by dividing the number of students who passed by the enrolment in the corresponding grade last year. This indicator can be used to gauge the performance of the students by school, grade and class. For the final grade in primary education, the indicator of completion rate can be calculated in a similar way. To assess learning achievement, the score obtained by individual students in different subjects can be presented in a summary list like the one shown in Example 12 in Module A1, and analysed in the same way as evaluating teacher performance in Section 6.2 in Module A4. The same applies to scores obtained during special learning achievement tests. Using the data in Questions 20 and 21 of the example school census questionnaire in Module A2, average student-class ratios by grade can be calculated to indirectly assess the quality of teaching/learning and to better manage class size in the school.

Activity 6: Based on the discussions in Section 5.3, review the data available to you in the school records and in the school census questionnaire, and answer the following questions: 1. Which education indicators do you think can be produced using the data available to you? How do they correspond to the EFA indicators in Table 1? 2. What kind of difficulties can occur when trying to produce these indicators? 3. What do you think can be done in order to address these difficulties? 4. Which according to you are the remaining gaps in indicators for monitoring education in particular EFA?

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Additional education indicators

Monitoring the six EFA goals at the local and school level requires a wide range of indicators. The specificities of issues to be addressed at such levels imply that these indicators can go beyond the list given in Table 1 in Section 5.2. Based on the types of data available at school and in the local area, any additional indicators identified and produced should on the one hand complement the recommended EFA indicators and at the same time indicate more detailed and specific issues related especially to ‘reaching the unreached’ and quality of education at school and in the local area. It is important that these additional indicators reflect the EFA indicator concepts and methodology, and contribute to EFA monitoring at the national and global levels. In this way, policy-makers and education managers at all levels, as well as other stakeholders in the local communities can obtain a more consistent and comprehensive picture of the state of EFA implementation.

6.1

Additional education indicators based on school data

As shown in the preceding sections and examples, the data and information available at school and in the local area can be used to derive many additional indictors. Standardizing the school records (see Section 8 in Module A1) and the annual school census questionnaire (see Section 4.2 of Module A2) can make these data and hence the resulting indicators more comparable and useful across the country. Table 2 on the next page indicates that among the EFA indicators marked with ‘*’ in the list in Section 4.1, a first group of data available in school on students, teachers and classes listed on the left-hand side in the upper part of the table can be used to derive the recommended EFA indicators of enrolment ratios, intake rates, pupil-teacher ratios, percentage of qualified/trained teachers, pupil-class ratios, repetition rates, promotion rates, dropout rates, survival rates, completion rates, gender parity indices, percentage of schools offering complete primary education, with improved water sources, with improved sanitation facilities, etc. A second group of more specific school records data related to textbooks, duration of travel from home to school, student performance results, teacher training and qualifications, etc. will enable the calculation of other recommended EFA indicators such as the percentage of students without textbook, textbook-pupil ratio, percentage distribution of primary school students by duration of travel between home and school, those who have mastered nationally defined basic learning competencies, percentage of teachers with pre-service or in-service teacher training, minimum academic qualification, certified to teach, etc. The middle column of the third group at the bottom of the table refers to recommended EFA indicators that will require specific data to be recorded at school or collected from school or district education offices. Such data are specified in the corresponding left-hand column of the table. Looking at the example school records in Module A1 and school census questionnaire in Module A2, a number of additional indicators can be identified as examples. These are added to the right-hand column of Table 2 on the next page. The additional indicators in the first two groups can be directly derived using the data in school records or collected in the example school census questionnaire in Module A2. Those in the third group refer mainly to data in the example school records presented in Module A1.

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Table 2. Additional education indicators Type of data • School characteristics • School facilities • Students(including new entrants, enrolment, repeaters, dropouts, completers, etc.) • Teachers

EFA indicators no. • 22, 46, 47, 50

• • • 8-18, 36, 39(b- • g), 43 • • • • • 19, 20, 37 • •

• Income and expenditure

• Textbooks • Duration of travel • Student performance • Teachers qualification • New entrants in Grade 1 with previous ECCE experience • Schools offering instruction in the mother tongue • Number of female school managers/district education officers

Examples of additional indicators

• 44 • 24 • 48 • 39(j-k), 40, 41 •2

• 23

• 38

Percentage distribution of schools by type Percentage of school facilities to repair Percentage of school facilities to replace Percentage of unused school facilities Percentage of school without electricity Classroom area per student Playground area per student Percentage of teachers by employment status Percentage of teachers by teaching hours per week • Percentage distribution of school income by source • Percentage distribution of school expenditure by type • Percentage of students without textbooks • Percentage of students scoring below average by subject • Percentage distribution of students by language spoken at home • Percentage distribution of students by type of disabilities • Percentage distribution of students by level of education of parent/guardian • Percentage distribution of students by days of absence per month • Percentage distribution of students by scores in behavior • Percentage distribution of teachers by languages abilities • Percentage distribution of teachers by years of teaching • Percentage distribution of teachers by grade and subject taught • Percentage distribution of teachers by special skills • Percentage distribution of teachers by total evaluation scores • Percentage distribution of teachers by score according to individual attributes • Percentage distribution of teaching materials by frequency of use

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Activity 7: Taking into account the data available to you, review the examples of additional education indicators listed above in Table 2 in relation to what you use to monitor education in your school/district/province/country, and answer the following questions: 1. Which of the example additional education indicators suggested in Table 2 can be relevant and useful to you? Why? 2. How should one go about producing and using these additional education indicators? 3. What other additional education indicators do you think can be produced using the data available to you? Why?

6.2

Other EFA indicators and data sources

The other EFA indicators without â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;*â&#x20AC;&#x2122; in Table 1 in Section 5.2 are those which will require data from data sources other than school records and school census questionnaire. Table 3 below presents alternative data sources for deriving these other EFA indicators, and for creating additional indicators.

Table 3.

Lists of data source for other EFA indicators

Alternative data sources

Type of data collected

a. Population censuses

Population by gender, age-group and geographical location; Illiterates; Population by educational attainment; School attendance; Fields of study

b. Household (or other) sample surveys

Additional data on population, illiteracy and educational attainment; School attendance this and previous year; Household educational expenditures; Other specific qualitative details (reasons for drop-out, opinions or expectations of parents, teachers, community members, etc.)

c. Special surveys of schools, ECCE centres, adult literacy and continuing education centres and programmes

Students/learners by gender, by age, by grade, by type of programme, by field of study; Repeaters, dropouts, transfers, completers; Condition of schools and centres, equipment, facilities, etc.; learning achievement and outcomes

d. Administrative records of relevant Various types of educational institutions, centres and ministries, departments and local programmes; Population profile; Educational government expenditures; Teachers' salaries; Teaching and other staff by age, qualification, status, etc.; Examination results

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In relation to EFA monitoring, population censuses and household surveys (see data sources a and b in the table above) are important for collecting data on:       

Population especially data on school-age and school-entrance age population Literate and illiterate population Education attainment of the population Access to school and school attendance Ethnic, linguistic and religious profile of the population Disabled persons Employment and occupation

Data on school-age and school-entrance age population are necessary for calculating enrolment ratios and intake rates. Data on adult population can be used to derive literacy rates and percentage distribution of the population by highest level of education attained. Data collected on school attendance during household surveys like the MICS (Multiple Indicators Cluster Surveys), LSMS (Living Standard Measurement Surveys) and DHS (Demographic and Health Surveys) can lead to the calculation of school attendance rates and other education indicators which complement the enrolment ratio, repetition rate and dropout rate (see Training Module B1-B5). For reaching the unreached under EFA, the most useful data from population censuses and household surveys are those regarding the numbers, characteristics and location of disadvantaged population groups such as ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities, the disabled, and the poor. These data when reviewed together with those on literates and illiterates, population by educational attainment and school attendance can help to identify who and where are those persons who do not benefit from education, for targeting priority EFA efforts taking into account their conditions and constraints,. In order to derive some of the other EFA indicators which are not marked with an ‘*’ in the list in Section 4.1, special surveys of data sources of the type (c) can be conducted to collect data on the other levels and types of educational institutions covered by the EFA goals such as the ECCE centres, secondary schools, technical/vocational training centres, adult and continuing education centres and programmes12,13. In a way similar to the census of primary schools, these surveys can cover data regarding the institution, its programme(s), physical facilities, finance, students/ learners, teachers/trainers. The practice of systematic records management within these other schools and centres can also help in ensuring data availability and quality. Various administrative records of government departments from the central to local levels may contain data which are relevant and can be used to derive education indicators. Such records of data sources (d) may concern different types of educational and training institutions, centres and programmes under different ministries and agencies. They can cover data and information on finance, teachers, salaries, examination results, and disadvantaged population – data which can be used to calculate EFA indicators.

UNESCO. (2005) NFE-MIS Handbook: Developing a Sub-national Non-formal Education Management Information System. Paris: UNESCO. (see: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001457/145791e.pdf) 13 UNESCO: (2009) Developing Management Information Systems for Community Learning Centres – A Guidebook. Bangkok. (see http://www2.unescobkk.org/elib/publications/257_258appeal/CLC-MIS.pdf)

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6.3

Gathering data from other sources

Population censuses usually take place once every ten years. Household surveys may be organized every 2-5 years depending on the type of household survey and the need to update certain data. The timeliness of data from these two sources may not correspond exactly to the EFA monitoring schedule. Estimations and projections can normally be made to obtain more timely data. Such estimates can be requested from the National Statistics Bureau or relevant government departments. Most countries make such population estimates for the national and provincial aggregates, but not for district nor local areas (see the Modules B1-B5 on how to analyse and use education data from household surveys). Unlike the population census which collects data from each and every household in the country, household surveys like the MICS, DHS and LSMS only cover a sample of the households, hence the resulting data are less representative of all the local areas and characteristics. One should therefore use them with caution especially to avoid wrong assertions and over-generalizing during interpretation. Data on other levels and types of educational institutions, centres and programmes may be collected either systematically on an annual basis like for primary school censuses, or through ad hoc special surveys. It will be necessary to contact the relevant government department or body responsible for collecting such data, in order to request the data needed to derive the indicators. Administrative records kept in relevant ministries, departments and local government offices may contain data and information that can be accessed, for use in calculating education indicators. Advantage can be taken of the proximity of local government offices to the population and schools in the local area, in regularly obtaining and updating data and indicators. Different data sources and types of data and indicators will have to be used in monitoring EFA. When tapping into various data sources, attention must be paid to ensure the consistency of the data obtained from censuses, surveys and administrative records. Some of the data quality control methods presented in Section 6 of Module A2 may be adapted for use. One should not hesitate to resort to other ways to verify and improve data consistency for example by checking if the definitions and data collection or recording methods differ from one source to another, or when the indicators derived from these data sources contradict each other. There is another limitation. For example, it is often the case that definitions of data differ from one survey to another. Therefore, the additional indicators prepared cannot be meaningfully compared. It is recommended to follow all the procedures listed in the next Section 7, so that one can ensure the validity of indicators created. To add indicators for capturing more precise picture of education, it may be kept in mind that there can be hidden problems with adding indicators due to the availability of data. Strict application of indicator concepts and methodology in creating and using indicators to monitor EFA progress is required.

Activity 8: Enquire about past and upcoming population censuses and household surveys in your district/province/country and the availability of education data thus collected, and the same about other surveys of education, and answer the following questions: 1. Which population censuses, household surveys and other surveys of education have been conducted in your district/province/country? When? 2. What kinds of education data have been collected? How can you access them? 3. What other relevant education data can be accessed? How? 4. How would you go about using all these data in monitoring education and EFA?

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Selection and Use of Education Indicator

From the previous Sections, the reader can understand that many indicators can be used to monitor the different goals of EFA and aspects of education. This Section explains how to select the most appropriate indicators for the purpose, and how to ensure that they are used to reliably elucidate the situation, issues and implications, as well as to guide decisions and actions. 7.1

Indicator selection criteria and practices

Indicators can be selected to monitor the overall situation or to examine specific aspects, issues and implications. Often, a certain phenomenon or issue has to be illustrated and explained by more than one indicator such as the monitoring of participation in school through the use of gross, net and agespecific enrolment ratios. Sometimes one indicator can also be used to depict several phenomena or issues for example the pupil-teacher ratio being used to check about the quantitative adequacy of teachers and at the same time the quality of education. The art of using indicators is not about calculating each time the full range of education indicators to monitor EFA, but to judiciously select the ones which can most clearly and effectively indicate the situation and highlight the issues. Efficient use of indicators would avoid selecting, calculating, analyzing and interpreting too many indicators in order to obtain the same finding and conclusion as a few well-selected indicators for the same phenomenon or issue. It can be even more confusing if these findings and conclusions are somewhat different or contradictory. This might have been caused by the selection of wrong indicators for the purpose. Such indicators may be based on different concepts, definitions, analytical objectives, types of data, data sources, and interpretation angles. Knowing how to select the most appropriate indicator for the purpose is therefore of utmost importance. Indicators can be selected based on the following criteria:      

Relevant in concept to the aspect or issue to be examined Clear in defining the purpose and limitations Data are available and reliable Can be easily and rigorously calculated Can be easily presented and interpreted Can be easily understood and used to aid in planning and decision-making

A good indicator indicates what needs to be indicated in a clear and reliable manner, by being SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable or Attainable, Result-oriented, and Time-bound). In practice, the steps to be taken to select education indicators include the following: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9)

Clarify what exactly we want to monitor or examine List down the questions needing answers Identify the kind of indicators that can be used Review the methodological basis and robustness of these indicators Know what data will be needed to derive the indicator, and where and how to get the data Gather sample data and examine their quality and reliability Test calculate the indicator to see if there are any difficulties or biases in the results Analyze the indicator’s appropriateness and sharpness for explaining the phenomenon Select the ones which are most feasible and appropriate for the purpose

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Different indicators may thus be selected to monitor different EFA goals and aspects of education. Like a jigsaw puzzle, they together constitute a more comprehensive picture of progress in achieving the six EFA goals. If needed and to the extent possible, other additional indicators may be identified and produced according to the criteria and practice above in order to fill the gaps in the picture. During actual use of each indicator in EFA monitoring, one can continue to check its relevance, feasibility, reliability and usefulness. For the purpose of ‘reaching the unreached’, gaps, problems and issues identified regarding disadvantaged areas or population can lead to more detailed disaggregation and in-depth analysis of the selected indicators in order to better pin-point the gaps and solve the problems and issues. Often, new issues and questions can also emerge during detailed analysis, which call other additional indicators to be calculated and analyzed as well.

7.2

Wrong selection and misuse of education indicators

One should be seriously aware that errors in selecting and producing education indicators can lead to wrong understanding among the stakeholders, and wrong decisions made by education administrators and stakeholders. Such errors can occur during the entire indicator selection and production process, when: o o o o o o o

Wrong issue or aspect was chosen Wrong questions were asked Wrong concept, definition and methodology of indicator Wrong data or wrong data source Wrong calculation and analysis Wrong presentation and interpretation Wrong use

Any error at any one of these steps can introduce fundamental mistakes in understanding and decision-making when using the indicator thus selected. For example, the issue and questions may be clearly identified but the concept and methodology of the indicator were poorly defined; or the data may be unreliable; or errors were made during calculation, analysis or interpretation. There can be other misuses of indicators for example those which are irrelevant to the issue under review, or of indicators whose values do not actually highlight any issue but are taken as being significant. The former may be the case when pupil-teacher ratio is used to assess the level of enrolment in school. Another misuse is to over-generalize by taking two indicators which have similar values for a district and assuming it to have the same values for other districts as well. Another example of misuse of education indicators occurs when comparing indicators created with different scales. When assessing students’ performance at a school, if the average score of a mathematics examination conducted for class A was 58 out of 100, and the results of another mathematics examination conducted for class B was also 58%. Can we conclude that both class A and B achieved the same outcomes in demonstrating that the students’ performance are at the same level among the two classes? If we do not know whether these two examinations asked the same questions, or whether the same teacher marked the scores, it will be impossible to give a clear-cut answer ‘YES’ to the above question. For indicators to be comparable, the same scale, the same definition and the same way to measure it must be used. In addition, all the other conditions and steps for deriving the indicator values will have to be same.

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Activity 9: Review your own criteria and practices in selecting and using education indicators, discuss with other colleagues and stakeholders in your school/district/province/country about what they know and do, and answer the following questions: 1. What emerged as the consensus on the criteria to be used in selecting education indicators? Which other specific criteria have also been used? Why? 2. How should one go about selecting education indicators? What other steps can be added? Why? 3. What other lessons have you and your colleagues learned when selecting and using education indicators?

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8. Data analysis using education indicator 8.1

Purpose of data analysis

Analysis means detailed examination of the elements or structure of an object or a process in order to identify patterns, trends, issues, causes, key factors and possible consequences. Data analysis for monitoring EFA is carried out using available data, indicators and other relevant information. This part of Module A3 focuses on data analysis using education indicators to monitor, evaluate and assess progress towards the EFA goals. Table 4 below explains how can indicators support various monitoring, evaluation and assessment functions. Essentially: ď&#x201A;ˇ ď&#x201A;ˇ ď&#x201A;ˇ

Monitoring can take place regularly during policy implementation to check progress and to identify issues and lessons so as to adjust the implementation processes; Evaluation is carried out after the completion of specific stages of implementation, to reflect on what have and have not been accomplished, and the factors and constraints; Assessment aims specifically at reviewing the outcomes and impacts of curriculum design and various teaching/learning processes and materials. Table 4.

Monitoring, evaluation and assessment using education indicators Functions and Indicators Monitoring

Evaluation

Purpose:

During implementation. Formative by continuously drawing lessons and insights to adjust implementation.

Aimed at:

Operations and management Policy-making and leadership

Curriculum designers, teachers, course providers

Focus on:

Account of what and how Effectiveness of policies and things have been done and strategies vis-a-vis goals and immediate results and lessons targets

Learning objectives, teachinglearning methods and materials, outcomes and impact

Information regarding:

Inputs and process

Outcomes and impact

Learning achievements per objectives, teaching-learning processes

School capacities; graduates; learning achievement, socioeconomic changes

Learning results according to teaching-learning methods and materials

Indicators on: Resource inputs, access and participation, efficiency, quality of delivery

After implementation. Summative by evaluating how policies/programmes have been implemented.

Assessment During and after implementation. Can be both formative and summative to review outcome/impact.

To monitor progress in EFA, indicators of inputs, process, output and outcomes are most frequently used. The lower part of Table 4 suggests the type of education indicators that can be applied and analyzed.

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All stakeholders supporting education including the school managers, teachers, school management board members and education officers at different levels of the education administration must therefore know about and be involved in monitoring, evaluation and assessment, and about how best to use indicators in these functions. 8.2

Procedures of data analysis

According to the EFA Technical Guidelines4.5, the basic steps for monitoring EFA are as follows: a) Assess progress and gaps in the achievement of the national and global targets of EFA; b) Identify and locate the remaining gaps in terms of access, quality and equity sub-nationally, with a focus on the disadvantaged and underserved populations; c) Review, identify and locate problems, issues, policies, strategies, actions and success stories; d) Use the results of the assessment to better formulate policies and strategies for attaining the EFA goals and the MDGs by 2015. All these steps involve the analysis and use of EFA indicators. In essence, the EFA and additional education indicators presented in Sections 5.2 to 6.1 regarding schools, classes, students, teachers, resource inputs, educational processes can be analyzed according to their: i) ii) iii) iv)

Characteristics, distribution and patterns; differences, disparities and imbalances; changes over time; progress and shortfalls against targets and plans

Such analysis can help to identify issues, causes and actions to address them. Data analysis for monitoring EFA must therefore cover both the spatial and temporal dimensions in that: A. Spatial refers to geographical sub-divisions such as provinces, districts and local areas whilst differentiating between urban and rural zones in particular the remote areas; B. Temporal covers the changes over time. Very often, the monitoring of EFA from year to year requires that EFA indicators be calculated and analyzed combining both the spatial and temporal dimensions. In order to better locate the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;unreachedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; population and understand their characteristics and needs, disaggregated EFA indicators are analyzed not only by province and by district, but also by local areas, schools and households. The next Section discuss how best to disaggregate EFA indicators.

Activity 10: Review your own methods and practices in data analysis using education indicators, compare notes with other colleagues and stakeholders in your school/district/province/country about what they know and do, and answer the following questions: 1. What kind of methods and practices have been in use among you and your colleagues in analyzing data and indicators on education? 2. As compared to what have been discussed in this section, what are the pros and cons of different approaches, methods and practices? 3. How best should one go about analyzing data and indicators in monitoring, evaluating and assessing achievement of EFA goals?

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Disaggregation of education indicators

9.1

Importance of disaggregation

“Disaggregation” is the process of breaking down and analyzing an indicator by detailed subcategories. Disaggregation of data can reveal differences and disparities which may not be fully reflected in broad aggregate figures. Disaggregation by level of education, geographical areas and population sub-groups would allow for a better understanding of the nature of disparities within the national education system, and where to target priority efforts to address them. One can notice in the school records and school census questionnaire in Modules A1 and A2 that data are often recorded and collected with more detailed breakdown such as enrolment by gender, age and grade; number of teachers by qualification and training; school income by source and expenditure by type; etc. These breakdown classifications when compared and analyzed can help us to better understand the characteristics, patterns, differences and disparities among individual schools, classes, students and teachers. Such findings when compared at the school, district, provincial and country level, and over time, can provide very useful information regarding progress, shortfalls, gaps and issues, for developing and implementing new policies and actions. It is therefore good practice to always look at not only the numerical totals but also the more detailed breakdowns, and to see their changes over time. For analytical purposes, data can be organized in two ways: (a) cross-sectional data; and (b) time series data. Cross-sectional data are like snapshots that capture a situation at a particular time, for example the number of schools, students and teachers by district at the start of the 2010 school year. Time series data consist of a series of snapshots showing the changes throughout a duration of time, for example the number of students from 1999 to 2006. Often, data are analyzed combining both ways. The district education officers can therefore compare the schools, students and teachers within the local area, and with other districts and the national average. Provincial education administrations can compare the districts and schools in the province and with other provinces. And the central Ministry of Education is in a position to monitor and identify disparities within the education system for the country as a whole, and to compare with other national education systems. 9.2

Dimensions of disaggregation

Disaggregation of data and indicators is especially important in monitoring EFA. To ‘reach the unreached’ and to ensure equality and quality, detailed and disaggregated information by school, by geographical locations and disadvantaged population groups are required down to the local if not also the community and household levels. Such disaggregated data can help to identify and target specific localities and individuals for appropriate priority EFA actions to be taken to address the kind of issues and difficulties facing them. It is therefore important to produce and use education indicators which can be further analysed by relevant disaggregated classifications in order to elucidate specific concerns. For example, enrolment ratios can be calculated separately for boys and girls to gauge gender disparities in participation; pupil-teacher ratios calculated for different grades to improve teacher assignment; percentage of qualified teachers by school or by district to compare education quality; etc.

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Sometimes, different types of disaggregation may be simultaneously possible for an indicator, such as enrolment ratios by gender and at the same time by age and grade. Selection of the right type of disaggregation will depend on what one wants to know. For example, age-specific enrolment ratio will be needed if there are concerns about low participation in education among children of a specific age or ages. Percentage of untrained teachers may be more relevant that the percentage distributions of teachers by academic qualification if one is planning in-service teacher training. A particular type of disaggregation may be very effective in highlighting differences and disparities, for example by comparing a pupil-teacher ratio of 1:48 in School A against 1:25 in School B. But some disaggregations may not be as sharp in comparing different schools, districts, classes, students or teachers. The effectiveness of different indicators by different disaggregations can change with location and time. The choice will depend on the status or issue under review at a specific location at the time of use of the indicator. For purposes of monitoring disparities and inequities in EFA and according to specific national or sub-national conditions and needs, the following types of disaggregation can be systematically included in school records management, data collection and indicators production14: • • • • • • •

Gender: male/female; Geographical and administrative units: provinces, districts, localities and other sub-national units, urban/rural, less developed/more developed areas; Social: caste system, occupation, socio-economic status, legal status (birth registration, citizenship); Ethnic-cultural: ethnicity, religious affiliations, language minorities; Vulnerable: orphans, children of poor families; migrants; working children, children affected by HIV/AIDS, children affected by conflict (IDPs) and disasters; Disabilities: physical or mental Education source: private/public/faith based; formal/non-formal/community based.

Additional types of disaggregation may be introduced in the school records, school census questionnaire and indicators as deemed appropriate and useful to the school or district education office. An additional advantage of disaggregation of data and indicators is their use in analyzing and assessing the differentiated impact of broad policies and measures on different local areas, population groups, and in addressing different problems and issues. For example, disaggregation of the indicator ‘education expenditure per student’ by province, districts and schools can tell a lot not only about local cost levels, but also about the allocation of government education budget and the financial contributions from the local communities, businesses and families. Without such disaggregations, evaluation of the true impact of governmental policies cannot be made, nor can effective future policy-making be based on reliable evaluation results. Data collection, storage format and processing need to be designed for the flexible compilation of data at the appropriate level of disaggregation in terms of administrative levels, geographic areas and population groups. When applying the disparity measures to indicators for the six EFA goals that have been calculated for each administrative level, area and population group, one can not only

UNESCO-UNICEF: Guidelines for the Asia and Pacific Education for All Mid-Decade Assessment: Identifying and Reaching the Unreached, 2006. (see http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/efa/EFA_MDA/TechGuide_Draft_15Sept.pdf)

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gauge the degree of disparities among them regarding the different dimensions and facets of EFA, but also identify the target disadvantaged population groups and areas. To formulate targeted action for reaching the unreached and the underserved, disparities need to be analyzed in terms of the distribution of educational opportunities, resources, access, quality and outcomes across administrative levels, geographic areas and population groups. There are statistical methods for measuring the magnitude and frequency of different types of disparities. This information can be used to identify and locate the deprived or disadvantaged populations and areas and deliver appropriate responses to the respective target groups addressing their specific educational needs and difficulties. The measurement of disparities and inequities within the six EFA goals and for the various indicators can be analyzed with basic charts and graphs comparing different sub-populations. In addition, the following measurements can be used to analyze disparities between different target groups:       

Absolute and relative percentage difference Ratio (sex, urban-rural, majority-minority) Range (maximum-minimum) Mean and median Percentile and quartile Gender Parity Index (GPI) Representation Index (RI)

Recent studies on progress towards the six EFA goals use four additional measures of disparities:    

Range ratio (maximum/minimum) Coefficient of variation (deviation from the mean) Gini coefficient of inequality (deviation from equal distribution) McLoone Index/Adjusted McLoone Index (deviation from the median)

As specific methodological characteristics of each EFA indicator and disparity measure may depict gaps and disparities in education in a different manner, these should be interpreted with care (for more details, see Annex 4).

Activity 11: Review the data and indicators available to you to see how disaggregated are they, discuss with other school managers and education officers in your district/province/country about their experiences in identifying disparities and inequalities, and answer the following questions: 1. How disaggregated are the data on education in your school/district/ province/country? What kind of disaggregated education indicators can be derived? 2. What are the difficulties in producing, analyzing and interpreting disaggregated education indicators? 3. How best should one go about using disaggregated education indicators in analyzing disparities and reaching the unreached?

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10.

Quiz

Q1.

What is an indicator? (Please tick all correct answers) □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Q2.

Why do we need indicators? (Please tick all correct answers) □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Q3.

to tell us what is happening in the world to identify gaps and issues to compose a song to set targets and define plans to continue to work in our usual way to monitor progress and shortfalls to tell stories to compare with other schools, districts or countries to guide decision-making to stop trying to find out more about an object or a phenomenon

Education indicators usually indicate: (Please tick all correct answers) □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Q4.

a number a landscape a sound a story a signal a song a percentage a development process a ratio a sample

When will it rain? Are there enough resource inputs into education? Internal efficiency of schools? Are children playing? How do young children access Grade 1 for the first time? Are all the teachers qualified to teach? What do children talk to each other about? How are children participating in school? How to teach children at home? What have children learned?

Cite one EFA indicator for each EFA goal below:

Goal 1: ECCE…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Goal 2: UPE………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…. Goal 3: Lifelong learning………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….

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Goal 4: Adult literacy………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…. Goal 5: Gender equality…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……. Goal 6: Quality of education………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….

Q5.

Education indicators can be derived using the data in school records and school censue questionnaire on: (Please fill in the blanks marked by dotted lines)      

Q6.

Q7.

School characteristics …………………………………………………… School environment …………………………………………………… …………………………………………………… Students

Please give 5 examples of useful additional education indicators: a)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Please match the four alternative data sources with the correct descriptions on the right:

Population censuses

Household (or other) sample b. surveys

Various types of educational institutions, centres and programmes; Population profile; Educational expenditures; Teachers' salaries; Teaching and other staff by age, qualification, status, etc.; Examination results

Special surveys of schools, ECCE centres, adult literacy and continuing education centres and programmes

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Administrative records of relevant ministries, departments and local government

Answer: (Please draw lines)

Q8.

Population by gender, age-group and geographical location; Illiterates; Population by educational attainment; School attendance; Fields of study

What are the criteria for selecting education indicators? (Please fill in the blanks marked by dotted lines)       

Q9.

Relevant in concept to the aspect or issue to be examined Clear in defining the purpose and limitations …………………………………………………………………………………………………..... …………………………………………………………………………………………………..... Can be easily interpreted Can be easily presented ………………………………………………………………………………………………….....

How should one go about selecting education indicators? (Please put the given number of the steps listed on the next page into the correct order into the sequence of boxes below)

Step 1

1. Analyze the indicator’s appropriateness and sharpness for explaining the phenomenon 2. Test calculate the indicator to see if there are any difficulties or biases in the results 3. Gather sample data and examine their quality and reliability 4. Know what data will be needed to derive the indicator, and where and how to get the data 5. Select the ones which are most feasible and appropriate for the purpose 6. Identify the kind of indicators that can be used 7. List down the questions needing answers 8. Clarify what exactly we want to monitor or examine 9. Review the methodological basis and robustness of these indicators Q10.

Which are the key dimensions for analysing disparities in education? (Please tick all correct answers) □ □

Gender: male/female Geographical and administrative units: provinces, districts, localities and other subnational units, urban/rural, less developed/more developed areas;

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□ □ □ □ □ □ □

Social: caste system, occupation, socio-economic status, legal status (birth registration, citizenship); Employed/unemployed: between persons who are employed and unemployed Ethnic-cultural: ethnicity, religious affiliations, language minorities; Vulnerable: orphans, children of poor families; migrants; working children, children affected by HIV/AIDS, children affected by conflict (IDPs); Disabilities: physical or mental Education source: private/public/faith based; formal/non-formal/community based Time: from month to month; from year to year

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11.

Further Study



Oakes, Jeannie, October 1986: Educational Indicators: A Guide for Policymakers, Rutgers University - Centre for Policy Research in Education (see http://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers-education/OPE01/)



UNESCO Bangkok. EFA Mid-Decade Assessment and Mid-Term Policy Review. References and Resources. (see http://www.unescobkk.org/en/education/efa/mda/efa-mda-referencematerials/ )



UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Education Indicators Technical Guidelines. (see http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/aims/Publications/UIS_indicator_definitio ns_EN.pdf )



UNESCO: Guidelines for EFA Monitoring, Evaluation and Assessment: Identifying and Reaching the Unreached. UNESCO Bangkok. To be published 2010.



UNESCO: Gender-Sensitive Education Statistics and Indicators: A Practical Guide. (see http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.phpURL_ID=11581&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html)



UNESCO. World Education Report 1991. (see http://www.unesco.org/education/information/wer/htmlENG/wer91.htm )



Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA). “3 Meaning and Use of Indicators” Guidelines on preparing an indicators report. (see http://www.adeanet.org/adeaPortal/adea/publications/en_pubs_wges.html )



Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA). “Part 1 Concepts and Nature of Education Indicators” The Midland Reports. (see http://www.adeanet.org/adeaPortal/adea/publications/en_pubs_wges.html )



United Nations (2006) Indicators for policy management: A Guide for Enhancing the Statistical Capacity of Policy-makers for Effective Monitoring of the MDGs at the Country Level. New York: United Nations



Scientific Training by Assignment for Research Students. Short activities: Data Presentation. (see http://www.stars.rdg.ac.uk/data.html)



Southwest Center for Education and the Natural Environment. Data presentation. (see http://scene.asu.edu/habitat/data_present.html)



Information Builders. Current Issues: Table vs. Graph. (see http://www.informationbuilders.com/new/newsletter/9-2/05_lozovsky.html)

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ANNEX 1:

EFA monitoring, evaluation and assessment indicators

EFA Policy and Structure Indicators Policy/System Indicators Presence of national development plans (including the EFA National Action Plan) demonstrating integration of human rights and gender equality principles Presence of institutionalized mechanisms for sustained engagement of children and young people in policy development Presence of regular monitoring and evaluation of the education system (particularly against current plans), with special attention given to marginalized groups, including women, ethnic and linguistic minorities, castes, people with disabilities, the rural and extreme poor, migrants and non-citizens

Core EFA Coordination Indicators Core EFA MEA Indicators Existence of a functioning National EFA Forum with a dedicated secretariat or staff  Identify all sub-committees or thematic/technical working groups, existence of terms of reference and functions Presence of an EFA National Coordinator  Identify his/her position within the Ministry of Education Publication of an EFA National Action Plan  Year of publication/ministerial endorsement Integration of EFA National Action Plan in National Education Development Strategy and national development planning framework and process Budget allocation for implementation of EFA National Action Plan External funding support for EFA programmes Strategy in place for the monitoring and evaluation of EFA programmes

A3-46

Training Module A3

Goal 1: Early Childhood Care and Education 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.1.4 1.1.5 1.1.6

Policy/System Indicators Existence of national, multi-sectoral early childhood policy Adopted national standards for monitoring developmental readiness in early childhood and learning programmes Presence of early screening programmes with referral system Health links in ECCE established, with visits by health professionals, diagnostics or referral Careers of ECCE care providers professionalized, including pre-service and in-service training, pay parity with primary schools, university and higher education degree programmes National ECCE or education policy includes provision of ECCE for vulnerable and disadvantaged children Core EFA MEA Indicators

1.2.1

Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in ECCE programmes

1.2.2

Percentage of new entrants to primary Grade 1 who have attended some form of organized ECCE programme

1.2.3

Enrolment in private ECCE centres as a percentage of total enrolment in ECCE programmes

1.2.4

Percentage of children under age 5 suffering from stunting

1.2.5

Percentage of households consuming iodized salt

Suggested Disaggregation for Analysis of Disparities (see Part I – Section 6.4 and Annex 2)  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Public, private, faith-based, community-based  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Public, private, faith-based, community-based  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education  Sex  Age group  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Wealth quintile

Data Source  Annual pre-school census  Household surveys

 Annual pre-school census  Household surveys

 Household surveys

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Training Module A3

1.2.6

Percentage of trained teachers in ECCE programmes

1.2.7

Public expenditure on ECCE programmes as a percentage of total public expenditure on education Additional Indicators

1.3.1

Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) in ECCE programmes including preprimary education

1.3.2

Pupil/Teacher Ratio (PTR) (child-caregiver ratio)

1.3.3

Public current expenditure on ECCE per child as a percentage of GNP per capita Under-5 mortality rate

1.3.4

      

Sex Age group Qualification Years of experience Geographic region Urban/rural Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile  Public, private, faith-based, community-based  Trained to teach: o In local language(s) o Disabled persons  National level indicator

 Annual pre-school census  Household surveys

Disaggregation for analysis of disparities (see Part I – Section 6.4 and Annex 2)  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Public, private, faith-based, community-based  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education  Age group  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Public, private, faith-based, community-based  National level indicator

Data Source

   

 National census  Household surveys

Sex Geographic region Urban/rural Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education

 Government budget reports

 Annual pre-school census  Household surveys

 Government budget reports

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Training Module A3

1.3.5

Percentage of infants with low birth weight

   

Percentage of 1-year-old children immunized against DPT3, polio, measles, and hepatitis; and receiving other vaccines

   

Percentage of population or households with sustainable access to safe drinking water Percentage of population with sustainable access to basic sanitation

 

Geographic region Urban/rural

1.3.10

Percentage of young children whose parents participate in parenting education programmes

   

1.3.11

Exclusive breastfeeding rate

   

1.3.6

Vitamin A supplementation coverage rate

 

1.3.7

1.3.8

1.3.9

 

Routine health system reporting (though this only covers deliveries in facilities) National health surveys that either ask the mother (recall) or check the health record (assuming birth weight has been taken and recorded)

 

Routine health system reports National surveys e.g. DHS that ask mothers if their child received a vitamin A supplement within the last six months

 



Routine health system reports National surveys e.g. DHS that review the child’s immunization record EPI coverage surveys

        

MICS DHS National census Household surveys MICS DHS National census Household surveys Household surveys

    

MICS DHS Household surveys Survey of street children Survey of children in institutions, etc.

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Training Module A3

1.3.12

Percentage of children under 5 with anemia

   

1.3.13

Birth registration rate

  

1.3.14

Rate of support at home for early learning

    

o Mother’s education Sex Geographical region Urban/rural Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education Sex Geographic region Urban/rural

Sex Age Geographic region Urban/rural Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education

    

MICS DHS Household surveys Survey of street children Survey of children in institutions, etc.

    

MICS DHS Household surveys Survey of street children Survey of children in institutions, etc. MICS Household surveys

 

A3-50

Training Module A3

Goal 2. Achieving Universal Primary / Basic Education 2.1.1

2.1.2 2.1.3 2.1.4 2.1.5 2.1.6 2.1.7

Policy/System Indicators Legislative, policy and institutional reform in conformity with the country’s commitment to achieve the EFA Dakar goal of the universalization of primary education in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child Presence of national policies and plans for the universalization of “free and compulsory” primary education. Describe how these are being implemented Information available on the number, characteristics, and geographic location of children in difficult circumstances and children belonging to ethnic minorities Incentives and/or special support programmes put in place to promote access to and completion of primary education for children in difficult circumstances and ethnic minority children Presence of legislation and regulations governing teachers’ codes of conduct, working conditions, etc. Existence of an operational Education Management Information System (EMIS) that collects and produces reliable disaggregated information and indicators that are accessible to the public Existence of school/community mapping and a child-seeking strategy for “unreached” school-age children Core EFA MEA Indicators

2.2.1

Gross Intake Rate (GIR) in primary education

2.2.2

Net Intake Rate (NIR) in primary education

2.2.3

Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in:  primary education  secondary education

2.2.4

Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) in:  primary education  secondary education

Disaggregation for Analysis of Disparities (see Part I – Section 6.4 and Annex 2)  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language

Data Source  Annual school census  Household surveys

 Annual school census  Household surveys

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Training Module A3

2.2.5

Repetition Rate (RR) by grade in primary education

    

2.2.6

Survival Rate to Grade 5

    

 2.2.7

Primary Cohort Completion Rate

    

 2.2.8

Transition Rate (TR) from primary to secondary education

    

o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education Sex Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education Sex Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education For the survivors: either with or without grade repetition Sex Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education For the completers: either with or without grade repetition Sex Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education

 Annual school census

 Annual school census  School registers  Household surveys

 Annual school census  Household surveys

A3-52

Training Module A3

2.2.9

Percentage of trained teachers in primary education

      

 

2.2.10

Pupil/Teacher Ratio (PTR) in primary education

2.2.11

Public expenditure on primary education as a percentage of total public expenditure on education Additional EFA MEA Indicators

2.3.1

Age-Specific Enrolment Rate (ASER)

2.3.2

Promotion Rate (PR)

2.3.3

Dropout Rate (DR)

   

Sex Age group Qualification Years of experience Geographic region Urban/rural Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile Public/private Trained to teach: o In local language(s) o Disabled persons Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private National level indicator

Disaggregation for Analysis of Disparities (see Part I – Section 6.4 and Annex 2)  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Level of education  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Public/private  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Public/private  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education

 Annual school census

 Annual school census  Household surveys  Government budget reports

Data Source  Annual school census  National population census (specific age estimates derived from Sprague Multipliers)  Annual school census  Household surveys

 Annual school census  Household surveys

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Training Module A3

2.3.4

Survival rate by grade

    

2.3.5

Percentage of repeaters

     

2.3.6

Percentage of schools offering complete primary education

2.3.7

Percentage of primary schools offering instruction in the mother tongue Percentage distribution of primary school students by duration of travel between home and school

2.3.8

 Annual school census

  

Sex Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education Grade Sex Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private

  

Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private

 Annual school census  School registers  School surveys

     

Sex Age Grade Geographic region Urban/rural Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education

   

 Annual school census  School registers  School surveys

Annual school census School registers School surveys Household surveys

A3-54

Training Module A3

Goal 3. Life Skills and Lifelong Learning 3.1.1 3.1.2 3.1.3

3.1.4

3.1.5 3.1.6 3.1.7 3.1.8 3.1.9 3.1.10 3.1.11

Policy/System Indicators Presence of policies, legislation and/or plan to develop lifelong learning that responds to the learning needs of young people and adults in the country The existence of a national, multi-sectoral technical and vocational education and training policy Existence of mechanisms to identify the learning needs of young people and adults, and to systematically undertake research on curriculum development as well as on the design of appropriate learning programmes and materials for them The existence of national standards and benchmarks on life skills, and the incorporation of life skills content into the curriculum and teaching/learning processes in both formal and non-formal education, including technical and vocational education and training (TVET) Lifelong learning/continuing education programmes with embedded life skills content organized to respond to the learning needs of young people and adults Curriculum development and teacher training sub-systems established to support the development of life skills-focused training programmes in lifelong learning/continuing education The existence of skills based approaches and tools within pre-service teacher training programmes Student participation in school affairs elaborated within national education policy frameworks National educational standards explicitly include psycho-social, emotional and behavioural skills as part of learning objectives of the respective levels of education Availability of counseling services for secondary school students Regular nationwide information system established to monitor progress in the development of lifelong learning/continuing education Core EFA MEA Indicators

3.2.1

Number and percentage distribution of the adult population by educational attainment

3.2.2

Number and percentage distribution of young people aged 15-24 years by educational attainment

Suggested Disaggregation for Analysis of Disparities (see Part I – Section 6.4 and Annex 2)  Sex  Age group  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Occupation o Mother’s education  Sex  Age group  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Occupation o Mother’s education

Data Source  Population censuses  Household surveys  Demographic projections

 Population censuses  Household surveys  Demographic projections

A3-55

Training Module A3

3.2.3

Youth Literacy Rate (age 15 to 24)

   

3.2.4

Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for technical and vocational education and training

   

3.2.5

Number and percentage distribution of lifelong learning/continuing education centres and programmes for young people and adults

     

3.2.6

Number and percentage distribution of young people and adults enrolled in lifelong learning/continuing education programmes

         

3.2.7

Number and percentage distribution of teachers/facilitators in lifelong learning/continuing education programmes for young people and adults

         

Sex Geographic region Urban/rural Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education Sex Geographic region Urban/rural Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education Geographic region Urban/rural Type of programme Target population Type of organizer/sponsor Type of life skills imparted Sex Age group Educational attainment Geographic region Urban/rural Type of programme Target population Type of organizer/sponsor Type of life skills imparted Other social and economic disaggregation o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Occupation o Mother’s education Sex Age group Qualification Years of experience Geographic region Urban/rural Type of programme Type of life skills imparted Trained to teach life skills Trained to teach: o In local language(s) o Disabled persons

 Population censuses  Household surveys  Literacy surveys

 Annual school census  School registers  School surveys

 Ministry of Education statistics  Department/ National Council of Adult Education  Department of NFE Accreditation and Equivalency  District NFE data  Community records  Ministry of Education statistics  District NFE data  Community records  Child Labour Force Survey

    

Ministry of Education Statistics District NFE data Community records Labour force surveys Living standard survey

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Training Module A3

Additional Indicators

3.3.1

Transition rates from primary to secondary education and from secondary to higher education

3.3.2

Unemployment rate

3.3.3

Number of incidents of reported violence in schools

3.3.4

Incidence of substance abuse among young people

3.3.5

Curriculum time in formal and non-formal education includes life skills on health and HIV prevention

3.3.6

Knowledge of HIV prevention practice among young people and adults

Disaggregation for Analysis of Disparities (see Part I - Section 6.4 and Annex 2)  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Public/private  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education  Sex  Age groups: youth and adults  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education  Education level  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Nature of violence, i.e., bullying, theft, physical assaults  Sex  Age group  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Sex  Age group  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile  Sex  Age group (10-14; 15-24 and over 25)  Geographical region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education

Data Source  Annual school census  Household surveys

 Population censuses  Labour force surveys

   

School safety survey Police records Ministry of Justice Ministry of Education

 Ministry of Health

 Curriculum Department recommended syllabus/timetable  School survey  Activity reports of organizations engaged in health education

 Behavioural Surveillance Survey  DHS  MICS

A3-57

Training Module A3

3.3.7

Proportion of young people and adults living with HIV/AIDS

    

Sex Age group (15-24 and 25-49) Geographical region Urban/rural Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education

 UN General Assembly Special Session Country Report

A3-58

Training Module A3

Goal 4. Literacy 4.1.1 4.1.2 4.1.3 4.1.4

Policy/System Indicators Existence of a nationally recognized definition of “literate” and “numerate” persons. What is the definition? How is it applied in measuring literacy attainment? Existence of policies, laws, and decrees stipulating literacy as a basic human right Existence of systematic national monitoring and evaluation system for monitoring and evaluating literacy and basic continuing education programmes for out-of-school youths and adults Presence of literacy and basic continuing education programmes for adults conducted in local languages; and existence of literacy and post-literacy learning materials in local languages Core EFA MEA Indicators

4.2.1

Adult literacy rate (age 15+)

4.2.2

Youth literacy rate (age 15 to 24)

4.2.3

Gender Parity Index for Adult Literacy

4.2.4

Public expenditure on adult literacy and continuing education as a percentage of total public expenditure on education Additional EFA MEA Indicators

4.3.1

Number and percentage distribution of adult literacy and basic continuing education programmes

Disaggregation for Analysis of Disparities (see Part I - Section 6.4 and Annex 2)  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education  National-level indicator

Data Source

Disaggregation for Analysis of Disparities (see Part I – Section 6.4 and Annex 2)  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Type of programme  Types of sponsors/organizers  Target group(s)

Data Source

 Population censuses  Household surveys  Literacy surveys

 Government budget reports

 NFEMIS  District NFE data  Community records

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Training Module A3

4.3.2

Number and percentage distribution of facilitators of adult literacy and basic continuing education programmes

       

4.3.3

Number and percentage distribution of learners participating in adult literacy and basic continuing education programmes

     

4.3.4

Completion rate in adult literacy and basic continuing education programmes

     

4.3.5

Number and percentage of persons who passed the basic literacy test

   

4.3.6

Ratio of private (nongovernmental) to public expenditure on adult literacy and basic continuing education programmes

 

Sex Age group Geographic region Urban/rural Type of programme Qualified/trained to facilitate literacy and basic continuing education programmes Specialization Trained to teach: o In local language(s) o Disabled persons Sex Age group Geographic region Urban/rural Type of programme Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education Sex Age group Geographic region Urban/rural Type of programme Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education Sex Geographic region Urban/rural Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education Geographic region Urban/rural

 NFEMIS  District NFE data  Community records

A3-60

Training Module A3

Goal 5. Gender Parity and Equality 5.1.1 5.1.2 5.1.3 5.1.4

5.1.5

Policy/System Indicators Legislative, policy and institutional reform in conformity with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Government decision(s)/decree(s)/regulation(s) issued to mainstream gender within the education and training system, and specific budgets allocated to gender programming within relevant Ministries Existence of policies and incentives to encourage the participation of girls in school (stipends, scholarships, etc.) Government policies and regulations adopted to ensure equal status, remuneration, conditions of employment, professional development, recruitment and deployment, etc. between male and female teachers Gender review of the education sector plan and EFA plan, including review of the targets of access and participation, repetition and dropouts, teacher training, recruitment and deployment, curriculum, textbooks, education facilities, etc.

A3-61

Training Module A3

Core EFA MEA Indicators 5.2.1

Gender Parity Index for: adult literacy

5.2.2

Gender Parity Index for:  GER in ECCE Gender Parity Index for:  GIR in primary education Gender Parity Index for:  NIR in primary education Gender Parity Index for:  GER in primary education  GER in secondary education Gender Parity Index for:  NER in primary education  NER in secondary education Gender Parity Index for:  Survival Rate to Grade 5 Gender Parity Index for:  Transition Rate from primary to secondary education Percentage of female enrolment in:  ECCE  Primary education  Secondary education  Technical and vocational education and training  Literacy and continuing education  Higher education Percentage of female teachers in:  ECCE

5.2.3

5.2.4

5.2.5

5.2.6

5.2.7

5.2.8

5.2.9

5.2.10

Disaggregation for Analysis of Disparities (see Part I - Section 6.4 and Annex 2)  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education  See Indicator 5.2.1

Data Source  Annual school census  Population censuses  Household and specialized surveys

 See Indicator 5.2.1

   

 Annual school census  Various institutional data collections

Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education

 Geographic region  Urban/rural  Public/private

 Annual school census  Various institutional data collections

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Training Module A3

 Primary education  Secondary education  Technical and vocational education and training  Literacy and continuing education  Higher education

 Age group  Qualifications  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education

Additional Indicators

Disaggregation for Analysis of Disparities (see Part I – Section 6.4 and Annex 2)  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Public/private

5.3.1

Percentage of female school principals/administrators

5.3.2

Percentage of female staff holding senior positions within the Ministry of Education Gender Parity Index of teachers who have participated in pre-service teacher training programmes Gender Parity Index of teachers who have participated in in-service teacher training programmes Gender Development Index (GDI) Percentage of schools with separate toilet facilities for girls and boys Percentage of working children

5.3.3

5.3.4

5.3.5 5.3.6

5.3.7

Data Source

 Level of post held

    

School records Annual school census EMIS Databases of education personnel Databases of education personnel at the Ministry of Education

   

Geographic region Urban/rural Level and type of education Public/private

   

School records Annual school census EMIS Databases of education personnel

   

Geographic region Urban/rural Level and type of education Public/private

   

School records Annual school census EMIS Databases of education personnel

         

Geographic region Urban/rural Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private Sex Full-time or part-time Geographic region Urban/rural Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education

 UNDP Human Development Report  Annual school census  EMIS  Labour force survey

A3-63

Training Module A3

Goal 6. Quality Education 6.1.1 6.1.2 6.1.3

6.1.4 6.1.5 6.1.6 6.1.7 6.1.8 6.1.9

Policy/System Indicators Revision of the country’s education goals, objectives and quality standards conducted in line with EFA Presence of standard tests for measuring learning achievement linked to national curriculum Does the country participate in international learning achievement tests such as TIMMS, PISA, EALAS, LAMP or other multi-country initiatives – and what were the results or trends in terms of student performance? Presence of a system to give schools information on school and student performance on national exams Presence of a national CFS policy or framework, or examples where holistic approaches to improving school quality across the five dimensions have been implemented School self-assessment tools and processes initiated and linked to school planning, with active student, parent and community participation Presence of a high-level commission or public office for national standards and quality assessment, using standardized quality assessment criteria, with authority to publish its results What specific provision has been issued to set and enforce quality standards for school environments? Are they child-friendly? What policies are in place regarding corporal punishment and what is the current practice in classrooms? What is the situation in terms of violence in schools? Core EFA MEA Indicators

6.2.1

Survival Rate to Grade 5

6.2.2

Primary Cohort Completion Rate

6.2.3

Percentage of primary school teachers having the required academic qualifications

Data Source  Annual school census  Household surveys

 Annual school census  School registers  Household surveys

 Annual school census  Ministry of Education personnel database

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Core EFA MEA Indicators

6.2.4

Percentage of school teachers who are certified to teach according to national standards for:  ECCE  Primary education  Secondary education  Literacy and continuing education

6.2.5

Pupil/Teacher Ratio (PTR) for:  Primary education  Secondary education Pupil/Class Ratio (PCR) for:  Primary education  Secondary education Pupil/Textbook Ratio (PBR) for:  Primary education  Secondary education Public expenditure on education as a percentage of total government expenditure Public expenditure on education as a percentage of Gross National Product (GNP) Public expenditure on primary/secondary education per pupil as a percentage of GNP per capita Percentage of schools with improved water sources

6.2.6

6.2.7

6.2.8

6.2.9

6.2.10

6.2.11

6.2.12

Percentage of schools with improved sanitation facilities

Disaggregation for Analysis of Disparities (see Part I - Section 6.4 and Annex 2) o Wealth quintile  Sex  Age group  Qualification  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Public/private  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile

Data Source

 Geographic region  Urban/rural  Public/private

 Annual school census  Household surveys

 Geographic region  Urban/rural  Public/private

 Annual school census

   



Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private Subject

 Annual school census  Ministry of Education personnel database

Annual school census

 National level indicator

 Government budget reports

 National level indicator

 Government budget reports

 Level of education

 Government budget reports  Annual school census  Population census

       

 Annual school census  Project surveys and reports

Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private Level of education Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private Level of education

 Annual school census  Project surveys and reports

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Additional Indicators

6.3.1

Percentage of pupils who have mastered nationally defined basic learning competencies

6.3.2

School life expectancy

6.3.3

Instructional hours

6.3.4

Percentage distribution of teachers who attended inservice training programmes by type and duration

6.3.5

Percentage of primary teachers who are trained in multi-grade teaching

6.3.6

Percentage of primary schools with libraries or reading centres Percentage of primary school age children who have intestinal worm infection

6.3.7

Disaggregation for Analysis of Disparities (see Part I – Section 6.4 and Annex 2)  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Public/private  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Public/private  Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Level and type of education  Public/private  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Level and type of education  Public/private            

Sex Geographic region Urban/rural Level and type of education Public/private Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private Sex Geographic region Urban/rural Other social and economic disaggregation such as o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education

Data Source  School records  Standard test results  Annual school census

 Annual school census or household surveys

 School records  Annual school census  EMIS    

School records Annual school census EMIS Databases of education personnel

 Databases of education personnel

 Annual school census  EMIS  Health surveys

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6.3.8

Number of incidents of violence reported in schools

    

6.3.9

Average score on TIMMS, PISA, LAMP or National Secondary School Leaving Certificate Examination or its equivalent

      

Education level Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private Nature of violence i.e., bullying, theft, physical assaults Sex Age group Geographic region Urban/rural Type of programme Type of life skills imparted Other social and economic disaggregation o Ethnicity, caste o Language o Disabilities o Wealth quintile o Mother’s education

   

School safety survey Police records Ministry of Justice Ministry of Education

   

TIMMS: IEA PISA: OECD LAMP: UIS National Examination: National Examination Board or its equivalent

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EFA indicators regarding disabilities 2.2

Additional MEA Indicators

2.2.1

New entrants with disabilities as a proportion of new entrants in primary education

2.2.2

GER of children with disabilities in:  primary education  secondary education

2.2.3

NER of children with disabilities in:  primary education  secondary education

2.2.4

Repetition rate of children with disabilities by grade in primary education

2.2.5

Survival rate of children with disabilities to Grade 5

2.2.6

Transition rate to secondary education for children with disabilities

2.2.7

Percentage of trained teachers in primary education who have received some training on teaching children with diverse abilities

2.2.8

Designated expenditure on the education of children with disabilities in primary education as a percentage of total public expenditure in primary education

Suggested disaggregation  Sex  Disability category  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation  Sex  Disability category  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation  Sex  Disability category  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation  Sex  Disability category  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation  Sex  Disability category  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation  Sex  Disability category  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Public/private  Regular school/special school  Other social and economic disaggregation

Data source Annual school census

Annual school census

Special surveys, reports and inclusion of items on disabilities in standard surveys

Budget reports

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2.2.9

Dropout rate for children with disabilities

    

2.2.10

Percentage of inclusive education schools which enroll children with disabilities as a percentage of all primary schools Existence of a child-seeking strategy which includes or focuses specifically on finding children with disabilities

2.2.12

Annual school census

  

Sex Disability category Geographic region Urban/rural Other social and economic disaggregation Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private

  

Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private

Special surveys, reports and inclusion of items on disabilities in standard surveys

Percentage of children with disabilities who receive education in public schools compared with private and NGO sector

    

Special surveys, reports and inclusion of items on disabilities in standard surveys

2.2.13

Percentage of schools which are fully accessible for children with disabilities

  

Sex Disability category Geographic region Urban/rural Other social and economic disaggregation Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private

2.2.14

Number of primary schools where teachers use:  flexible curriculum  flexible teaching and assessment strategies  child-centred and individualized teaching strategies Number of primary schools where regular teachers receive some form of support to help them teach children with diverse abilities. Support may take the form of:  special education centre  resource centre  specialist support teacher  peer support Number of primary schools which are equipped to provide appropriate and accessible teaching materials, equipment and devices for children with disabilities

  

Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private

Special surveys, reports and inclusion of items on disabilities in standard surveys

  

Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private

Special surveys, reports and inclusion of items on disabilities in standard surveys

  

Geographic region Urban/rural Public/private

Special surveys, reports and inclusion of items on disabilities in standard surveys

2.2.11

2.2.15

2.2.16

Annual school census

Special surveys, reports and inclusion of items on disabilities in standard surveys

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Goal 3. Life Skills and Lifelong Learning 3.1 3.1.1 3.1.2

3.1.3 3.1.4 3.1.5

3.2 3.2.1

Policy/System Indicators A coordinated multi-sectoral TVET policy which specifically includes the needs of youth and adults with disabilities A transition programme to assist children and youth with disabilities in their transitions from pre-school to school, primary school to secondary school, secondary school to vocational training programmes, employment or to tertiary education A programme of pre-vocational training which specifically includes the needs of children and youth with disabilities, starting in late primary school and continuing in secondary school Teachers trained in teaching methodology which focuses on competency based teaching and outcomes-based learning NFE system does not act as substitute education system for school-aged children with disabilities who have the right to attend formal school Additional EFA MEA Indicators Literacy rate for youth with disabilities (age 15-24)

3.2.2

Enrolment rate of youth with disabilities in TVET

3.3.3

Transition rate between primary, secondary systems and secondary to higher education systems for children with disabilities

3.3.4

Youth unemployment rate for youth and adults with disabilities

3.3.5

Participation rate of young people and adults with disabilities in accredited NFE programmes

3.3.6

Knowledge of HIV prevention practice among young people and adults with disabilities

Data sources Special surveys, reports and inclusion of items on disabilities in standard surveys

Special surveys, reports and inclusion of items on disabilities in standard surveys

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3.3.7

3.3.8

3.3.9

3.3.10

3.3.11

Percentage of trainers involved in vocational training programmes who have been trained to work with persons with disabilities Participation of staff providing training and providing employment services for young people, including people with disabilities, who have received appropriate training to increase their competency to work with people with disabilities Support services available to help persons with disabilities participate in mainstream vocational training and employment Funding available to ensure that vocational training and facilities are accessible to persons with disabilities Pre-vocational training programmes available in primary and secondary schools, taught by teachers competent to teach children and youth with diverse abilities

       

 

Sex Geographic region Urban/rural Other social and economic disaggregation Sex Geographic region Urban/rural Other social and economic disaggregation

Special surveys, reports and inclusion of items on disabilities in standard surveys

Geographic region Urban/rural

Special surveys, reports and inclusion of items on disabilities in standard surveys

Special surveys, reports and inclusion of items on disabilities in standard surveys  

Geographic region Urban/rural

Special surveys, reports and inclusion of items on disabilities in standard surveys

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Goal 4: Literacy 4.1 4.1.1 4.1.2 4.1.3

4.1.4

4.2 4.2.1

Policy/System Indicators Persons with disabilities included in legislation/policy on the right to literacy Special policy promoting the inclusion of persons with disabilities in non-formal literacy programmes and courses, with appropriately trained teachers and accessible materials Teacher training policy to ensure that teachers in the school system are competent to teach literacy skills to children with disabilities in accessible formats, e.g., braille for visually impaired, sign language for hearing impaired, simple language for children with intellectual impairment Literacy policy monitoring system requires that data be collected on the literacy rates of children, youth and adults with disabilities Additional EFA MEA Indicators Adult literacy rate of persons with disabilities (age 15+)

4.2.2

Youth literacy rate for persons with disabilities (age 15 to 24)

4.2.3

Gender Parity Index for adult literacy with reference to persons with disabilities

4.2.4

Number of teachers trained in appropriate methodology to teach children with disabilities in primary school

4.2.5

Number of teachers trained to teach persons with disabilities in NFE literacy programmes

4.2.6

Number of persons with disabilities participating in literacy programmes

4.2.7

Number of completers with disabilities out of the total learners with disabilities in literacy programmes

Suggested disaggregation  Sex  Disability category  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation  Sex  Disability category  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation  Sex  Disability category  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Public/private  Other social and economic disaggregation  Sex  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation  Sex  Disability category  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation  Sex  Disability category  Geographic region  Urban/rural  Other social and economic disaggregation

Data source Special surveys, reports and inclusion of items on disabilities in standard surveys

Special surveys, reports and inclusion of items on disabilities in standard surveys

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4.2.8

4.2.9

4.2.10

Existence of a strategy to find and encourage persons with disabilities to attend literacy programmes Existence of a mechanism for consultation with organizations of persons with disabilities in order to find and encourage persons with disabilities to participate in literacy programmes Data collected on literacy rate of young people and adults with disabilities

Special surveys, reports and inclusion of items on disabilities in standard surveys

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ANNEX 2 – Mathematical Calculations of EFA Indicators Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Early Childhood Care and Education Programmes (Indicator 1.2.1) Method of calculation Divide the number of children enrolled in ECCE programmes, regardless of age, by the population in the relevant official age group (otherwise the age group 3 to 5) in a given schoolyear, and multiply by 100. t E EC GER = t ×100 PEC t EC

t E EC GER = t ×100 P3-5 t EC

Where: t GER EC = Gross enrolment ratio in ECCE programmes in school-year t

t E EC = Number of children enrolled in ECCE programmes in school-year t

t PEC = Population in relevant official age-group concerned with ECCE in school-year t

Percentage of New Entrants to Primary Grade 1 who have Attended Some Form of Organized ECCE Programme (Indicator 1.2.2) Method of calculation Divide the number of new entrants to Grade 1 of primary education who have attended some form of organized ECCE programme by the total number of new entrants to primary Grade 1 in a given school year, and multiply by 100.

%NE

t I,EC

t NE I,EC

NE It

×100

Where: t = Percentage of new entrants to Grade 1 of primary education in school-year t who have %NEI,EC

attended some form of organized ECCE programme t = Number of new entrants to Grade 1 of primary education in school-year t who have NEI,EC

attended some form of organized ECCE programme NE It = Total number of new entrants to primary Grade 1 in school-year t.

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Public current expenditure on ECCE as (a) a percentage of GNP, and (b) per child as a percentage of GNP per capita (Indicator 1.3.3) Method of calculation (a) Divide public current expenditure on ECCE in a given year by the GNP for the same year, and multiply by 100.

%PCXE GNP =

PCXE Ă&#x2014;100 GNP

(b) Divide per pupil public current expenditure on ECCE in a given year by the GNP per capita for the same year and multiply by 100.

%PCXE GNPc =

PCXE GNP / Ă&#x2014;100 E P

Where:

%PCXE GNP = Public current expenditure on ECCE as a percentage of GNP %PCXE GNPc = Public current expenditure per child of ECCE as percentage of GNP per capita in financial year t

PCXE = Public current expenditure on ECCE in financial year t GNP = Gross National Product E = Total enrolment in ECCE in school-year t P = Total national population in year t

Percentage of Late and Early Starters (referred to in Indicator 2.2.2) Method of calculation Divide the number of new overage/underage entrants by the number of new entrants in a given school-year, and multiply by 100.

Percentage of late starters =

Percentage of early starters =

New entrants to the first grade of primary education with ages over the official school admission age in school-year t --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Number of new entrants to the first grade of primary education (all ages) in school-year t

x 100

New entrants to the first grade of primary education with ages under the official school admission age in school-year t --------------------------------------------------------------------------------x 100 Number of new entrants to the first grade of primary education (all ages) in school-year

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ANNEX 3 – Technical Note on Internal Efficiency and Student Flow Model Assessment of internal efficiency and wastage in education uses techniques similar to those from cohort analysis in demography. A cohort is defined as a group of persons who jointly experience a series of specific events over a period of time. Accordingly, we may define a “school cohort” as “a group of pupils (or students) who join the first grade of a given cycle in the same school year, and subsequently experience the events of promotion, repetition, dropout or successful completion of the final grade, each in his/her own way”. There are three ways to analyze educational internal efficiency by means of the cohort student flow method, depending on the type of data collected. These methods are as follows: true cohort, apparent cohort, and reconstructed cohort. The ideal way to obtain a precise assessment of wastage is through the use of the true cohort method, which involves either longitudinal study in tracking and monitoring the progress of a specific cohort of pupils through the educational cycle. This can also be done through retrospective study of school records in order to retrace the flows of pupils through the grades in the past years. This method, however, is more costly and time-consuming and requires a good and reliable schoolrecords system which reliably records the flow of individual students within the school. In the absence of individualized pupil/student information, internal efficiency in education can be assessed based on data for repeaters by grade together with enrolment by grade for at least two consecutive years using either the apparent or reconstructed cohort method. The apparent cohort method is applied when there are no data on repeaters. Then enrolment in Grade 1 in a particular year is compared with enrolment in successive grades during successive years and it is assumed that the decrease from each grade to the next corresponds to wastage. This method, the most commonly used so far, produces very approximate estimates of dropout. It, however, assumes that pupils are either promoted or else drop out of the school system. Repetition as a factor of paramount importance is overlooked. This method is nevertheless appropriate for countries applying automatic promotion. A more pertinent and commonly used method is the reconstructed cohort method15, which places less demand on the availability of detailed data over time. To apply this method, data on enrolment by grade for two consecutive years and on repeaters by grade from the first to second year will be sufficient to enable the estimation of three main flow rates: promotion, repetition and dropout. Once obtained, these rates may be analyzed first by grade to study the patterns of repetition and dropout. Then they are used in a reconstructed pupil-cohort flow to derive other indicators of internal efficiency. The term “efficiency” is borrowed from economists. It is defined as the optimal relationship between inputs and outputs. An efficient activity is one in which an optimum output is obtained for a given minimum input. Educational planners have adapted the term to an education system. The concept of the pupil year is a convenient, non-monetary way of measuring inputs. One pupil year stands for all the resources spent to keep one pupil in school for one year. It represents, 15

See U Nyan Myint: Internal efficiency by reconstructed student cohort flow model – Calculation template in EXCEL Filename: IE-Flow_Mar2010.xls. March 2010.

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therefore, one year’s worth of education and accompanying expenditure. Two pupil years, for example, represent the resources needed to keep one pupil in school for two years. If a pupil repeats a grade, he is getting only one year’s worth of education, but consuming two year’s worth of expenditure. If it takes six years to qualify for a certain diploma, a pupil who has dropped out of school after only three years has used three year’s worth of expenditure but failed to obtain the qualifying diploma. In the analysis of efficiency, repeaters and dropouts represent wastage. Therefore, as pupils flow through the educational cycle, inputs are defined and measured in terms of pupil years. By dividing total expenditure on education by total pupil years, an estimate of unit cost (cost per pupil) can be obtained. Inversely, by multiplying pupil years by unit cost (cost per pupil), the total cost can be estimated. Pupil flow through the education system16 It is possible to trace the flow of pupils through the educational cycle at the primary level, and apply the same analysis for secondary grades. The principle of analysis is the same for all levels. The objectives set for each level are compared with the results of the cohort analysis to see whether or not objectives have been met. Three key rates are used to analyze the flow of pupils through the system: promotion, repetition and dropout rates. Calculation of flow rates What has happened to pupils enrolled in a particular grade the previous year? Three possible and mutually exclusive events might have occurred:   

a pupil may have been promoted to the next higher grade a pupil may have repeated the same grade he/she was attending the previous year a pupil may have abandoned schooling (left school for some reason)

Successful pupils might have gone through the cycle and graduated from the final year of the cycle. This is illustrated below:

See U Nyan Myint: Reconstructed student cohort flow model – Automated simulation template in EXCEL Filename: Chennai.xls. March 2010.

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Promotion, repetition and dropout rates are the three paths of student flow from grade to grade and they characterize the efficiency of the education system in producing graduates. These rates are therefore used for evaluation, monitoring and projection of the efficiency of student flow in an education system.

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ANNEX 4 – Methods for Measuring Disparities in Education “Reaching the unreached and the underserved” under EFA requires a clear knowledge of the disparities that exist among geographic areas and population groups in terms of educational opportunities, resources, access, quality, and outcomes. Based on the degree and type of disparities revealed through scientific quantitative measurement, more in-depth enquiries can be made to identify the deprived or disadvantaged populations and regions, so as to take appropriate action to respond to their specific educational needs and difficulties. Measuring disparities in education requires as a first pre-condition that disaggregated data be available for a maximum number of geographic areas and population groups, and to the most detailed level of disaggregation possible. When applying the disparity measures to indicators for the six EFA goals that have been calculated for each area and population group, one can not only gauge the degree of disparities among them regarding the different dimensions and facets of EFA, but also identify the target disadvantaged populations and areas. The measurement of disparities within the six EFA goals and for the various indicators can be analyzed with basic charts and graphs comparing different sub-populations. In addition, the following measurements can be used to analyze disparities between different target groups: 1.

Absolute and relative percentage difference: In the case of literate data, the absolute gap is defined as the difference between the absolute number of male and female illiterates. Relative gap is which indicates the proportion of illiterate women that should be made literate to achieve parity with men.

Ratio: see page A3-9 and the table below. This is an example of absolute gap and ratio in the case of literacy.

(Source: UNESCO: Compendium of Statistics on Illiteracy, SRS n°35, 1995)

Range (maximum-minimum): It is difference between highest (max) and lowest (min) value.

Mean: Mean is used to compute the average of all the values of a data set and other statistical measures such as variance. There are three kinds of mean; arithmetic, geometric and harmonic. Arithmetic mean is the sum of all the values in a data set divided by the number of items in the list. Geometric mean is defined as the nth root of the products of all the members of a data set, where n is the number of members. The mean is useful in finding the average of percentages, ratios, indexes, or growth rates.

Median: It means a halfway point in a data set where half of the data values are greater than it whilst the other half of the data values are smaller than it.

The following graph shows the maximum and minimum, and median of pupil-teacher ratio in primary education by areas.

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(Source: UNESCO: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2003/4)

Mode: Mode is the value that occurs most often in a data set. It is the only measure of central tendency that can be used in finding case when the data are nominal or categorical. The mode is used when the most typical case is desired and when the data are nominal. It is the easiest central tendency statistics to compute.

Percentile: Percentile is the position measured to indicate the position of an individual in a group. 90 percentile means a value such that at 90% of the observation are less than this value and that 10% are greater. For example, it can be the class size where more than 90% of the classes lie lower than this reference class size; or the minimum mark to select the top 10% of students in English; or the lowest 10% of schools in terms of drop-out rate in grade 1.

Quartile: quartile is a value of the variable where one quarter (lower quartile is 25 percentile) or three quarter (upper quartile is 75 percentile) of a distribution lie. An application of the quartile in education can be, for example, the score in math where 75% of students get lower scores than this in grade 5.

On the next page is a simple example to show percentile and quartile in Excel.

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The following graph shows the distance from the median to the 10th, 25th, 75th and 90th percentiles.

(Source: UNESCO: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005)

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Variance: The variance of a random variable or distribution is the expectation, or mean, of the squared deviation of that variable from its expected value or mean. The variance is a measure of the amount of variation within the values of that variable.

10. Standard deviation: Standard deviation is the square root of the variance. Standard deviation is a widely used measure of the variability or dispersion. It shows how much variation there is from the "average" (mean, or expected/budgeted value). A low standard deviation indicates that the data points tend to be very close to the mean, whereas high standard deviation indicates that the data is spread out over a large range of values. The following table shows how to calculate the above key statistical measures in Excel.

11. Gender Parity Index (GPI) 17: is most widely used index in assessing gender differences. GPI is calculated as the ratio of the selected indicatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s value for girls divided by that for boys.

A value of less than one indicated the difference in favor of boys, whereas a value of more than one signals a situation in favor of girls. A value of GPI close to one indicates that parity has been achieved. Gender disparity is sometimes considered to have been attained when the GPI lies between 0.97 and 1.03 (see EFA Global Monitoring Report 2003/4). For example, if we want to know the GPI for literacy, the calculation is as below:

See Johnstone, J.N. (1981) Indicators of education systems. London: UNESCO.

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12. Representation Index (RI): RI is one of the commonly used indicators for measuring disparities, especially in access to education (intake, enrollment etc) among different areas, population groups and between boys and girls. It is the proportion of characteristics (the variable we use to measure enrollment in primary level or grade/intake) divided by the proportion of criterion (the variable against which we compare the characteristics to measure primary school-going age population or population age 6). The RI is designed essentially to show whether any given group of children is receiving more, or less, schooling opportunities compared to what they would normally have. If a given group of children receives the same schooling opportunities as the entire country, the index will be 100%. When the schooling facilitates are not evenly distributed among the areas or for some groups of children, the index will be less than 100%.

In the formula above, for example if the % share of children in total school age population is 3.9% and the % share of children in the total enrollment is 4.1%, RI is 95.1%. A recent study18 used four measures to compare Educational Equity and Public Policy in 16 countries. These measures are explained below. The reader may please note that specific methodological characteristics of each EFA indicator and disparity measure can depict gaps and disparities in education in different manner. Hence they should be interpreted with care. a)

Range ratio

The range ratio is a simple way to illustrate disparities. It is calculated by dividing the highest value of an EFA indicator by the lowest value among the geographic areas, population groups or even among schools or classes within a country. When there is no disparity - that is, when the highest value equals the lowest value - the range ratio will be 1. Range ratios that are greater than 1 indicate the existence of disparity, and the higher the range ratio, the greater the degree of disparity. One should nonetheless keep in mind that range ratios do not take into account how the EFA indicator values are distributed in between the highest and the lowest values, and that the possible occurrence of exceptionally abnormal extreme values can distort the disparity picture. b)

Coefficient of variation

The coefficient of variation measures variability of an indicator around its mean value. It is calculated by taking the standard deviation and dividing it by the mean. Perfect equity would result in a coefficient of variation of 0.00, whereas higher values would signify greater disparities or inequities. c)

McLoone Index/Adjusted McLoone Index

The McLoone Index can be used to examine the distribution of expenditure per pupil and is calculated by taking the sum of expenditure per pupil for each area below the median, and dividing this by the sum that would exist if each area below the median had expenditure per pupil equal to the median. The McLoone Index can have values ranging from 0 to 1, with the value 1 indicating perfect equality. 18

See Sherman, J.D. and Poirier, J.M. (2007) UNESCO Institute for Statistics: Educational Equity and Public Policy: Comparing Results from 16 Countries (UIS Working Paper No. 6). Montreal: UNESCO.

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Taking expenditure per pupil, the McLoone Index increases as expenditure per pupil in areas below the 50th percentile approaches the median expenditure; it decreases as expenditure per pupil in these areas falls further from the median. In the case of pupil/teacher ratios, the areas of interest are those above the median. The adjusted McLoone Index can be used, which takes the sum of pupil/teacher ratios for each area above the median and dividing it by the sum that would exist if each area above the median had pupil/teacher ratios equal to the mean. An index value of 1 indicates perfect equality while higher values suggest greater divergence from equality. d)

Gini coefficient of education inequality19

The Gini coefficient is most commonly used as a measure of inequality of income distribution or inequality of wealth distribution. In the present context, we are measuring inequality of distribution of the number of years of school education attained by individuals. This method first constructs the education Lorenz curve, with the cumulative percentage of income (e.g., the schooling years) on the vertical axis, and the cumulative percentage of the population on the horizontal axis. The diagonal forty-five-degree line is the egalitarian line, for it represents a perfect equality of income (e.g., schooling). The Gini coefficient is defined as the ratio of the area between the Lorenz curve of distribution and the egalitarian line, to the entire area under the egalitarian line (see Figure A).

Area of A (between the egalitarian line and Lorenz) GINI = ----------------------------------------------------------------------------Area of OWQ (the entire triangle below the egalitarian line)

Figure A

For a pragmatic approach to calculating the Gini coefficient of education inequality, see Thomas, V., Wang, Y. and Fan, X. (2001) Measuring Education Inequality: Gini Coefficients of Education (Policy Research Working Paper No. 2525). Washington DC: The World Bank.

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The Gini coefficient ranges between 0, where there is perfect equality, and 1 where there is perfect inequality. Thus, a low Gini coefficient indicates more equal distribution of values of an EFA indicator among areas or population groups, whereas a high Gini coefficient indicates more unequal distribution. These can also be visually observed from the Lorenz curve chart, where a derived Lorenz curve that is close to the diagonal egalitarian line denotes higher equality than one that is far from the egalitarian line. For an explanation on how to calculate the Gini coefficient, you may wish to consult the lecture notes provided by the Department of Economics, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.20 For an illustration of how to calculate the Gini coefficient using a calculation template (MS Excel software) and data on school education attainment of individuals (e.g., population census and household surveys, such as living standards survey, labour force survey), see the UIS-AIMS website at www.unescobkk.org/aims.

See http://mercury.soas.ac.uk/users/sm97/teaching_intro_qm_notes_gini_coefficient.htm

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Training Module A: EFA Monitoring and EMIS

Module A4: Use of information in monitoring, planning and management

Contents 1.

2. 3.

4. 5.

Purpose and expected learning outcomes of this module .............................................................1 Getting started ............................................................................................................................1 Learning objectives ......................................................................................................................2 Use of data and information at school and district level ................................................................3 Data transformation and presentation ........................................................................................5 3.1 Basic Principles ......................................................................................................................5 3.2 How to use summary lists to present data ...............................................................................6 3.3 How to use tables to present data ...........................................................................................7 3.3.1 Types of table................................................................................................................. 10 3.3.2 Basic components of a table ........................................................................................... 11 3.4 How to use charts to present data......................................................................................... 15 3.4.1 Basic components of a chart ........................................................................................... 15 3.4.2 Types of chart................................................................................................................. 16 3.5 Selection of data presentation .............................................................................................. 24 3.6 Time-series ........................................................................................................................... 25 3.7 How to use text to present data ............................................................................................ 26 3.8 Other tools to present data ................................................................................................... 28 Using EFA indicators.................................................................................................................. 30 Access and participation ........................................................................................................... 31 5.1 New entrants and enrolment ................................................................................................. 31 5.2 Duration of travel from home to school ................................................................................. 33 5.3 Attendance ........................................................................................................................... 35 5.4 Grade repetition and drop out ............................................................................................... 36 Quality of education ................................................................................................................. 38 6.1 Teachers qualification and training ........................................................................................ 38 6.2 Teaching methods, skills and performance ............................................................................. 40 School environment and facilities .............................................................................................. 42 7.1 Basic facilities in school ......................................................................................................... 42 7.2 Conditions and use of school facilities .................................................................................... 44 7.3 Other school environment indicators ..................................................................................... 46 Learning materials .................................................................................................................... 47 8.1 Textbooks ............................................................................................................................. 47 8.2 Teaching aid .......................................................................................................................... 48

Training Module 4

8.3 Supplementary learning materials ......................................................................................... 50 9. Teaching-learning processes ...................................................................................................... 52 10. Learning achievements and outcomes.................................................................................... 53 10.1 Examination results ............................................................................................................... 53 10.2 Examination outcomes .......................................................................................................... 54 10.3 Student behaviour ................................................................................................................. 55 11. Impact .................................................................................................................................. 56 11.1 Monitoring of former students .............................................................................................. 56 11.2 Monitoring impact on the community and society.................................................................. 58 12. Quiz ...................................................................................................................................... 59 13. Further studies ...................................................................................................................... 63

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Module A4: Use of information in monitoring, planning and management

1. Purpose and expected learning outcomes of this module

Getting started

‘Last year our school collected and reported a lot of data to the Ministry of Education. But we do not see any immediate benefit from all this work. What happened to all the data we reported? How best can we make use of these data?’ complained a school manager. ‘I have been frequently asked by the Ministry of Education to make sure that the schools in my area report on time to the annual school census. But I am also interested in using these data for my work in developing education in my district. In what way can I do this?’ enquired a district education officer. ‘I understand we collected data from all the schools this year. What happened? What have we done with all these data? I am interested in what the data tell us. Why am I not informed of the findings?’ said the Minister of Education to the department directors. These are questions that have been asked again and again not only by school managers and education administrators at all levels, but also by various stakeholders such as members of school management boards, members of parliament, media and the general public. They all point to the need to make use of the data and information which have been so laboriously recorded in schools and collected through the annual school censuses in gaining better understanding of the situation and making better decisions in the development of education.

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Learning objectives This training module aims at: ď&#x201A;ˇ

helping school managers and personnel to know about : o o

ď&#x201A;ˇ

the importance of active use of data and information in school management and in dialogue with stakeholders for achieving EFA how to go about transforming different types of detailed data into EFA indicators, tables and charts for presentation, analysis, interpretation and use according to different purposes, functions and type of personnel how to use the detailed and summary data from school records as well as the analytical EFA indicators provided by the MOE and DEO to compare performance and to improve the planning, coordination, implementation, monitoring and management of EFA at school helping local stakeholders to make use of data, indicators and information from the school to support EFA in the local area

sensitizing local and district education officers to the need for them to know: o

the nature and particularity of different types of EFA data, indicators and information from the schools, the MOE and other relevant bodies o how to use these EFA data, indicators and information for monitoring, planning, coordination and management of EFA at the district and local levels o how to guide and assist the schools and local stakeholders to make better use of EFA data, indicators and information ď&#x201A;ˇ

advising education policy-makers and administrators at the central and provincial level on : o how school-level EFA data, indicators and information can be used at different levels o making better use of school data and information to improve understanding of EFA progress and achievements, identification of gaps and shortcomings, diversities and disparities, problems and issues, causes and factors, possible solutions and directions, strategies and plans, targets and goals, monitoring, management and evaluation o how to support the strengthening of capacities at all levels to make good use of EFA data, indicators and information

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2. Use of data and information at school and district level

“School managers and personnel who frequently use data and information as the basis for decisionmaking run more effective schools”1. Data available in school can be very detailed such as those recorded in individual student and teacher records, inventories of physical facilities, and financial ledgers (see Section 3 in Module A1). By systematically recording and using school data, school personnel can become more aware of the importance and usefulness of timely and reliable information in support to planning, monitoring and management of school activities involving individual students, teachers, material resources and finance. There has been increasing public call for accountability and transparency especially from local communities. This has alerted school managers and teachers to the need to demonstrate that they actively document and use hard evidences such as facts, figures and information to anchor their judgement, decisions and actions in school. These days, a great deal of attention is being given to collecting and recording relevant and reliable data in school, and to systematically use them in monitoring the level of participation and performance of students and teachers, plus in managing the effective use of school resources in school activities. Possible use of data in the school records can include for example the following (see also Section 7 in Module A1):

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Planning the new school year and organizing classes, curriculum and delivery Getting ready physical facilities and material resources for school activities Recruiting, assigning and training teachers Budgeting and mobilizing financial resources Programming and class scheduling Assigning students to classes Managing teaching-learning materials Monitoring student and teacher attendance Assessing student and teacher performance School personnel management Financial management Material resources management Organizing co-curricular and extra-curricular activities Supporting school and community interactions

The more these school activities are based on relevant and reliable data and information support, the more efficiently and effectively will they be implemented.

Mingchu Luo and Marcus Childress: Data-Driven Decision Making: The Development and Validation of an Instrument to Measure Principals’ Practices. 2009. (see http://www.academicleadership.org/emprical_research/566.shtml )

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Activity 1: Review the activities and practices in your school(s) and answer the following questions: 1. Which of the above operations in your school are based on recorded data and information? 2. What according to your experience can be other possible use of the data and information recorded at school besides the list above? 3. Do you regularly use data and information in your work at school? What kind of data and information do you use most? For what purposes? 4. How do you make use of the data and information available in various existing school records?

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Data transformation and presentation2

As described in Module A3, a first step to use EFA data is to transform them into easy-to-understand EFA indicators, summary tables and charts so that school managers, education administrators and stakeholders can at a glance interpret and extract the salient information for reference in decisionmaking. This section focuses on providing the reader with an overview of four common data transformations namely: summary list, tables, charts and text. A large part of data transformation and presentation using education data and indicators employs descriptive statistics techniques. Such techniques involve: a. Sorting and re-grouping data b. Transforming data by calculating derived indicators such as percentages, rates, ratios, etc. c. Presenting the data and indicators in tables, charts and texts which enable easy analysis, interpretation and use. Descriptive statistics also includes summary statistics such as the average, the spread, median, mode, range, and standard deviation. These summary statistics help us to understand the nature and characteristics of the data set so as to keep these in mind when analyzing and interpreting the indicators, tables and charts. More and more graphical presentations in the form of charts are produced these days to present education data and indicators using statistical and data presentation tools.3

3.1. Basic Principles

When preparing a presentation of data and indicators, first ask yourself the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4.

What am I trying to communicate? Who is my audience? What kind of presentation can be most effective? What might prevent the audience from understanding my data presentation?

Decisions as to which tools to use depend on the main objective of the presentation and the target audience. Each presentation tool has its own specific characteristics, but its usage depends as well on the context within which it is presented. For instance, a given chart may highlight some key patterns but omit certain annotations, hence best be coupled with a table that presents the data in more details.

United Nations (2006) Indicators for policy management: A Guide for Enhancing the Statistical Capacity of Policymakers for Effective Monitoring of the MDGs at the Country Level. New York: United Nations 3

Quality Assurance Tools and Methods: Statistical/Data Presentation Tools. (see website: http://www.qaproject.org/methods/resstattools.html ) A4-5

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Descriptive text accompanying the chart and table can draw attention to key findings and possible causes and implications. Consistency of style and logical flow of ideas are vital to a strong presentation. The goal of a presentation is to make the reader want to see it and read it, and to get the most understanding and ideas out of it with minimum effort. To this end, it is essential that a presentation be:    

informative self-explanatory pleasant in appearance easy to understand, interpret and use

Always inform your audience in the most direct and efficient manner possible. Do not overload presentations with too many tables, charts and texts. Focus on the key findings and ideas, and present them in the simplest possible way.

3.2

How to use summary lists to present data

In school, summary lists can be made of students in a class so as to facilitate the management of each class of students throughout the school year (see Section 7 of Module A1). Sometimes such summary lists in which the students are listed by alphabetical order or seat in the classroom may not be easy to use as they are, for example the one showing individual student performance scores by subject in Examples 4 and 12 of Module A1. To facilitate interpretation, it can be helpful to sort and rank-order the students according to various criteria such as their number of days absent or scores in different subjects, either from high to low (i.e. descending order) or from low to high scores (i.e. ascending order). By sorting and ranking, one can easily identify at a glance those students who are most frequently absent from class, or the top performers and the worst performers for each subject at the two extremes of the sorted list. Sorting and ranking are therefore data transformations that can facilitate analysis and interpretation of summary lists. TIPS FOR SORTING AND RANKING A SUMMARY LIST:  Clarify what you want to know (e.g. the best and/or the worst; re-grouping people with common characteristics; ranking within sub-groups; etc.)  Identify the data series to be used for sorting/ranking  Decide on the sorting/ranking order (i.e. ascending or descending)  Repeat steps 2 and 3 if you want to further sort/rank within sub-groups  Run the sorting and verify the results. Change the sorting data series if needed.

Other summary lists at school may include list of classes, teachers, equipment, textbooks, etc. District and provincial education offices and the Ministry of Education can regularly maintain and update lists of schools with number of grades, classes, students, teachers together with indicators such as pupilteacher ratio, intake rate, enrolment ratio, repetition rate, dropout rate, percentage of under-qualified or untrained teachers, and other essential management information and reference data. A4-6

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Activity 2: Review and discuss about practices in preparing, sorting and ranking summary lists, and answer the following questions: 1. What kind of summary lists are produced in your school/district/province/ministry? Are they usually sorted and ranked? If yes, using what kind of data as sorting criteria? If no, why not? 2. What kind of summary lists do you think should be systematically produced in the future? How should they be sorted and ranked?

3.3

How to use tables to present data

As discussed in Section 7 in Module A1, summary tables can present:      

counted numbers totals and sub-totals percentages ratios averages rate of change

plus other types of derived statistics and indicators so as to compare the relative sizes, range, means, and spread so as to better understand the underlying patterns and salient differences in order to correctly draw highlights and issues during interpretation. Different from summary lists, summary tables are mainly used to present counts of for example the number of teachers by qualification, or the number of students by sex, age and grade, and so on (see also Section 7 in Module A1). Summary tables can be simple one-dimensional tables with only one line or one column of data like Example 1a below which shows the number of teachers by qualification. Example 1a. Number of teachers by highest academic qualification Teacher academic qualification Below completion of lower secondary education (<LSE) Completed lower secondary education (LSE) Completed upper secondary education (USE) Obtained post-secondary diploma (Diploma) Obtained university degree (Degree) TOTAL

Number of teachers 0 1 3 17 2 23

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It may not be immediately evident to compare, interpret and understand the key messages hidden behind such absolute numbers. Often, one can add a second column to the table, showing their relative percentage distributions (see Example 1b on the next page). Example 1b. Number and percentage of teachers by highest academic qualification Teacher academic qualification Below completion of lower secondary education (<LSE) Completed lower secondary education (LSE) Completed upper secondary education (USE) Obtained post-secondary diploma (Diploma) Obtained university degree (Degree) TOTAL

Number of teachers 0 1 3 17 2 23

Percentage distribution (%) 0% 4% 13% 74% 9% 100%

One can see that this new column of percentage distributions immediately enriches the interpretation of this table, giving rise to key messages such as: (a) almost three-quarters (i.e. 74%) of the teachers possess post-secondary diploma; (b) 4% + 13% = 17% of the teachers are under-qualified; (c) immediate actions are needed to upgrade the qualification of 4 teachers. When needed, the tables above can be further expanded to become two-dimensional or even multidimensional tables for more detailed and in-depth analysis of teacher qualifications, for example by gender as shown in Example 1c below where new columns of data and percentages are added separately for male and female teachers:

Example 1c. Number and percentage of teachers by highest academic qualification and by gender Teacher academic qualification (<LSE) (LSE) (USE) (Diploma) (Degree) TOTAL

Number of teachers % of Both Male Female female teachers sexes 0 0 0 0% 1 1 0 0% 3 1 2 67% 17 5 12 71% 2 1 1 50% 23 8 15 65%

% distribution by qualification Both Male Female sexes 0% 0% 0% 4% 13% 0% 13% 13% 13% 74% 61% 80% 9% 13% 7% 100% 100% 100%

Such multi-dimensional tables enable more dynamic and detailed analysis of data and indicators both horizontally by rows as well as vertically by columns, so as to generate a more in-depth picture of the realities. In Example 1c above, it can be seen under the middle column â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;% of female teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; that almost two-thirds(i.e. 65%) of the teachers are female, and overall they are relatively more qualified than the male teachers as evidenced by a higher percentage of female teachers with post-secondary diploma in the last columns of the table. A4-8

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These days, quite a few computer software packages can offer flexible and easy-to-use possibilities for constructing, handling and analysing numerical tables, especially multi-dimensional tables. See for example the PivotTable4 function under EXCEL and similar features in other statistical packages. Certain national statistical web sites5,6 nowadays offer similar dynamic data retrieval and tabulation functions online.

TIPS FOR PREPARING AND INTERPRETING MULTI-DIMENSIONAL TABLES:    



Big multi-dimensional table can be complex to interpret and use. Avoid cramming too many data into a single table. Split them into several more simple tables. Avoid having more than two layers of headings in the horizontal and vertical headings. Facilitate analysis and interpretation by grouping together rows or columns of data which are related and can be directly compared and interpreted. Place the derived percentages, rates or ratios next to or under the original data so that they can be analysed together. If there are too many such derived indicators, re-group them into a separate part of the table using the same group headings, or into separate tables. Start analysis and interpretation along each single dimension, and then bring together and synthesize the findings into a multi-dimensional vision and understanding.

Based on past practices and current needs for information, each schools as well as education office at higher levels can set up various frequently used summary lists and tables, and update them on a periodic basis for use in the management of schools. The data in some of these summary lists and tables may correspond to those in the tables and lists of the annual school census questionnaire, in which cases they can be directly and easily aggregated and copied into the corresponding school census tables. The same may apply to producing standard tables and lists for the annual school report, if such reports are required (see also Section 7.2 in Module A1).

Pivot table is a data summarization tool to flexibly create different output table formats. Pivot-table tools can automatically sort, count, and total the data stored in one table or spreadsheet and format the table in various presentations to facilitate analysis and interpretation of a data set from different angles. (For further details, refer to Section 2.3.2. Pivot tables in Module B) 5

Australian Bureau of Statistics: Australian CensusAtSchool. (see http://www.cas.abs.gov.au/cgilocal/cassampler.pl) 6

National Center for Education Statistics: Quickstats. (see http://nces.ed.gov/datalab/quickstats/createtable.aspx) A4-9

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3.3.1

Types of table

There are two main types of tables: reference tables and investigative tables. Reference tables prioritize accuracy in order to allow users to make the best possible use of detailed raw data. They generally appear in technical reports, and are usually made available in electronic format as well. Example 2 below shows such a reference table giving the number of students enrolled in a school by gender, age and grade (see also Question 21 in the example school census questionnaire on page 38 of Module A2).

Example 2. Sample of reference table Enrollment, repeaters and in-transfers by age, grade and sex

It can be seen that the reference table in Example 2 above shows mainly absolute numbers of students and in details by single years of age, grade-by-grade and separately by male(M) and female(F). This is a key table which enables in-depth analysis of the patterns of participation in primary education in terms of the distribution of students by age and by grade, and the age-grade correspondence of students by gender. Additional calculations can be made from the absolute numbers to derive for example the percentages of over-aged and under-aged students in each grade. Such further calculations and in-depth analysis of detailed data in reference tables can give rise to investigative tables which extract, summarize and present the key figures and findings to non-technical audiences (see Example 3 on the next page). Investigative tables are often used to accompany descriptive presentations that target broad audiences. Typically, investigative tables present numbers that are often rounded, together with supporting statistics and indicators such as percentages or averages which help the reader to better understand the patterns and the messages embedded in the data. Besides highlighting and presenting key facts, figures and issues, investigative tables also lend themselves to further analysis. In terms of the advantages of using table to present data, a table can help to organize and present even detailed data in a structured way, for further analysis, synthesis and interpretation. Its disadvantage lies in the readers seeing only numbers which require specific aptitude and skills to correctly understand and use them.

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Example 3. Sample of investigative table

Source: UNESCO (2009) EFA Monitoring Report 2009.Paris: UNESCO

Deciding on which type of table to use therefore depends on the objective of the presentation and the target audience. For example, newspaper articles for the general public may include investigative tables, whereas technical presentations targeting analysts and statisticians would use reference tables instead.

3.3.2

Basic components of a table

A properly presented table should contain the following features:  Title The title is the main description of the table. It should be concise and, for the sake of interpretation and record-keeping, both informative and meaningful. The title should include a date or year, place, or any other attribute that is common to all the data entities in the table (see ‘Title’ in Example 4 on the next page).  Heading of Row and Column Both the row and column need a heading which functions as a concise description of the data to which it refers. A heading is required for each individual row and column: it should specify the nature of the data in each row or column such as ‘No. of female students’ or ‘% of female students’. Headings are usually different from row to row and from column to column so as to distinguish between them. They may be re-grouped under a major common heading (see ‘Heading’ in Example 4 below). A4-11

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 Unit of measurement A unit of measurement should be given for every entry in the table, either in the title or in the heading. The precise use of units is essential for the correct interpretation of tables. Different units have different interpretations and while within the country of origin a convention is maintained, readers from elsewhere may employ different conventions. Each EFA indicator has a specific unit of measurement (see in Example 4 below). Common heading

Title

Example 4. The use of title, headings and units of measurement

Unit of measurement

Headings

Footnote Source: UNESCO (2009) EFA Monitoring Report 2009.Paris: UNESCO

 Degree of accuracy Figures should be given only to the degree of accuracy that is appropriate for the goal of the presentation. When rounding data, superfluous trailing zeros should be removed and the units of measure altered accordingly. Rounding can be done either: o To a certain number of digits – e.g. to the nearest thousand, so 45,647 becomes 46,000; or to the second decimal place, so 45.647 becomes 45.65. o To a certain number of significant, non-zero, digits – e.g. to the 2nd significant digit, so 343,833 becomes 340,000 and 4,564 becomes 4,600. In some cases, we may want to write 46,000 as 46 and note the recording convention (‘numbers in millions’, or ‘numbers in thousands’ or ‘000’) in the title or the appropriate row or column heading (see the unit of measure in the first column of Example 4). The same principle applies to decimal points for percentages, rates and ratios. A4-12

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 Footnote Footnotes provide important information for understanding the data in the table. Common types of footnoted information include: o conventions used o further explanation of terms used in the table o amplification of row or column headings or the title if too cumbersome to print in full in the main body of the table o differences in status of some entries in the table o data limitations o source of the data which enables interested readers to pursue extra information and estimate the quality of the data; and/or o any other exception/deviation from the stated norm (see ‘Footnote’ in Example 4).  Layout The layout is also very important feature for any table. One popular style is the two-way layout. Normally, the table includes Factor A and Factor B. In Example 5, Factor A is a list of regions. Factor B is about number of out-of-school children in 1999 and 2006. Example 5. Sample layout of table

Factor B

Factor A

Source: UNESCO (2009) EFA Monitoring Report 2009.Paris: UNESCO

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TIPS:  Font style: Different font styles may be used to highlight specific items of a table that require special attention.  The ordering of rows and columns: This is critical for clarity. As a general rule, rows and columns should be arranged following a natural or logical order, ranked for example by alphabetical order, geographical location, year or magnitude. Alphabetical and geographical ordering are both useful for reference, whereas ordering by magnitude makes the ranking of the different entities immediately obvious.  Numbers: Numbers are easier to compare when the table has a vertical orientation. The human eye can make comparisons more easily when reading down a column of data than across several columns.  Consistent appearance: The appearance of the table should be kept consistent throughout the report. For example, conventions for labeling and ordering rows and columns should be kept consistent if possible. A common mistake is to switch or mix up the rows and columns and labeling across tables within a report.  Number the table: Tables should be properly numbered for ease of reference.  Unnecessary distraction: Avoid designing big tables with many layers of headings for row and columns. Break them into smaller tables. Many tables that should logically appear together should be placed in the appendices.

Activity 3: Review and discuss among education officers, school managers and personnel about their practices in creating and using summary tables and graphs, and answer the following questions: 1．What kind of tables are produced in your school/district/province/ministry ? For what purposes? 2．What are the difficulties you encountered in designing, producing and interpreting tables ? 3. What other summary tables can be produced and used in your school/district/ province/ministry?

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3.4

How to use charts to present data

Charts are easier to understand than tables and more effective in highlighting salient information within large data sets, especially for readers who are less apt with numbers. They are especially useful for showing patterns and comparing trends. Also they are usually more visual and attractive than tables, and therefore more useful for presentation purposes. On the other hand, charts are not suitable for communicating precise and detailed figures, and can be time-consuming and expensive to design. Advantages of charts and graphs may include the following:     

More attractive and easy to understand than tables Enable the reader to ‘see’ the overall patterns Amenable to comparisons and analysis Can use different types of charts Allows for special designs like demographic pyramid and thematic maps.

The main purpose of charts or graphs is therefore to visually impart information that cannot be easily read and interpreted from a data table. It would be difficult to readily ‘see’ patterns, trends and contrasts in a table having many data points. Using charts can be a good method of showing trends and changes in statistical data. Charts can also be used to make predictions and forecasts, and to compare two or more data sets.

3.4.1

Basic components of a chart

Similar to tables, charts should have (see Example 6 on the next page):    

A title Axis labels, including the units of measurement Tick marks on axes(Labels for some tick marks and subgroups) Footnote and reference to the source of data

When designing a chart, one should take into consideration the order in which the reader looks at the elements of a graph. By virtue of reading habit, the human eyes first see the title, then move to the graph itself, and on to the explanatory labels and footnotes, before coming back to study the overall pattern and details in order to draw the key messages. The explanatory title, labels and footnotes are therefore essential for understanding the chart and facilitating interpretation. One must nevertheless bear in mind that too many text details and labels can distract the reader from, and obscure, the main messages. Effective chart making hinges on a judicious consideration of the following factors:   

Clear objective and key messages to be presented Appropriate choice of the type of graph to use Degree of simplicity or complexity of the graph varies depending on the target readers A4-15

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Title Title

Example 6. Features of a chart

Tick marks

Axis labels Note: Distribution is calculated using PPP US$. Source: UIS (2007, Figure 1, p. 11).

Footnote references

3.4.2 Types of chart7 There can be all kinds or types of charts. The most common ones include:     

Pie chart Line chart Bar chart Area chart Scatter plot

They are explained and illustrated below.

See http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Charts_by_type A4-16

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Pie chart: Pie chart is a very simple but powerful graphical presentation of events. Pie charts are suitable for illustrating percentage distributions of components within a total, for example the breakdown of the annual education budget into types of expenditure such as teacher salaries, school construction, etc.(see Example 7 below). The area of each slice of the pie is proportional to the relative share or frequency of the event. It therefore displays the contribution of each value to a total, and are best suited for overviews. Example 7. Pie chart

But pie charts lack accuracy. This shortcoming emerges when an event has a very low frequency or share, in which case the size of the slice can be very thin and difficult to measure. The difference between two events with almost similar but different frequencies will also be hard to distinguish in a pie chart. To overcome this limitation, it can be useful to label each slice with the relevant value. Do not pack too many data into a pie chart. Too many slices especially thin ones and similar ones as explained above may make a pie chart difficult to interpret. A maximum of 5 or 6 slices will be optimal. Moreover, one pie chart can only show the distribution of events at one point in time. If we want to show the change of the distribution of education budget for two or more years, the same number of pie charts will have to be made and placed next to each other for comparison and cross-analysis. A better presentation for such cases is the 100% stacked bar chart which is described later in this Section.

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Line graph: A line graph is the simplest way to show time series or trends. The same graph can host multiple lines, one for each data series or sub-population for example the number of students by sex, or gross and net enrolment ratios for boys and girls over time (see Example 8 below). The horizontal gridlines help to identify the data values along the data series and is easier for the eye to follow the plotted lines for different series in order to get a clearer picture of the trend and changes in the values. Labeling each and every data values in a line chart is generally not advisable unless it is important to show precise values that are not quoted in the accompanying text. Example 8. Line chart

Bar chart8: A bar chart is a chart with rectangular bars with lengths proportional to the values that they represent. Bar charts are used for comparing two or more values such as the gross enrolment ratios by sex and by region in Vietnam in Example 9 on the next page. The bars can be vertically or horizontally oriented (see also Example 10). The choice can be mainly determined based on their respective effectiveness and attractiveness for the purpose of the presentation. Often horizontal bar charts are used when there are many bars and long labels for each bar which tend to overlap or become truncated in vertical bar charts.

See http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Bar_chart A4-18

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Example 9. Vertical bar chart

Example 10. Horizontal bar chart

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Stacked bar charts are used to present values which have components. Example 11 below presents the official primary school age population by region in Vietnam in 1990-1991, by stacking the population size of boys for each region on top of that of girls. The entire length of each bar in this kind of chart presentation indicates the total primary school age population in each region, whilst at the same time the lengths of separate component bars for boys and girls within each bar show both their absolute sizes as well as comparison with each other. Example 11. Stack bar chart

Another good use of bar charts is the 100% stacked bar chart which is especially useful in comparing more than one percentage distributions which add up to 100%. Such percentage distributions can refer to different regions or schools within a district, or over time. Example 12 below very effectively shows the gradual shift in the shares of education expenditure by level from 1990 to 2000. Example 12. 100% stack bar chart

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Area graph Area graph like Example 15 below is an alternative to the stacked bar chart, by drawing lines connecting the values of component data series and stacking them one on top of another. Area graphs are particularly effective in showing changes in total and component values over time like in the example below where one can see consistent increases in the estimated number of male and female literates in the world, whereas the estimated number of illiterates only decreased slightly over the period from 1980 to 2015. In presenting data by area graph, one must make sure that the time scale is drawn correctly, assuming a linear and steady change between points in time. Example 13. Area graph

(Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2002)

Scatter-plot Scatter plots can be very useful for showing the relationship between two variables or data series by plotting pairs of values. Example 13 on the next page plots the apparent intake rates of boys against girls for each region in Vietnam in 1999. It can be observed that practically all the plotted points fall below the diagonal line, thereby showing generally lower access of boys than girls to Grade 1 of primary education.

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Example 14. XY Scatter-plot chart

For designing and producing graphical presentations, more and more 3D graphs can be produced with recent improvements in graphing technologies. Comparing with flat graphs, 3D graphs can show additional data series in the same graphs in addition to the main data series, thereby enabling more sophisticated comparisons and analysis. However, 3D graphs can sometimes become overly complex and difficult to interpret in particular when they are not well conceived and designed. Please see example below.

Graph types can also be combined to present more effectively. Some examples are given on the next page.

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Activity 4: Review and discuss with education officers, school managers and personnel about their practices in creating and using summary tables and graphs, and answer the following questions: 1ďź&#x17D;Does your office/school frequently produce graphs? If yes, usually what kinds of graphs? How useful are they? 2ďź&#x17D;Do you use computer to produce graphs ? Which computer software and functions were used in producing tables and graphs?

See UNESCO : EFA Global Monitoring Report 2003/4 A4-23

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3.5

Selection of data presentation

In practice, when should one choose to present data and indicators in table form or in chart form? Some of the differences between table and chart and the selection criteria are given below. 

Tables, with their columns and rows of information, interact primarily with our verbal system. We process information in a sequential fashion, reading down columns or across rows of numbers, comparing this number to that number, one pair at a time.



Charts are perceived by our visual system. They give shape and form to numbers. To see patterns and relationships is a natural function of visual perception. A single chart can convey important features of the data more vividly and memorably than columns of data.

TIPS: Tables work best when the data presentation:  Contains many data series for cross-analysis  Is used to look up or compare individual values  Requires precise values  Values involve multiple units of measurement

Graphs work best when the data presentation:  Is used to communicate a message that can be highlighted in the shape of the graph  Is used to visually reveal relationship among several values

As explained in Sections 3.3 and 3.3.1 above, always start by organizing and presenting data in table form in order to study the basic structure and inter-relationships among the data series. This can be followed by calculating and incorporating percentages, ratios and other indicators alongside the absolute numbers so as to identify patterns and significant differences and/or changes. Graphs can then be used to highlight the significant patterns and changes in visual form in order to draw attention and to facilitate understanding of their significance. By appropriately selecting chart forms to present one or several data series, graphs can also be used to visually analyze and identify patterns and significant highlights which are not obvious when looking at a table. As and when needed, it can be helpful to show together with the graph(s), the table(s) from which the data were taken.

Activity 5: Review and discuss with education officers, school managers and personnel about their practices in creating and using tables and graphs, and answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4.

What kinds of tables are produced in your school/district/province/ministry? For what purposes? What are the difficulties encountered in designing, producing and interpreting tables? How do you determine when to use table or graphs to present data and information? What have you learned about using table and charts to present data?

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3.6

Time-series

Presenting and using data over time, certain summary tables and charts can effectively present a chronological perspective regarding for example the changes in the number of students and teachers over a number of years (see Example 15 below). As far as the data are consistent over time, such summary tables and charts can be very useful in studying past trends and setting future scenarios. The graph in Example 15 shows two time-series line charts of respectively students and teachers, which have been intentionally put together into the same graph according to two different scales on respectively the left- and right-hand side of the graph. One can see that the two line trends generally overlap, although they criss-cross each other. This can be interpreted as overall correspondence in the availability of teachers in relation to the number of students over the years, although there have been noticeable fluctuations, or instability, in the teaching force. Additional analysis using the calculated indicator of pupil-teacher ratios (PTRs) can help to further elucidate the situation and trends. Example 15. Sample of Time-series Number of students enrolled and teachers 2000-2009

Looking closer at the student and teacher trends in the table above, the PTRs calculated for each year indicated that such ratios varied from a low of 33 to a high of 42 over the years. An immediate first check to be performed is to compare the PTRs to the norms specified by the Ministry of Education. If the national norm is 35 pupils to one teacher in primary education, it can be observed that only in the years 2001, 2003, 2006 and 2008 was the school under review within the national norm. For the other years, PTRs is higher than 35 indicate that fewer teachers than the national norm were employed to serve the student population in the school. This calls for measures to be taken to ensure that enough teachers are hired or assigned to the school so as to respect the national norm. Within a school, PTRs can also be calculated for each class so as to identify disparities among the classes and classes where the teachers are having an exceptionally heavy workload. Appropriate remedial A4-25

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measures can then be found and adopted in order to solve such imbalances in teacher workload, or to compensate teachers who have to shoulder heavier workload. In doing so, care must be taken to take into consideration that certain subject classes or classes with students having special needs may require lower PTRs than the national norm. Activity 6: Review and discuss with education officers, school managers and personnel about their practices in analysing and interpreting time-series, and answer the following questions: 1. According to you, in what way are time-series important? Why? 2. How regularly are time-series produced, analysed and interpreted in your school/district/province/ministry? What kind of time-series data are produced? How?

3.7

How to use text to present data

After making tables and charts, they are best accompanied by descriptive text highlighting the findings, issues and implications. It goes without saying that textual description and discussions plays a crucial role in almost every kind of data presentation, especially for people who are not familiar with data tables and charts. Many people may even prefer plain textual descriptions to tables and charts, or at least need some clear and simple explanations to take them through the data and highlights presented in tables and charts. Basic rules One of the important functions of text is to provide verbal summaries of tables and charts. There are five basic rules for people to keep in mind when drafting a text to describe a table or chart:     

Try to capture the readers’ interest throughout. While staying within the confines of scientific rigour, the writer should strive to enliven the text by highlighting key findings and meanings. Take time to achieve good writing. Draft and re-draft to clearly and unambiguously describe the data. Consistency: often sections of a single piece are written separately for each table or chart, so a final check throughout to ensure consistency is advisable. Unnecessary repetition: pieces written separately may repeat things. Review them to eliminate unnecessary repetitions and to harmonize the texts. Focus and minimize: show only the most important information. Add details only if absolutely necessary.

A verbal summary should not dwell on too specific or too detailed issues, or repeat what is obvious in a table or chart. It should simply accompany the table or chart to explain what the data reveal. Sometimes a verbal summary is all that is included in a presentation, particularly when the findings are so simple that any other summarized display is not justified, or when numerical or graphical presentations are so complex that it is better to include them separately in the appendices. The following are some additional basic rules: A4-26

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

Keep the summary short. Never allow the verbal summary to expand into an itemized account of each entry in the table or chart. Link the summary closely to the table or chart to which it refers. Quoting reference numbering directly is the best way. For example: “From Table 2 we can see that 46 percent of girls (6-15) are out of school in 2001.”



Use ‘emotional’ descriptions and wording sparingly. It can be effective with a non-technical audience, but it can impact a biased message or induce biased interpretations. “Education expenditure per student in China rose by 10 percent” may be better than “Education expenditure per student in China shot up by 10 percent”.



Unless specifically writing for expert readers, avoid using unnecessary technical terms.



Be cautious in ascribing causes. For example, movements in a data series may be attributed to changes in definitions or measurement unit, rather than variations in the underlying event.

TIPS:  Avoid long sentences. Short, sharp sentences are more effective.  Paragraph breaks provide the reader with a short rest, and are necessary to maintain the reader’s alertness. On the other hand, having too many short paragraphs may ruin the flow of the text and make it confusing and uninteresting.  Commas provide pauses within a sentence, but, if over-used, may be bothersome and misleading.  Minimize the use of brackets. When several pairs of brackets are used in the same sentence or section, the reader may be confused and lose track of the central theme.  Avoid repeating the same wording in close proximity. It looks careless and may be distracting. To avoid this problem, try to search for and use synonyms.  Avoid unnecessary words and phrases. These give the reader extra work and may distract the reader from the central theme.  Keep things simple. The reader would likely be more informed and impressed by clear language than by words that he may not fully understand.  Be logical. Ensure that the structure is sequential and that the conclusions reflect the body of the text. This reduces the chances of reader confusion.  Ensure that the use of articles is clear. Whenever words such as ‘it’ or ‘that’ are used, be sure that the reader has no doubt about what these pronouns refer to.  Adopt conventions and keep them throughout. Conventions can include headings and numbering, use of abbreviations and acronyms or other matters of style such as the use of digits and written numbers. If necessary, these should be spelled out by the writer or writing team. If conventions are maintained throughout, a report will be clearer and better received.

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3.8

Other tools to present data 

Maps

A map is an abstract, simplified representation, drawn to scale, of a geographical area to highlight relationships between objects and indicators within the drawn space. Usually they are two dimensional representations which use short texts, signs, symbols, color and many other graphical conventions. Maps are an excellent medium for displaying the distribution of data and indicators across geographical areas. Within the context of EFA monitoring, maps can be used to show the location of schools in different regions and localities, labeling them with education indicators such as enrolment ratio, PTR, education expenditure per student, etc. An important use of maps to reach the unreached is to show the location of school-age children who are not in school. Much software like DevInfo10 has automatic data handling, plotting procedures and extensive map portfolios from which to select. 

Photo and video

Data and indicators can be presented more vividly using a combination of photos and/or videos showing figures, tables, charts combined with images of schools, classes, students, teachers, educational activities, and textual or audio commentaries to highlight status, progress, issues, future plans, etc. These approaches should be carefully designed and used based on the occasion for presentation and the target audience. 

Webpage

The internet is used these days to present and disseminate data and indicators on education. Some national ministries of education have included in their web site education statistics and indicators in the form of summary tables, charts and texts. The quantity and variety of such presentations are increasing with time, and becoming more and more attractive and easy to understand using vivid colors, 3D and other new technological features. Some web sites nowadays can flexibly generate tables according to the specifications of users in terms of the type of data and indicators they want and for which geographical region and time period. Some schools also set up their own web site to post information including tables, charts and texts presenting data and indicators on the school.11

For details, please refer to the website of DevInfo. (See http://www.devinfo.org).

For details, please refer to the website of How to do just about everything: How to Add Links to PowerPoint (See

http://www.ehow.com/video_4751808_add-links-powerpoint.html) and Microsoft Office PowerPoint: Add sound and video to a PowerPoint presentation (See http://office.microsoft.com/enus/powerpoint/HA011593121033.aspx) A4-28

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Activity 7: Based on the following table, please present these data by Pie chart, Line graph, Bar chart, Scatter-plot together with verbal summaries (text). Show these presentations to other colleagues and discuss with them about how best to improve these charts.

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Using EFA indicators

This Section complements Section 5.3 in Module A3 in highlighting ways and means to use school data and indicators to monitor, adapt policies and plans, and manage progress towards EFA. There are many ways to use EFA indicators in school and at the local and district levels. Also, other additional indicators (see Section 6 in Module A3) can also be creatively used at school and in local areas to improve management and support decision-making to achieve the EFA goals of:     

Universal access and participation in basic education Quality of education Learning achievements and outcomes Gender equality Impact of education

Some typical examples of use of indicators with respect to the EFA goals are given below. The school managers and personnel as well as education officers at all levels of the education administration can draw ideas from what follows in developing various effective and innovative ways of using data and indicators for better monitoring and decision-making regarding EFA.

Activity 8: Review Module A3 and compare with the practices in your school/local area/district/province/country, and answer the following questions: 1. Which EFA indicators are most relevant and frequently used in your school/local area/district/province/country? 2. What kind of difficulties did you encountered in producing and interpreting these indicators? 3. Which other indicators do you think are also important for your school/local area/district/province/country?

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Access and participation

Access to and participation in school can be viewed through its different aspects ranging from first-time new entrants to Grade I to enrolment in different grades, class attendance, students repeating grade or dropping out of school, completion of studies, learning outcomes, etc. 5.1

New entrants and enrolment

In areas where there remain sizeable school-age children who are not in school, a top priority will be to ‘reach the unreached’ in trying to bring them to school. Once most or all the children in a local area are already in school, attention may turn to the quality, outcomes and impact of education. Emphasis on the kind of indicators to be used in monitoring and decision-making can therefore differ from school to school and from one local area to another. To ‘reach the unreached’, indicators such as the gross and net intake rates and enrolment ratios (see Example 16 and also Module A3) are frequently used to assess how many percent of respectively the school-entrance age and school-age children are enrolled in school, and from there to estimate how many percent are not enrolled in school or in Grade 1 so as to target the ‘unreached’ population. Example 16. GIR, NIR, GER, NER and estimated percentage unenrolled

Sub-district Kaneti Sardar Khel Kabo Dirao Darag

GIR 86 78 72 63 58

NIR 81 73 66 58 51

Estimated % not in Grade 1 19 27 34 42 49

GER 85 75 70 60 55

NER 83 69 61 55 48

Estimated % unenrolled 17 31 39 45 52

To calculate such indicators for the local area, the local or district education officer can firstly contact appropriate local government offices in order to obtain data on the school-age and school-entrance age population in the area covered by the school. Such data may have been collected during population censuses or estimated based on household surveys results. They may also be derived from civil registration or birth registration. In addition, the local or district education officer in collaboration with the school manager may assign teachers to go out to visit the households in order to verify if there have been any changes to the numbers due to migration or mortality, and to more precisely identify the characteristics of children who are not in school. The district or local education offices may then send out inspectors to cross-check the data on a sample basis in order to ensure data accuracy, and to obtain a clearer picture of who are the ‘unreached’ children and where are they in the local area.

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Once the data have been verified, access as expressed in apparent intake rate can be calculated by dividing the number of new entrants to Grade I at the school by the number of local children at the school-entrance age, and net intake rate by dividing specifically the number of new entrants at the school-entrance age by the local school-entrance age population. The higher the intake rate is near to 100 percent, the higher young children’s access to Grade 1, and the lesser the percentage and number of school-entrance age children who do not access primary school. Participation in primary education is measured in terms of the gross and net enrolment ratios. They can be calculated in a similar way as intake rate, by dividing respectively the total number of students enrolled in all grades at the school, and those of the official primary school-age, by the school-age population in the local area. Same as for intake rates, enrolment ratios near to 100 percent indicate a high degree of participation, whereas a low net enrolment ratio of for example 75 percent indicates that the remaining 25 percent of the primary school age population are still ‘unreached’. The sorted and circled data in Example 16 above clearly highlighted the sub-districts with the most and the least proportions of ‘unreached’ children. It may happen that there are more than one school covering the school-age population in a specific local area. Lower values for the intake rates and enrolment ratios may be calculated for each individual school as they share the same school-age population. In such cases, it will be more meaningful for the local or district education officer to calculate intake rates and enrolment ratios for the local area as a whole by summing up the numbers of new entrants and students enrolled in all the local schools, and divide by respectively the local school-entrance age or school-age population in order to gauge the percentage and number of unenrolled children. When combined with more detailed information obtained by the school teachers and inspectors during home-visits to identify who, where and how the ‘unreached’ children are, more appropriate measures can be taken to bring them to school.

Activity 9: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about your experiences in trying to ‘reach the unreached’, and answer the following questions: 1. Are intake rates and enrolment ratios systematically calculated in your school or for the local area? If yes, how useful are they? If no, why not? 2. How best do you think one should go about identifying the ‘unreached’ children? 3. How would you propose to go about using the intake rates and enrolment ratios to ‘reach the unreached’?

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5.2

Duration of travel from home to school

A main factor affecting childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s access to school is the distance or time needed to travel from home to school. This factor is all the more important for children of younger age for example those who are of the age to attend Grade 1 and Grade 2 of primary education. Example 17 below presents the number of students by gender and by grade according to the time required for them to travel from home to school (see also Part 5 of the example Annual School Census form in Module A2).

Example 17. Number of students according to time of travel from home to school Distance < 15 minutes 15 to 30 min 30 to 45 min 45 to 60 min > 1 hour TOTAL > 15 minutes > 30 minutes > 1 hour

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 M F M F M F M F M F M F 11 13 8 8 10 4 7 8 5 11 4 5 1 2 1 6 5 5 1 4 1 1 1 5 2 3 4 2 2 4 3 6 4 1 3 2 1 0 3 0 0 1 2 1 3 2 6 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 15 18 16 16 18 14 13 19 14 16 16 14 4 5 8 8 8 10 6 11 9 5 12 9 3 3 7 2 3 5 5 7 8 4 11 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 1

TOTAL Vertical % M F M F 45 49 48.9% 50.5% 10 23 10.9% 23.7% 18 18 19.6% 18.6% 15 5 16.3% 5.2% 4 2 4.3% 2.1% 92 97 100.0% 100.0% 47 48 51.1% 49.5% 37 25 40.2% 25.8% 4 2 4.3% 2.1%

The percentage distributions calculated for students according to time of travel from home to school on the right-hand side of the table indicate that about half of them (i.e. 48.9 percent of boys and 50.5 percent of girls) can reach school within 15 minutes. Among those who live farther away from school, 40.2 percent of boys and 25.8 percent of girls take more than 30 minutes to come to school. A nonnegligible 4.3 percent of boys and 2.1 percent of girls spend over an hour to reach school. In principle, young children attending Grades 1 and 2 should not have to travel more than 15 minutes to come from home to school. The yellow-coloured cells in the lower left of the table in Example 17 shows that 15 students in Grade 1 and 25 students in Grade 2 take more than 15 minutes, which account for respectively 45 and 78 percent of the total number of students in these two grades. The school management and their class teachers must consult the parents or guardian of these young children in order to ensure that these children can reach school and return home safely and in a timely manner. Applying the same method, one can also identify in Example 17 the number of students in Grades 3 and 4 who need more than 30 minutes to reach school (see the highlighted cells in pink), as well as those students in Grades 5 and 6 who need more than an hour to come to school (see the highlighted cells in blue). In the same way as for the younger students, the school management and class teachers must take into account the terrain, conditions of roads, footpaths and/or waterways, and the availability of means of transportation, in ensuring that the students do not face difficulties in coming to school that may affect their studies or even cause them to drop out of school.

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Activity 10: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about your experiences in monitoring and using the data on studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; distance or duration of travel from home to school, and answer the following questions: 1. Does your school or the schools in your district/province/country keep records of the duration of time required by students to travel from home to school? If yes, how do you record this information? If no, why not? 2. How are such data used? 3. What are the difficulties in monitoring, analysing and interpreting such data? 4. How best can such data be used?

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5.3

Attendance

After having brought children to school, the next step is to make sure that they regularly attend classes and school activities to learn. By systematically recording student attendance in class, the monthly class attendance sheets (see also Section 3.2 and Example 2 in Module A1) can be used to calculate and compare average attendance rates by student and by class over the past months or school year(see Example 18). Individual student’s average attendance rate can also be used as one of the indicators of student performance (see the last column in Example 2 of Module A1). Average attendance rates are calculated by dividing the number of days a student attended school over the total number of school days. Such averages can be calculated for each month, each semester and each school year, for all students and all classes in a school, so as to compare student attendance across classes and over time in order to identify peak periods and patterns of student presence and absenteeism. Example 18. Average class attendance rates School year:

2009

Class: 4B Attendance rate (%)

Student name Budi KASUR Arti DELAPAN Dian KOTORAN Kade WAJAH Lastri PELURU Lintang TEMBOK Merpati DADA Setiawan PINTU Tuti TIRAM …

JAN 93 90 73 88 84 95 100 86 93 …

FEB 95 91 75 89 81 96 95 87 91 …

MAR 94 90

APR 91 88

MAY 90 87

74 90 80 95 96 85 92 …

69 88 78 92 96 83 90 …

67 85 77 90 96 82 88 …

JUN 89 89 69 82 79 91 95 80 87 …

JUL 93 90 72 83 83 94 100 81 90 …

AUG SEP 95 94 91 92 73 75 83 84 84 90 96 96 96 96 83 85 91 93 … …

OCT 95 90 74 85 90 95 100 89 93 …

School year 93 89 72 85 81 94 97 83 90 …

Besides showing the situation in terms of class attendance at school, this indicator can be used to identify students who have been most frequently present or absent from class (see highlights in Example 18 above), in order for the class teacher or school managers to find out about the reasons and to see what kind of remedial measures can be taken. Some schools may have regulations to expel students when their average attendance rate falls below a specific norm or limit, but it is advised that all kinds of remedial measures be taken before a decision is made to expel students from school. Attendance rate can also be applied to teachers as part of their performance evaluation.

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Activity 11: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about your experiences in monitoring student and teacher attendance, and answer the following questions: 1. How do you monitor student and teacher attendance? What kind of difficulties have you encountered in such monitoring? 2. What kind of indicator(s) do you calculate and use for assessing student and teacher attendance? Are such indicator(s) useful and for what purpose(s)? 3. What other indicators can be used to monitor student and teacher attendance?

5.4

Grade repetition and drop out

Children may repeat a grade in school for different reasons. Often it is caused by scholastic performance below the requirements for promotion into the next higher grade, but it can also be the decision of the parents or other reasons. From the management point of view, a child repeating grade affects the efficiency of the school and/or the state education system in their having to invest one more school year for each repeater. From the point of view of learning, some people believes grade repetition is positive in giving a second chance for the repeater to learn better, whereas others are worried about the negative psychological effects of repetition on children especially in giving them the sense of failure and the tendency for them to more easily drop out of school. Information on repetition and drop out can be extracted from individual student records in school (see Section 3.1 and Example 1 in Module A1) and summarized into tables (see Example 19 below).

Example 19. Repetition and dropout by grade during school year 2009 Grade

No. of students

No. of repeaters

No. of dropouts

% of repeaters

% of dropout

133

6.0%

11.3%

127

2.4%

3.1%

119

4.2%

6.7%

101

7.9%

12.9%

3.2%

7.4%

TOTAL

575

4.7%

8.2%

It can be observed in the bottom row of Example 19 above that on the average for all grades in this school, 4.7 percent of the students repeated the same grade and 8.2 percent of the students dropped out before the end of the school year. Repetition rates were highest in Grade 4 (7.9%) probably due to A4-36

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children reaching the age for staying home to help with house chores; and in Grade 1 (6.0%) mainly due to difficulties in adapting to school life at early age. The same pattern can be observed for dropout rates where 12.9 percent of students in Grade 4 dropped out, and 11.3 percent in Grade 1. It will be useful to create similar tables separately for boys and girls in order to assess the differences by gender, or by other student characteristics so as to adopt appropriate solutions to tackle the problems of repetition and drop out of students with specific profiles. The moment a child drops out of school, he/she rejoins the ranks of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;unreachedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Minimizing dropout rates by preventing children from leaving school may require concurrent measures to improve school environment and teaching/learning processes as well as assistance to the child or the family. Knowing how many children (and how many percent) repeat and dropped out of each grade every year, plus the main reasons, can very usefully inform decisions to adopt appropriate preventive measures to reduce such phenomena. For those children identified to have dropped out of school but have not entered another school, remedial measures may be taken to reach out to them in order to bring them back to school. Similar tables can be produced at the district and higher levels by aggregating the school-level tables, so as to examine and compare the patterns of repetition and dropout by grade among schools and districts. The student cohort flow model as described in Annex 3 of Module A3 can be applied to derive the promotion, repetition and drop-out rates by grade, for further analysis and interpretation in the same way as in Example 19 above.

Activity 12: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about your experiences in dealing with the problem of students dropping out of school, and answer the following questions: 1. How serious is the problem of grade repetition and drop-out in your school or the schools in your district/province/country? How can you know about the scale of this problem? What are the main reasons for children repeating grade or dropping out of school? 2. How can information on grade repetition and drop out by grade help in taking preventive and/or remedial measures?

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Quality of education

Many factors influence the quality of education. They can relate to the quality of the teachers, school facilities, availability of teaching/learning materials, the teaching/learning processes in the classroom, management, examinations, etc. 6.1

Teachers qualification and training

The quality of teachers in basic education can in the first place be gauged by means of two indicators: ď&#x201A;ˇ ď&#x201A;ˇ

the percentage of qualified or under-qualified teachers; and the percentage of untrained teachers.

The former refers to academic qualification in terms of the highest level of education attained or highest academic certification received. The latter focuses more particularly on the kind of pedagogical training, either pre-service or in-service, that the teacher went through. In principle, all teachers must be qualified academically on the one hand, and have received pedagogical training on the other. Most countries have defined standard requirements and norms with regard to the minimum qualification of teachers at different levels of education and for different subjects. In practice and for a variety of reasons, however, some schools may employ persons who do not meet such minimum requirements to teach, often on a temporary or contractual basis. In some cases, such employment of under-qualified teachers may continue for some time, without recruitment of qualified teachers nor measures to upgrade the qualification or training of the temporary or contractual teachers. To achieve the EFA goal of quality basic education for all, one of the priorities is to assess the magnitude and characteristics of under-qualified and untrained teachers so that appropriate solutions can be adopted to raise the overall quality of all teachers to meet the minimum national standard and norms. Information about teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; academic qualification and training can be found in the teacher records at school (see also Section 3.5 in Module A1), and in the central or provincial teachers database if that exists. The first step is to identify from the records or the database those teachers whose academic qualification falls below the national norms, and those teachers who have not gone through any pedagogical training. They are then tallied to obtain the number of both categories of teachers, so as to calculate the percentages by dividing the respective numbers by the total number of teachers as shown in Example 20 below.

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Example 20. Summary list of schools ranked by percentages of under-qualified and untrained teachers Province: Pokhara School name Dali Primary School

Total number of teachers 33

District: Dumjala No. of underNo. of qualified untrained teachers teachers 11 17

% of underqualified teachers 33%

% of untrained teachers 52%

Lunh Community School

33%

50%

Kahdi Primary School

24%

35%

Para Community School

22%

33%

Gurja Community School

15%

19%

Padmi Primary School

14%

It can be seen in Example 20 above that from 14 to 33 percent of the teachers are under-qualified among the six schools in the Dumjala district, and untrained teachers represent between 14 to 52 percent. With a total of 33 teachers, the Dali Primary School is the school with most number of teachers. It also has the highest percentage and number of under-qualified and untrained teachers. Priority can be given to this school in upgrading its teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; qualification and training. When organizing in-service teacher training in this district, the identified under-qualified teachers and untrained teachers in the other schools can be invited to join. At higher provincial and central levels of the education administration, similar summary tables can be made to list out all the schools under their respective jurisdictions, together with indicators of the percentages of under-qualified and untrained teachers (see Example 20 above). By sorting the list of schools from the highest to the lowest of such percentages, education administrators at each level can identify at a glance the schools which have the highest need for improving the quality of teachers, and the scale of such need in terms of number of teachers to be targeted. This information can inform decisions and plans to organize coordinated in-service pedagogical training and academic qualification upgrading for those teachers who perform well and have the potential for pursuing the teaching career. It can also generate measures to expand pre-service teacher training, new recruitments as well as redeployment of existing teachers to fill the gaps. Activity 13: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about your experiences in dealing with the constraints regarding the quality of teachers, and answer the following questions: 1. How do you monitor and identify issues regarding the academic qualification and pedagogical training of teachers? 2. How does your experience compared with those of other school managers? 3. How best do you think one should go about monitoring the qualification of teachers? A4-39

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6.2

Teaching methods, skills and performance

Besides qualification, the quality of a teacher can be determined by his/her attitude, diligence, methods and skills in organizing and conducting teaching in the classroom as well as in supporting learning in various school activities. The main source of such information on teacher performance is the teacher evaluation report. Example 6 in Section 3.5 of Module A1 shows an example of a teacher evaluation report in which each teacher is scored from 1 to 3 points with respect to 20 teacher performance attributes. In this example, the score of 1 indicates ‘UNSATISFACTORY’, 2 denotes ‘SATISFACTORY MOST OF THE TIME’ and 3 signals ‘SATISFACTORY ALL OF THE TIME’. Extracting information from individual teacher evaluation reports, Example 21 on the next page shows a summary list of teachers which shows the scores given for each of the 20 teacher performance attributes (see headings from Aa to Eg), and the total scores.

Example 21. Summary list of teachers performance according to 20 attributes Aa to Eg NAME

Total

Barali Kund

Birali Mando Bhirat Shanti Ramesh Shrestha Binod Roka

Durga Bhurtel

This summary list of teachers can be sorted and ranked according to their scores under each attribute, or for different combinations of attributes. Example 21 above ranks the teachers by their total scores which are shown on the right-hand most columns, in descending order. It shows total scores varying from a high of 45 to a low of 34. If the norm for satisfactory performance is 2 which mean a total score of 40 for the 20 attributes, then Example 21 shows that the first three teachers in the list performed above the norm, whereas the last three teachers performed below the norm. The same approach may be applied attribute by attribute to compare teacher performance by individual attributes. Average score may also be calculated for each attribute to compare overall teacher performance across attributes, if we assume that all the attributes have the same weight. In practice, different attributes may also be assigned different weights when calculating the average score. As teacher’s performance may be affected by workload and other factors, one must carefully take into consideration the number of class hours the teacher works per week and other possible factors when

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comparing the performance of teachers and considering appropriate measures to help the teachers to raise their level of performance.

Activity 14: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about your experiences in evaluating teacher performance, and answer the following questions: 1. How do you evaluate teacher performance in your school? How do you use the evaluation results? 2. How does your experience compared with those of other school managers? 3. How best do you think one should go about evaluating the performance of teachers? And in using the evaluation results?

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School environment and facilities

Quality of the school environment and available facilities are important factors influencing learning. Besides their regular use in the organization and management of school activities, school records regarding physical facilities, furniture and equipment can give rise to many indicators that can contribute to assessing the quality of education provided in a school. 7.1

Basic facilities in school

School level data reported to the annual school census on the availability of basic facilities such as clean water, separate toilets, electricity, kitchen/canteen, telephone and various other facilities and services in school (see also Section 4 in Module A2) can be used by district and higher levels of the education administration to calculate basic indicators to evaluate the school environment and physical facilities in schools so as to inform decisions to prioritize actions to improve them. Example 22 shows such a summary table for a district with data reported by schools on the availability of basic facilities at school. It is interesting to see how the detailed data on ‘have’ and ‘do not have’ reported by the schools are used here to purposefully calculate indicators of ‘ % of schools without’ each kind of facilities, for use in assessing the scale of the gaps and identifying the schools needing priority assistance. Example 22. Basic facilities at school in Medan district (1 = have; 0 = do not have) School name

Piped water

Separate toilets

Electricity

Kitchen/ Canteen

Dormitory

Health kit

Telephone

Radio or TV

Computer

Juli Primary School

Bintang County School

Perlak Primary School

Sakti Community School

Kamal Primary School

Bubon Community School

Woyla County School

Julok Community School

Mane Primary School

Ketol County School

No. of schools without:

50%

20%

40%

70%

80%

30%

50%

80%

% of schools without:

In Example 22 above, one can see that half of the ten schools in this district operate without piped water, telephone, radio nor TV. Forty percent of the schools do not have electricity; one-fifth without separate A4-42

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toilets for boys and girls; 70 percent do not provide school feeding programme; and 80 percent do not have dormitory or computers. Looking at the data for each school horizontally in Example 22, it can be noted that both the Sakti Community School and Julok Community School do not have any of the basic facilities, whereas the Ketol County School has separate toilets but none of the other facilities. These three schools can be identified as priority target schools for special support in improving school facilities. Once such indicators are clearly calculated, presented and interpreted, both the district and central levels of the education administration can use these findings to guide the planning and implementation of targeted actions to improve basic facilities at schools in this district. The same approach may be applied at the provincial and central levels to organize support to the districts and schools. As many of these issues regarding the lack of basic facilities in school are closely related to the local environment, it will be important for the school managers and district and local education officers to inform the relevant local government departments and stakeholders in order to mobilize their support. To clearly communicate to them the issues, the indicators calculated in Example 22 above can be presented in more attractive graphic form like for example in Example 23 below.

Example 23. Percentage of schools without specific facilities/equipment

Activity 15: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about the monitoring of basic facilities in school, and answer the following questions: 1. What are the difficulties involved in monitoring basic facilities in school? 2. How best do you think one should go about monitoring basic facilities in school? 3. What should one keep in mind when analysing, interpreting and using the data and indicators? A4-43

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7.2

Conditions and use of school facilities

School records of inventories of physical facilities, furniture and equipment (see Section 3.7 of Module A1) can be used to calculate various indicators such as the percentage distributions of classrooms, furniture and equipment by condition and use, and to produce graphs to highlight the issues (see Graphs 24, 25, 26 and 27 below). Example 24. Classroom conditions

Example 25. Condition of school furniture

Example 26. Percentage of unused buildings/rooms

Example 27. Percentage of unused equipment

In a simple and easy to understand way, Example 24 above on the left indicates that 45 percent of the classrooms are in good working conditions, whereas 33 percent require repair work. The remaining 22 percent are in such bad condition that they can no longer be further repaired, but rather have to be replaced by new classrooms. Example 25 on the right shows another way to present similar percentages distributions, this time simultaneously in the form of horizontal bars for 7 different types of school furniture. These bars show in the first place that more than 80 percent of the classroom desks, chair and open shelves are in good A4-44

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condition, but for less than half of the teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; desks and chairs. More than one-third of such furniture for teachers needs to be replaced, and almost one-fifth of them have to be repaired. Further analysis of the condition of other furniture may reveal additional findings. In the example shown in Example 26, one-half of the administration rooms, one-third of the storage rooms and one-quarter of teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; room are unused. Further investigations concluded that as these rooms share the same roof which was damaged and leaking during the rainy season, they await major repair before being used again. Among the equipment available, Example 27 indicates that 33 percent of the computer printers were not used. The same applies to 20 percent of arts and craft equipment, 17 percent of calculators, and 6 percent of sports equipment. The example graphs above demonstrated how data and indicators can be presented in clear and interesting ways to facilitate analysis and interpretation. Much more can be done in developing other innovative and dynamic presentations of EFA data, indicators and information. Activity 16: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about the monitoring the condition and use of physical facilities in school, and answer the following questions: 1. What are the difficulties involved in monitoring the condition and use of physical facilities in school? 2. How best do you think one should go about monitoring the condition and use of physical facilities in school? 3. What should one keep in mind when analysing, interpreting and using the data and indicators?

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7.3

Other school environment indicators

Based on the school records and/or annual school census returns, additional indicators of quality of education which are related to school environment and facilities may include: o o o o o

Student-classroom ratio Classroom area per student Playground area per student Student-toilet ratio Student-computer ratio

These can be calculated and compared to the national standards and norms if they exist, and presented in table and chart forms similar to those above for decision-making.

Activity 17: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about the other school environment indicators cited above, and answer the following questions: 1. Which among the indicators cited above do you think are relevant and useful? 2. How would you go about calculating, interpreting and using these indicators? 3. What other school environment indicators do you think will also be very useful?

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Learning materials

Besides teacher qualification and school facilities, another important determinant of quality of education is the teaching and learning materials. It is essential for such materials to be made available to the teachers and students in adequate quantities for use in the teaching/learning process. 8.1

Textbooks

Ideally, every student at every grade should possess his/her own copy of the textbooks mandated by the school for use for each subject. The textbooks may be new or previously used by another student; it may be provided by the school or the parents, or by some other bodies such as NGOs or friends. An important indicator of the availability of learning materials that can be derived from the school records (see also Section 3.3 and Example 3 in Module A1) is the percentage of students who do not possess his/her own textbook by grade and by subject (see Example 28 below which summarizes the situation in a school). Example 28. Number and percentages of students without textbook by subject and by grade National language

Foreign language

Maths

Science

Social studies

History

Geography

Total number of students by grade

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

% No textbook in Grade 1

7.0%

39.5%

14.0%

25.6%

34.9%

16.3%

18.6%

% No textbook in Grade 2

5.0%

35.0%

17.5%

15.0%

30.0%

10.0%

12.5%

% No textbook in Grade 3

2.6%

25.6%

7.7%

23.1%

20.5%

7.7%

12.8%

% No textbook in Grade 4

2.4%

17.1%

4.9%

9.8%

14.6%

12.2%

9.8%

% No textbook in Grade 5

0.0%

5.4%

8.1%

2.7%

10.8%

2.7%

5.4%

Subject Grade

This indicator by grade and by subject is obtained by firstly using the Textbook Record Sheets (see Example 3 in Module A1) for each class in order to tally the number of students with a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;0â&#x20AC;&#x2122; under each subject, then to sum up such numbers by grade and by subject for the school as a whole (see the upper part of Example 28 above). Dividing each of these numbers by the total number of students in each grade on the right-hand-most column, one can obtain the percentages of students who do not possess textbook by grade and by subject. A4-47

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A closer analysis of Example 28 can highlight that 30 percent or more of the students in Grades 1 and 2 do not have textbooks on foreign language and social studies. There is also a shortage of science textbooks among about one-quarter of students in Grade 1 and 3. With the only exception of zero percent in Grade 5 for the subject of national language, textbooks are needed to different extent for all the other grades and subjects. The numbers in the upper part of Example 28 indicate the number of copies that is needed of each textbook. Such summary tables at the school level can be aggregated into similar tables at the district, provincial and central levels, for use in evaluating textbook availability and in informing decisions to take measures to ensure that all students possess all the necessary learning materials. Activity 18: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about the monitoring of availability of textbooks, and answer the following questions: 1. How do you monitor the availability of textbooks? 2. What were the difficulties you encountered in monitoring the availability of textbooks and other learning materials? 3. How best should one go about monitoring the availability and adequacy of learning materials including textbooks?

8.2

Teaching aid

Teachers can make use of various teaching aids to support teaching and learning activities at school. Such teaching aids can include maps, wall charts, flip charts, flash cards, scientific models, kits, toys and other specific materials (see also Section 3.8 and Example 9 in Module A1). Teaching aids can either be purchased by the school for shared use by different teachers, or acquired or made by individual teachers. Every school should keep an inventory of available teaching aids in terms of quantity by conditions of use. Such inventory can also help to track on a weekly or monthly basis the frequency of teachers borrowing and using the materials. As different teaching aids can be used during different subject lessons at different grades, the way to use the data recorded in the inventory of teaching materials is to calculate at least the following three indicators (see Example 29):   

Percentages of teaching aids to be repaired or replaced – derived by separately dividing the quantity of each teaching aid needing repair or replacement by the total quantity of the same teaching aid Teachers to Teaching aid ratio – calculated by dividing the number of teachers who are eligible to use each type of teaching aid, by the quantity of each teaching aid which are in good working condition (=Total – quantity to repair – quantity to replace) Frequency of use – record and count the number of times each teaching aid was used by teachers during each week or month, and take the simple averages over a semester or a school year. A4-48

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Example 29. Utilization and conditions of teaching aids Type of teaching aid Maps

Quantity in use

Number of eligible To repair To replace teachers

Total

Teacherteaching aid ratio

% to repair

% to replace

Frequency of use

per week 20% 15

2.8

Wall charts

2.3

11%

Flip charts

1.6

Flash cards

0.6

10%

17%

Kits

1.7

17%

Scientific models

0.5

11%

As can be seen in Example 29 above, these indicators can on the one hand inform school managers as to whether there is enough quantity of each teaching aids in good condition for shared use by the teachers, and what the needs to repair or replace some of them are. On the other hand, the frequency of use can also tell about the pattern of teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; use of different teaching aids, to inform school decisions to acquire new teaching aids or to repair or replace existing ones. Activity 19: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about the monitoring of teaching aids, and answer the following questions: 1. How do you make use of data and information on teaching aids in your school? 2. What were the difficulties you encountered in monitoring and using the data on teaching aids? 3. How best should one go about monitoring and using the data on teaching aids ?

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8.3

Supplementary learning materials

The school may have acquired a variety of supplementary learning materials for use by students to reinforce learning. The most common among them are books, newspapers, magazines and other reading materials which supplement the textbooks. Various charts, kits, models and equipment or instruments for sports, music and arts can also be borrowed by students. For schools that are equipped with audio-video equipment and computer, the range of supplementary learning materials can include audio and video tapes, CD-ROMs and DVDs, access to computer, access to the internet, etc. (see also Section 3.7 and Example 8 in Module A1). Similar to teaching aids, a number of indicators may be calculated and used, as follows:  



Percentages of supplementary learning materials to be repaired or replaced – derived by separately dividing the quantity of each supplementary learning materials needing repair or replacement by the total quantity of the same supplementary learning materials Students to Supplementary learning materials ratio – calculated by dividing the number of students who are eligible to use each type of supplementary learning materials, by the quantity of each supplementary learning materials which are in good working condition (=Total – quantity to repair – quantity to replace) (see Example 30 below) Frequency of use – record and count the number of times each supplementary learning material was borrowed and used by students during each week or month, and take the simple averages over a semester or a school year. Example 30. Ratios of students to supplementary learning materials

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By indicating the number of students who have to share the use of various available supplementary learning materials in a school as shown in Example 30 above, the school management as well as local and district education offices can assess whether if there are adequate quantity of each type of learning materials for the eligible student population. This can be done by identifying especially those learning materials which shows a high ratio, such as in Example 30 for music instruments, newspapers, and access to computer and internet. Taking into account the average frequency of use per week and per month, decisions can be made to acquire appropriate quantities of these supplementary learning materials so as to reduce the gaps. Based on these indicators across schools, norms can be established by the Ministry of Education regarding the minimum quantity of teaching aids and supplementary learning materials in good working condition that are required at school.

Activity 20: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about the monitoring of supplementary learning materials in school, and answer the following questions: 1. How do you make use of data and information on supplementary learning materials in your school? 2. What were the difficulties you encountered in monitoring and using the data on supplementary learning materials? 3. How best should one go about monitoring and using the data on supplementary learning materials?

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Teaching-learning processes

Teaching-learning processes in the classroom are equally important determinants of the quality of education under EFA. Apart from the indicators above, the following can be used to monitor the quality of teaching-learning processes:     

Number of class hours per week, per month, per school year Ratio of actual class-hours/planned class-hours by subject and by class Frequency of use of teaching aids Frequency of use of new teaching-learning methods Frequency of practice in class of critical thinking/problem-solving/creative skills Example 31. Indicators of teaching-learning processes

Name of Teacher Nguyen Thi Thu Chi Le Huu Hung Pham Minh Lanh Tran Hong Hanh Du Kim Lan Bui Phuoc Quang

Average number of class-hours per week 18 27 15 22 19 23

Frequency of use of teaching aid per week 4 8 2 3 4 6

Frequency of use of new teachinglearning methods per week 2 5 1 2 5 4

Frequency of counselling students per month 6 2 5 1 4 1

Frequency of visits to students' home per month 3 1 5 1 3 2

The frequencies of teacher-student counselling, teacher visits to family, and other teacher-student group activities per month or per semester can also help to monitor additional teacher-student interactions to promote and facilitate learning. These indicators serve the additional purpose of monitoring teacher assiduity and performance.

Activity 21: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about the monitoring of teaching-learning processes in school, and answer the following questions: 1. How do you monitor the teaching-learning processes in your school? 2. What were the difficulties you encountered in monitoring the teaching-learning processes? 3. How best should one go about monitoring teaching-learning processes in schoo ?

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10.

Learning achievements and outcomes

The learning achievement of students can be measured through examinations results. Nowadays, specially calibrated test assessments are administered to samples of schools and students to test their learning achievement. This module will focus on the use of examination results and outcomes. Readers interested in understanding more about test assessments may refer to the PISA(Programme for International Student Assessment) organized by the OECD(Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)12, TIMSS(Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study)13, PIRLS(Progress in International Reading Literacy Study), etc. 10.1

Examination results

In most schools, tests and examinations are organized during each school term to assess the learning achievement of students. The results of these examinations are usually recorded in Student Performance Summaries for each class and each term (see Section 3.4 and Example 4 in Module A1). These summaries are directly used by the teachers and the school management to review the overall performance of students in each class and to identify problems and issues if any. Besides copying the examination results into individual Student Record Cards (see Section 3.1 and Example 1 in Module A1), a typical use of the Student Performance Summary (see Examples 4 and 12 in Module A1) is to rank students according to their score obtained for each subject in order to identify the high-performers as well as those students who did not perform well in certain subjects or have behavioural problems. Special remedial actions can then be adopted by the teachers and the school management to assist these latter students according to their conditions and needs. Average score by subject may also be calculated for each class and each grade so as to compare the performance of groups of students. Activity 22: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about the use of examination results to monitor learning achievement in school, and answer the following questions: 1. How do you use examination results to monitor learning achievement in your school? 2. What were the difficulties you encountered in using examination results to monitor learning achievement in your school? 3. How best should one go about using examination results to monitor learning achievement in school?

OECD: Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). (See http://www.pisa.oecd.org/pages/0,2987,en_32252351_32235731_1_1_1_1_1,00.html) 13

TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center: Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study(TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study(PIRLS). (See http://timss.bc.edu/) A4-53

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10.2

Examination outcomes

Towards the end of the school year and after the results of the examinations have been summarized, evaluations can be made by the teachers and the school management to determine whether a student can be promoted to the next higher grade, or should repeat the same grade. The respective numbers of students who will repeat grade and those who will be promoted, when divided by the total number of students in the same originating grade, will give the expected repetition rate and promotion rate which are indicators of the outcomes of the examinations and the students’ performance during the school year (see Example 32 below, Example 19 in Section 5.3 above, and Annex 3 of Module A3).

Example 32. Examination outcomes by class

Class 1A 1B 2A 2B 3 4 5

No. enrolled in beginning of school year 38 33 35 30 37 39 40

No. promoted to next grade next year 31 27 29 24 33 34 31*

No. repeating the same grade next year 5 4 3 5 2 2 7

Expected Promotion rate (%) 81.6% 81.8% 82.9% 80.0%

Expected Repetition rate (%) 13.2% 12.1% 8.6% 16.7%

89.2% 87.2% 77.5%*

5.4% 5.1% 17.5%

For students in the final grade, decisions will be made by the school to accept those students who have performed satisfactorily in all the examinations as to have successfully completed his/her studies at the school (see figures marked with ‘*’ in Example 32 above. Completion rates can be calculated by dividing the number of such students by the total number of students in the final grade. It can be used as one of the indicators for comparing the performance between graduating classes within a school, or among schools based on the summary data reported in response to the annual school census (see Section 4 of the example school census form in Module A2). Activity 23: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about the use of data on examination outcomes in school, and answer the following questions: 1. How do you use examination outcomes to monitor the performance of classes, students and teachers in your school? 2. What were the difficulties you encountered in using examination outcomes to monitor the performance of classes, students and teachers in your school ? 3. How best should one go about using examination results to monitor outcomes to monitor the performance of classes, students and teachers in school ? A4-54

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10.3

Student behaviour

With regard to student behaviour, Student Performance Summaries in school can contain scores rating the behaviour of individual students. By sorting and ranking these scores, the school management can identify the top and bottom students in terms of behaviour, and calculate the average score by class and by grade for comparison. In giving due recognition to the best behaving students, the school can highlight good behavioural traits and encourage other students to emulate. Adopting measures to discipline as well as to guide and assist the misbehaving students to correct their misbehaviour can also set examples for other students. Use may be made of records in school of outstanding positive student behaviour as well as incidences of student misconduct to calculate the frequency per week or per month of incidences of student misbehaviour in order to monitor the pattern of occurrences. Records of measures taken in recognizing contributions on the one hand and taking disciplinary actions for misdemeanours on the other can also help in adopting appropriate preventive and corrective actions. Example 33. Student behaviour by class

Class 1A 1B 2A 2B 3A 3B 4 5

A 12 8 7 4 9 13 11 13

% of students with behaviour score: B C D 76 9 3 71 16 5 78 14 1 8 67 21 76 13 2 69 15 3 72 10 7 83 3 1

Mis-conducts per week 3 6 4 7 5 4 3 4

No. of actions taken 2 2 3 5 4 3 1 2

It is to be noted that the occurrence of outstanding positive behaviour among students may indicate successful learning outcomes in terms of critical thinking, problem-solving, hands-on skills and creativity. Demonstration of creativity as a learning outcome can also be gauged by the quantity and quality of writings, drawings, oral expressions, artistic expressions, and communications produced by the students. Activity 24: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about the use of data on student behaviour in school, and answer the following questions: 1. How do you use data on student behaviour in your school? 2. What were the difficulties you encountered in using data on student behaviour in your school? 3. How best should one go about using data on student behaviour in school? A4-55

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11.

Impact

The ultimate impact of Education for All is to ensure that all persons young and old can access quality basic education and acquire literacy to learn throughout life and life skills to apply their knowledge and skills in daily life and society. The impact on the former students can be monitored and assessed by gathering feedback information from the following persons:     

The former student Family members of former students Friends and neighbours of former students Former teachers of the student Employer of former students

on their respective observations and interpretations about perceived changes which occurred after the former student completed his/her studies (see Section 11.1 below). In order to gauge the broader impact on the local community and society, separate contacts may be made with local government officials, community leaders, business people, and a sample of the general public (see Section 11.2).

11.1

Monitoring of former students

Schools are well placed to monitor impact by using their individual student records to continue periodic contact with former students who have either successfully graduated, transferred to other schools, or even dropped out, in order to know what happened to them. By comparing the information gathered from different former students during this tracking process, one can piece together a clearer picture regarding how the school contributed to the lives of former students, as well as some of the lessons learned from such impact or the lack of impact. The tracking process can involve asking former students to periodically respond to some questions regarding for example:     

Personal life – confidence; use of acquired knowledge, skills and attitude; continuing to learn; communication with others; feelings of satisfaction/frustration; happiness; etc. Family life – relationship with family members; contributions to family life; feelings of satisfaction/ frustration; etc. Friendship – variety of friendships; ease/difficulties in starting and maintaining friendships; benefits obtained and contributions made through friendship; etc. Working life – adaptation to working life; ability to use acquired knowledge and skills; contributions to workplace and society; etc. Social life – getting along with different people in society; the kind of interactions with society and other people; voluntary contributions to society; etc.

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The aim is to try to extract from the information gathered regarding the personal life, family, work and social life of former students, and how they look at the future, elements that can indicate the impact (or lack of impact) of the school. Such information can provide useful feedback to the school for improving its programmes, organization and delivery Some of the useful means to collect the information of former students are; • • •

Reunion event/party – share the latest information, including their career pass after their graduation and in future Home-coming day -- invite former students to visit the school and receive feedback on classes and school activities, which has given influences on their further studies and careers. Alumni association－establish network to share information and exchange ideas.

How have you been doing after graduating secondary school?

I entered the university to study mathematics. I want to be a mathematics teacher in future

Former student

That is great! How did you like the classes and activities back in those school days?

Former teacher

Activity 25: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about how to monitor impact, and answer the following questions: 1. How important do you think is the monitoring of impact? 2. Will it be possible for your school to operate such a former students tracking system? What will be needed in order to operate such a system? 3. How would you make use of the feedback information gathered?

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11.2

Monitoring impact on the community and society

The monitoring of impact on the local community and society can be done through formal and informal collection of feedback information from local community bodies, stakeholders, parents and members of the public. The information gathered can help to gauge the collective impact of former students of the school, and to identify emerging issues, needs and priorities for the school to adapt its work. Formal meetings of the school management board and of the parents-teachers association can be the best occasions for collecting such feedback from the key stakeholders. Open questions to them during the meetings as well as discrete enquiries can be made to solicit their reactions and advice. The school manager and teachers can also make use of various direct and indirect contacts with local government officials, community leaders, parents and members of the public to gather their feedback. During school activities, events and visits of parents and community members, the school manager and teachers can informally gather opinions, views and feedback ideas for improving the school.

Activity 26: Review and discuss with other school managers, district and local education officers about monitoring of impact on community and society, and answer the following questions: 1. How important do you think is the monitoring of impact on community and society? 2. How effective can be the monitor approaches suggested above in your community? What would you suggest as other ways to monitor impact? 3. How would you make use of the feedback information gathered?

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12.

Quiz

Q1.

Data and information are used at school for the following purposes: (Please fill the blanks marked by the dotted lines) • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Q2.

Which among the following choices can be presented in summary tables: (Please tick all correct answers) □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Q3.

Planning the new school year and organizing classes, curriculum and delivery ........................................................................................................................... Recruiting, assigning and training teachers Budgeting and mobilizing financial resources Class scheduling Assigning students to classes .......................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................... Assessing student and teacher performance .......................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................... Material resources management Organizing co-curricular and extra-curricular activities Supporting school and community interactions

counted numbers percentages text sections graphs ratios maps averages feeling videos rates

Do’s and don’ts in preparing and interpreting multi-dimensional tables: (Please tick all correct answers) □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Build big multi-dimensional tables. Split big tables into smaller simpler ones It is not important to arrange or regroup related rows and columns of data Avoid having more than two layers of headings in the horizontal and vertical headings. Facilitate analysis and interpretation by grouping together rows or columns of data which can be compared. Absolute numbers and derived percentages and ratios as usually unrelated to each other Place the derived percentages, rates or ratios next to or under the original data so that they can be analysed together. A4-59

Training Module 4

□ □ □

Q4.

Presenting and analysing data and indicators in time-series are especially useful for: (Please tick all correct answers) □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Q5.

Studying past trends and patterns Evaluating the effectiveness of education indicators Identifying differences and disparities among local areas Comparing the performance between schools Learning from the past in order to plan for the future Studying past changes and factors affecting them Evaluating teachers’ performance in the present school year Identifying students flow Setting future targets and scenarios. Increasing accountability of schools

One can know about the number or proportion of ‘unreached’ children by: (Please tick all correct answers) □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Q6.

Analyse and interpret multi-dimensional tables in one go with a panoramic vision. Have as many layers of headings as is needed Analyse multi-dimensional tables dimension by dimension and then synthesize the observations.

Subtracting GER from 100 percent (i.e. = 100 – GER) Getting the exact number from population census data Looking at the pupil-teacher ratio Visiting the households in the local area Based on repetition rate Subtracting NIR from 100 percent (i.e. = 100 – NIR) Using dropout rate Subtracting GIR from 100 percent (i.e. = 100 – GIR) Estimating the data from household survey results Subtracting NER from 100 percent (i.e. = 100 – NER)

Attendance rates in class can be calculated: (Please tick all correct answers) □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

For each movie For each school year From household surveys For individual students By month By minute By class For all parents By the students themselves For the country as a whole

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Training Module 4

Q7.

Which of the following indicators can be used to measure the quality of education: (Please tick all correct answers) □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Q8.

Students’ learning achievement and outcomes can be measured by : (Please tick all correct answers) □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Q9.

Percentage of qualified teachers Father’s education Pupil-teacher ratio Percentage of schools with telephone Student scores at physical education Percentage of students without textbooks Duration of travel of students from home to school Dropout rate Percentage of schools with separate latrines for boys and girls Percentage of students with mobile phones

Examinations Teachers’ opinion Attendance rate Calibrated sample test assessments of learning achievement Promotion and repetition rates Students’ opinion Parents’ feeling Completion rate Teachers’ skill Students’ behaviour score

Above all, data and information are used for the purposes of: (Please tick all correct answers) □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Monitoring the situation and changes Accountability of schools Identifying problems, issues and causes Influencing the opinions of parents and community leaders Informing decisions on policies and actions Confirming what the school manager wants to do Planning, targeting and management of plan implementation Evaluating the results and outcomes Comparing with other schools, districts or countries Covering up mistakes and improper activities

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Training Module 4

Q10.

The impact of school on former students can be assessed by contacting: (Please fill the blanks marked by the dotted lines) □ □ □ □ □

The former students ............................................................................................... Friends and neighbours of former students ............................................................................................... ...............................................................................................

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Training Module 4

13.

Further studies  Claude Sauvageot and Patrizia Dias Da Garca: Using indicators in planning education for rural people – A practical guide. International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), 2007. (can be accessed at: http://red-ler.org/Indicators_guide.pdf)  Emily Coinco: The out-of-school children of Sierra Leone. Unicef, 2008. (can be accessed at: http://www.educationfasttrack.org/media/library/Final_Out_of_School_Study_Sierra_Leone_0 12009.pdf)  Priyanka Pandey, Sangeeta Goyal and Venkatesh Sundararaman: Community Participation in Public Schools - The Impact of Information Campaigns in Three Indian States. Policy Research Working Paper No. 4776. The World Bank, 2008. (can be accessed at: http://wwwwds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2008/11/11/000158349_20 081111142153/Rendered/PDF/WPS4776.pdf)  OECD: Programme for International Student Assessment(PISA). (See http://www.pisa.oecd.org/pages/0,2987,en_32252351_32235731_1_1_1_1_1,00.html)  TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center: Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study(TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study(PIRLS). (See http://timss.bc.edu/)  Australian Bureau of Statistics: Australian CensusAtSchool. (see http://www.cas.abs.gov.au/cgilocal/cassampler.pl)  National Center for Education Statistics: Quickstats. (see http://nces.ed.gov/datalab/quickstats/createtable.aspx)  John Walkenbach. 2007. John Walkenbach’s Favorite Excel 2007 Tips & Tricks. (See http://www.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=tA67lELiYK4C&oi=fnd&pg=PT21&dq=tips+for+sort ing+and+ranking+numbers+in+EXCEL&ots=_mjEe4lu9i&sig=4Ib8NGT4Z0CfN7KnGTfN_irhxJ0#v=o nepage&q=sort&f=false)

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Training Module A5

Training Module A: EFA Monitoring and EMIS

Module A5: Data flow and information dissemination

Contents 1. Purpose and expected learning outcomes of this module with definitions of key words .................. 1 Getting Started .............................................................................................................................. 1 Learning objectives ........................................................................................................................ 2 2. Need for education data and information flow ............................................................................... 3 3. Data and information flow within the education system ................................................................ 4 3.1 Data flow amongst the levels of education system ................................................................... 4 3.2 Principle and pitfalls ................................................................................................................ 6 3.3 Channels for data and information flow ................................................................................... 9 3.4 Communications for data quality assurance ........................................................................... 11 3.5 Feedback analytical information and indicators, decisions and impact .................................... 13 4. Horizontal information dissemination .......................................................................................... 15 4.1 Improving school-community interactions through information dissemination and exchange . 18 4.2 Information exchange and networking among schools ........................................................... 19 4.3 Press and media releases....................................................................................................... 20 4.4 Using the internet ................................................................................................................. 21 5. Data and information flow within a school ................................................................................... 24 5.1 In-school data flow................................................................................................................ 24 5.2 Information dissemination within in a school ......................................................................... 25 5.3 Managing data and information flow in school ...................................................................... 26 6. Quiz ............................................................................................................................................ 28 7. Further studies ............................................................................................................................ 32

Training Module A5

Module A5: Data flow and information dissemination 1. Purpose and expected learning outcomes of this module Getting started Information is a precious resource. Not like natural resources such as petroleum, coal or iron ore. Information has more value when it is shared and used by more people. And the more people have access to and use information, the more information and knowledge will be generated, shared and used. This is especially true in education. Education for All (EFA), for example, aims at spreading information and knowledge to everyone, young and old, in order to build their abilities to learn, to apply their knowledge throughout life, and to create ideas and knowledge1. The same applies to the vast networks of people working for education including school managers, teachers, education officers, curriculum developers, teacher trainers, etc. They can always benefit from more information on what is happening in the schools regarding for example how are the students learning, what are the latest teaching-learning experiences and innovations, why are some schools performing well, what do parents and local communities want the school to deliver, etc. This will help them to be aware of and understand the issues, and to learn from the experiences and lessons in order to better plan and manage their own work in education. A lot of data and information are generated within the education system on a daily basis, especially in the schools, district and provincial education offices, and in the Ministry of Education. Access to much of such data and information has been confined to those persons and institutions which generated them. Just imagine if school managers, teachers, education officers can easily access information on the latest development and salient experiences and knowhow of other schools, districts or even countries, the impact on how schools are managed and how teaching/learning processes take place in the classrooms can be tremendous. The spread of information and communication technologies have created many new possibilities for improving data and information flow within the education system and dissemination to the stakeholders. Awareness is growing among the general public who are asking for more and better information about what is happening in education. Making available information regarding the education system to all those who work at different levels of the education administration and to people in all sectors of the economy, local community leaders, parents and students, will promote All for Education â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the prerequisite for Education for All.

UNESCO: EFA Globla Monitoring Reports (annual editions 2002-2009). (can be accessed at: http://www.unesco.org/en/efareport/)

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Training Module A5

Learning objectives This training module aims at:

ď&#x201A;ˇ

helping school managers and personnel to know about : o the importance of data flow and information dissemination; o sharing data and information within the school for improving the planning, coordination, implementation, monitoring and management of school activities; o regularly extracting information from school records for dissemination to local stakeholders; o actively participating in data and information flow with other schools and with higher levels of the education administration.

ď&#x201A;ˇ

sensitizing local and district education officers to the need for them : o to facilitate the two-way flow of data and information between the schools and central/ provincial education authorities; o to assist in improving the quality of data reported by the schools; o to guide the schools to better analyse, communicate and use data and information; o to make good use of the data from the schools in decentralized education planning and management; o to promote data flow and information dissemination among the schools and to the local stakeholders.

ď&#x201A;ˇ

advising education policy-makers and administrators at the central and provincial level to : o improve data flow to and from the schools in terms of volume, ease and data quality; o feedback summary information, analysis and indicators to the schools and the district and local education offices for use in improving education planning and management at school and in the district and local area; o regularly disseminate information about what is happening in the education system to relevant stakeholders and the general public across the country/province to keep them informed and to mobilize their support.

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Training Module A5

2. Need for education data and information flow Education systems across the globe are coming into the information age. This can be seen in the regular coverage of education in major media channels and in daily conversations. The general public is also increasingly interested in knowing what is happening in education, not only about how present and future generations of children and youth can benefit from education opportunities, but also about how people at all ages and in all walks of life can continue to learn. Democratization processes including those within the education system are calling for transparency and accountability. All persons working in the education sector are becoming aware of the need to step up activities to collect and disseminate information. The previous predominantly vertical flow of data from the schools to the upper echelons of the education administration is changing into emphasis on two-way information flows up and down the education administrative hierarchy (see also Section 2 in Module A2). More importantly, education officers from the Minister of Education down to school managers are feeling the need to spend an ever bigger share of their time informing and dialoguing with stakeholders in various sectors and branches of the national economy, and with community leaders, parents and the general public in order to generate their understanding, participation and support. Under the global thrust of EFA, there is an ongoing search for new ideas and innovations to embed and permeate learning into everyday life throughout the life-time of all people. The education sector is multiplying its contact and communication with the global society to seek inspirations and knowhow. Networking among schools and educational institutions are expanding with the result of intensifying exchange of experiences and knowhow, plus learning from and cooperating with each other. With growing demand for more and better information, attention is turning to finding ways and means to improve and increase the flow and dissemination of data, indicators and information on education. New data are also being recorded, collected and analysed as can be seen in Modules A1 to A4. This trend is expected to continue into the future. Education officers at all levels must therefore continue to upgrade their knowledge, skills and attitude in the dissemination and use of information in order to generate cooperation and build collaboration. This Module proposes to discuss how such data flow and information dissemination can be strengthened and implemented across the education system.

Activity 1: Review and discuss the above statements with school managers, district and provincial education officers, Ministry of Education staff, and answer the following questions: 1. Have the stakeholders and general public become more interested in knowing about what is happening in education? If yes, to what extent as compared to before? If no, why not? 2. Do you think the national education system has become more transparent and accountable? If yes, what makes you say that? If no, what can be done to become more transparent and accountable? 3. How best can a school manager or education officer improve dialogues with stakeholders? 4. What do you think should be done in order to further improve networking among schools and education institutions?

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Training Module A5

3. Data and information flow within the education system In order to bring to fruition all the efforts to record, collect, analyse and use education data, indicators and information (see Modules A1 to A4), special attention will have to be given to improving the flow of data and information among different levels of the education administration. 3.1

Data flow amongst the levels of education administration

As can be glanced from Diagram 1 on the next page, the most frequently seen data and information flow within the education system goes vertically across the different levels of the education administration. It consists mainly of:

Diagram 1. Data and information flow within an education system Ministry of Education

Provincial education office

District education office

School A

b. c. d. e.

School B

Provincial education office

District education office

School C

School Y

School Z

Ministry of Education informing decentralized education offices at provincial, district and local levels as well as the schools about the latest central government policies, regulations and instructions (downward information flow ); Annual school censuses during which schools complete the census forms and return them to the Ministry of Education (upward data flow ); Periodic school reports in some countries which contain both statistical data and narrative qualitative information (upward data flow ); Ministry of Education contacting schools to verify and correct errors and omissions in the data reported by the schools (2-way information and data flow); Ministry of Education feeding back processed and analysed information and indicators to the decentralized education offices and schools for reference in planning and management at their respective levels (downward information flow ).

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Training Module A5

Vertical data and information flows within the education administration involve mainly the schools, the local and district education offices, and the central/provincial education authorities. In principle, they transfer and exchange data and information in a to-and-fro two-way manner according to both regular and ad hoc schedules. For example, school censuses are organized in many countries to collect data from schools right after the beginning of the school year when enrolment numbers stabilized. A second school census or school reports may be prepared towards the end of the school year. And the Ministry of Education can release different kinds of information and reports at different periods of the year2. Issues regarding such vertical flows are about the quantity and quality of the data and information transferred, the way, the frequency and the speed in which they are transferred and received, and the workload and benefits that result from such data and information flows. These issues apply equally well to the flows (a) to (e) described above. Take the example of a school manager, regularly receiving information about policies, plans, regulations and instructions from the central, provincial and district education authorities not only helps the school to be aware of and fit into the latest national priorities and thrusts, but also to further improve the rigour of internal management of the school. The quantity and quality of data provided by the school in response to the school census and in school reports, when utilized, can be instrumental in affecting policy- and decision-making at higher levels of the education administration. It will be crucial to facilitate access to such data especially by persons who can derive or generate value by further analysing the data, presenting, interpreting and disseminating the salient findings. And the analytical information and indicators produced and disseminated by researchers at the central Ministry of Education using the data collected from schools can in return help school managers to compare performance and identify strengths and weaknesses if not also measures to be taken to improve the school. Activity 2: Carefully examine Diagram 1 and compare it with what you know about data and information flow within the education system in your country, and answer the following questions: 1. What are the differences between the data and information flow in Diagram 1 and the realities in your country? 2. Why are there such differences? 3. What do you think needs to be done in order to further improve the data and information flow with the education system in your country?

See the school, district and state report cards in the District Information System for Education (DISE) of India ( http://dise.in/index.htm and http://www.schoolreportcards.in/ )

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Training Module A5

3.2

Principles and pitfalls

Regarding data flow from the school to the Ministry of Education, it is often observed that schools which do not implement a standard school records management system (see Training Module A1) can encounter difficulties in responding to the annual school census and other information requests from both higher levels of the education administration and local stakeholders. Such situations may arise when: a) the school is not able to answer all the questions and to complete all the tables and details in the school census form; b) even if the school could fill in all the data, some of the data can be partial in not having included for example some classes, students, teachers, etc. Such data partiality may also vary from school year to school year, covering for example different classes or groups of students, thereby affecting data consistency, reliability and comparability over time; c) without the possibility to refer to documented school records, it is difficult to verify and identify the partial data, omissions, data errors, and to correct them. Similar difficulties may arise when the school disseminates information to the stakeholders. Take the example of a meeting of the school management board at the end of the school year to consider re-employment or discontinuation of the services of individual teachers in the school. Although teacher records may be available which present information on each teacher’s background, qualifications, skills and workload, if there is no documented evaluation of the teachers’ actual performance during the school year, it can be a hard task for the school management board to justify a decision to promote, transfer or lay off a teacher. In view of these and probably many other possible pitfalls, all parties involved in data flow and information dissemination must ensure that the data and information transferred and exchanged follow the principles below by being:     

reliable – authentic, accurate, and trustworthy based on facts, documents, and reliable sources consistent – measured and collected according to standard definitions and methodology timely – made available on time and refer to current and not obsolete state of things clear – presented in an easy- to-understand way, without distortion nor ambiguity; complete – have all the required data, information and details

Systematic school records management and rigorous handling of response to the annual school census questionnaire can play a decisive role in helping to minimize the pitfalls and ensure maximum respect of the principles above (see also Training Module A1). As regards the Ministry of Education feeding back processed and analysed information and indicators to decentralized education offices and the schools, there can be the following possible pitfalls: o o o o o o

too little information – not enough for understanding the situation nor for making sound decision information too general – not specific nor detailed enough to highlight gaps, problems and issues too much information – difficult for the user to analyse and find the key messages many irrelevant information – there may be a lot of information but little of that is relevant available only after a long span of time – the information has become out-of-date and irrelevant indicator concepts and limitations and analytical methods used not clearly explained – users cannot understand what the indicator indicates and how to utilize the information conveyed by the indicator.

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Training Module A5

Before producing, presenting and disseminating a piece of information, one must carefully consider who is interested in this information, for what purpose, when and where in order to determine what kind of information to be produced and how best to present and disseminate it so as to achieve maximum impact. Often, school managers and district education officers want to compare their school or district with other schools and districts, but the tables and charts provided by the Ministry may only present the national totals and by province. If comparable education indicators were computed by district and by school and disseminated to the districts and schools, they could be much more relevant and useful, and be actually used. Another aspect deserving attention is when the Ministry of Education uses its computerized databases to generate all kinds of indicators, tables and charts, and widely distribute them to the provinces, districts, schools and the media. Sometimes the quantity of information provided may overwhelm the users’ capacity to understand and use them. A large part of such information may either be of marginal interest if not simply irrelevant to some users at different levels with different roles, responsibilities and priorities. Furthermore, it takes efforts and time to sort through masses of data and indicators in order to get the piece of wanted information. Care must be taken to avoid such ‘information overload’. A method that has begun to be used in some countries to strike a balance between ‘under-informing’ and ‘overinforming’ the stakeholders is to enable direct user access on the internet to a public part of the database of the Ministry of Education in which the user can specify in a flexible manner the type of data or indicator required and for which time period and which districts or schools, so that the computerized system can generate the tables and charts as specified3,4. Activity 3 : Review your experiences in handling data flow and information dissemination, and answer the following questions: For school manager or personnel: 1. What have been the difficulties you faced in responding to the annual school censuses and information requests from the stakeholders? 2. How would you rate the data and information reported and disseminated by your school in the table below, in terms of estimated percentage of data fulfilling the principles given above? Please add observations if any. Principles Reliable Consistent Timely Clear Complete

Percentage

Observations

3. What can be done in order to improve the quantity and quality of the data and information reported and disseminated by your school? 4. What kind of feedback information would you like to receive from the Ministry of Education and local stakeholders?

National Center for Education Statistics: Quickstats. (See http://nces.ed.gov/datalab/quickstats/createtable.aspx )

Australian Bureau of Statistics: Australian CensusAtSchool. (See http://www.cas.abs.gov.au/cgi-local/cassampler.pl

(continued on the next page)

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Training Module A5

For district and local education officers, school inspectors: 1. What have been the difficulties faced by the schools in your area in responding to the annual school censuses and information requests from the stakeholders? 2. How would you rate the data and information reported and disseminated by the schools in your area, in terms of estimated percentage of data fulfilling the principles given above? Add observations if any. Principles Reliable Consistent Timely Clear Complete

Percentage

Observations

3. What can be done in order to improve the quantity and quality of the data and information reported and disseminated by the schools in your area? 4. What kind of feedback information would you like to receive from the Ministry of Education and the stakeholders in the local area? For central and provincial education administrators: 1. From the quality of data reported by the schools in response to the annual school censuses, what do you understand as to be the main difficulties faced by schools in your country/province? 2. How would you rate the data and information reported and disseminated by the schools in your country/province, in terms of estimated percentage of data fulfilling the principles given above? Please add observations if any. Principles Reliable Consistent Timely Clear Complete

Percentage

Observations

3. What do you think can be done in order to improve the quantity and quality of the data and information reported and disseminated by the schools in your country/province? 4. How best according to you should the Ministry of Education feedback data, indicators and information to the districts and schools? Activity 4: Compare and discuss the ratings given in the tables in the questions 2 above in order to formulate a common understanding of the quality of data and information that have been reported and/or disseminated within the education system in your country. Activity 5: List out, review and discuss the actions proposed in answers to the questions 3 above in order to identify the most frequently suggested actions, together with observations regarding when, who and how to apply each action. Activity 6: Review the answers to the questions 4 in order to compare the stated district and school needs for feedback information with what is suggested for the Ministry of Education. A5-8

Training Module A5

3.3

Channels for data and information flow

Data flows and information dissemination these days can take place in different ways and through different channels including the following: (i)

Transfer of paper copies of school census questionnaire, school reports, indicator tables, analytical reports, brochures, information sheets, administrative circulars, etc.;

(ii) Electronic transmission of questionnaire and data files on CD-ROMs, USB sticks or through emails; (iii) Schools reporting data directly online using the internet; (iv) Dissemination of feedback information using CD-ROMs/DVDs, USB sticks or through emails and the internet, and short messages through the mobile phone. Depending on the availability of computer facilities, internet connections, mobile phone and staff capability at school, such vertical data and information flows may utilize different combinations of the channels (i) to (iv) above for different types of data and information. Pros and cons In many countries, much of data flows and information dissemination especially within local areas occur through the transfer of paper documents as described in (i) above. This channel has the advantage that the paper documents are tangible and have been traditionally used and understood by most people. Its main disadvantage lies in the physical handling and transfer of documents on paper, which have to take into account the manual work required, distance, means of transportation, and the time needed. Furthermore, it involves the acquisition of quantities of paper, printing, distribution and collection of the completed paper forms and reports. Dissemination of processed and analysed feedback information requires similar considerations of space, time and material resources needed. Nowadays in a good number of countries, both the Ministry of Education as well as more and more individual schools have adopted policies to equip more and more schools with computers and internet access. Computer use in school is spreading, and the capability of school personnel in using computer and the internet has been improving. There are promising potentials for increasing data flow and information dissemination within the education system using the new information and communication technologies. As cited in (ii) to (iv) above, the use of emails and internet online access will multiply the quantity of data and information transmitted and received, plus drastically reduce the time and physical efforts needed to transmit them. For both administrative and pedagogical purposes, policies and measures can be implemented to help schools to increasingly use computers and internet to transfer data and disseminate information. Recent experiences have shown that even if some schools do not possess computer equipment nor internet access, use can be made of such facilities in other nearby schools, local government offices, private homes, or internet cafes. For those schools that cannot have any such access, paper documents can continue to be used.

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Training Module A5

Activity 7: Find out about the availability and current pattern of use of different channels for data flow and information dissemination in your school/local area/district/province/country, and answer the following questions: For school manager or personnel: 1. Your school has access to which kind of channel for data flow and information dissemination? 2. What difficulties is your school facing in using the different channels? 3. How is the capability of your school personnel in using computer and accessing the internet? 4. How do you propose to improve the use of the different channels for data flow and information dissemination? For district and local education officers, school inspectors: 1. The schools in your area have access to which kind of channels of data flow and information dissemination? In what proportion? 2. What difficulties are the schools in your area facing in using the different channels? 3. How is the capability of school personnel in your area in using computer and accessing the internet? 4. How do you propose to help the schools in your area to improve the use of the different channels for data flow and information dissemination? For central and provincial education administrators: 1. What is the overall situation with regard to the use of different channels for data flow and information dissemination in the schools in your country/province? 2. What difficulties are the schools in your country/province facing in using the different channels? 3. How is the overall capability of school personnel in your country/province in using computer and accessing the internet? 4. How do you propose to help the schools in your country/province to improve the use of the different channels for data flow and information dissemination?

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Training Module A5

3.4

Communications for data quality assurance

Point (d) in Section 2.1 above refers to a very important but often neglected vertical data flow. This occurs when the Ministry of Education takes action to improve the quality of data reported by the schools. This happens when the annual school census returns are verified and processed at the Ministry of Education. Data gaps, anomalies, and errors may be identified for some schools during this process. The recommended practice is for the Ministry of Education to quickly contact these schools in order to request them to: a) complete any data omissions; b) correct any data errors; and/or c) explain the limitations of for example certain partial data or deviations from standard definitions and practices. As can be seen in Section 6 in Training Module A2, timely communications between the Ministry of Education and the schools are necessary and crucial for ensuring the overall quality and credibility of the data collected during the school census. Such communications can help to ensure that, once a school receives the enquiry from the Ministry of Education regarding data omissions and errors, the school manager will organize detailed verification of the school records and other data sources in order to provide rapidly the requested corrections and/or explanations. The district and local education officers and school inspectors can play a decisive role in this process to ensure the timeliness of reply and quality of data from the schools. Taking advantage of their physical proximity and access to the schools, they can be both informed and tasked with following up on communications regarding data quality between the Ministry of Education and the school, by advising and helping the school to better organize data verification and response processes in a timely and reliable manner. In the case of communications on paper, the Ministry of Education can provide the district and local education officers and school inspectors with a copy of its enquiry which has been sent to the school, specifying the kind of omissions, data errors and needs for explanations. As part of their regular contacts with the school, the district and local education officers can remind the schools and guide them in taking timely actions to improve data quality as required. With electronic data flow, these intermediate level education officers can be copied in the same way by email, and assume their functions to remind and assist the school and to ensure that the school provides timely corrections and explanations. If there still remain data quality problems after the school responded, further communications may be issued by the Ministry of Education to the school to take additional corrective actions, copied to the district and local education officers for follow-up support.

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Training Module A5

Activity 8: Find out about how communications and actions are organized in your country/province/ district/school in order to ensure data quality including what are the respective roles of different levels of the education administration, and answer the following questions: For school manager or personnel: 1. Has your school ever been notified and asked by the Ministry of Education to correct omissions and errors in the data you reported in response to the annual school census? 2. If yes, was the communication from the Ministry of Education clearly specifying the omissions and errors? Have you been able to respond satisfactorily to such requests? How did you do that? 3. If no, do you think this kind of communication is important and useful? Why? 4. What kinds of actions have been taken by the district or local education officers or inspector to remind and help your school to provide timely response to such requests? For district and local education officers, school inspectors: 1. Have you ever received a copy of the communication from the Ministry of Education to a school in your area, asking the school to correct omissions and errors in the data they reported in response to the annual school census? 2. If yes, was the communication from the Ministry of Education clearly specifying the omissions and errors? Were there instructions asking you to follow-up in reminding and helping the school to provide timely response to the Ministry of Education? What have you done to help in reminding and helping the school? 3. If no, do you think this kind of communication is important? Why? For central and provincial education administrators: 1. Does the Ministry of Education systematically contact schools to ask them to correct omissions and errors in the data they reported in response to the annual school censuses? 2. If yes, how many percentages of these schools responded satisfactorily to such requests for corrections? How was the quality of such responses? Why didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the other schools respond? 3. Are the district and local education offices and school inspectors informed and involved in reminding and helping the schools to provide timely response? How effective have they been in such tasks? Please give examples. 4. If no, what does the Ministry of Education plan to do in order to improve data quality in the future?

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3.5

Feedback analytical information and indicators, decisions and impact

Data and information on education are meant to be disseminated and used. As part of the vertical flow of data and information, once the data are reported by the schools (see also Training Module A2), processed and analysed (see also Training Module A3) by the Ministry of Education, it is important for the latter to feedback the resulting summary information and indicators to the schools and decentralized education offices for reference and use in policy-making, planning, management, monitoring and evaluation at their respective levels (see also Training Module A4), especially by comparing their school or district to other schools and districts and to the national averages. Besides schools reporting data upwards to the Ministry of Education, such feedback information dissemination downwards are understood to be part and parcel of accountability within the education system, and of efforts to promote informed decision-making at all levels of the education administration. Using the data collected from schools, the Ministry of Education can produce a variety of feedback information for different purposes and target stakeholders, such as: a. Annual report, indicator report, news bulletins, media releases, brochures and posters – for publication and/or dissemination to a wide range of stakeholders and the general public b. Analytical reports and briefings – for reference by policy-makers, planners and administrators at different levels of the education administration c. Provincial and district summaries comparing respectively the districts and the schools in the district – for use in decentralized education planning and management; and for comparisons of school performance (see Example 1 below) d. Individual school summaries with calculated indicators compared to district/provincial/national averages – for use in school management

Example 1. Summary education indicators by district for Lindak province

District Samla Tochok Dagor … … … …

Intake rate

Enrolment ratio

66% 78% 89%

58% 75% 81%

Pupilteacher ratio 43 36 33

Girls as % Repetition of total rate enrolment 38% 11% 45% 8% 53% 5%

Dropout rate 7% 4% 2%

Observations Remote area Rural plain Major city

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More feedback analytical information and indicators becoming available will generate practices and habits among education administrators at all levels to use them as the basis for decision-making and mobilization of other stakeholders. The more they use information, the more they will become aware of the usefulness and role of information, and of the need to systematically collect, analyze and use data and information in their work.

Activity 9: Find out about what kind of feedback information products such as the ones listed in points (a) to (d) above have been produced and disseminated, and answer the following questions: For school manager or personnel: 1. Have you ever received any feedback information products from the central Ministry of Education or the provincial or district education department like the ones cited in (a) to (d) above? If yes, please indicate what have you received. 2. Do you think such feedback information is useful for better management of your school? If yes, which kind of information products can be especially useful? If no, why? 3. More specifically, what would you like these feedback information products to present in terms of summary data, indicators and information? For district and local education officers, school inspectors: 1. Have you ever received any feedback information products from the central Ministry of Education or provincial education department like the ones cited in (a) to (d) above ? If yes, please indicate what have you received. 2. Do you think such feedback information is important for better management of the schools in your area? If yes, which kind of information products can be especially useful? If no, why? 3. More specifically, what would you like these feedback information products to present in terms of summary data, indicators and information? For central and provincial education administrators: 1. Does the Ministry of Education systematically produce and disseminate feedback information products like the ones cited in (a) to (d) above to the provincial, district, local and school levels? If yes, what have you produced and disseminated? If no, why not? 2. What have been the reactions you received from the different levels of the education administration about the usefulness of each kind of feedback information products you disseminated? 3. What do you plan to do in order to further improve the production and dissemination of feedback information to different levels of the education administration?

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Horizontal information dissemination

Various stakeholders including government departments, relevant agencies/bodies, community leaders, parents, students and the general public increasingly want to know about what is happening in the schools. There is a growing demand for schools to be accountable both to higher levels of the educational administration as well as to their constitutent stakeholders. The same applies to education offices at different levels. Active information dissemination can help to respond to widening information needs, and to bring the school closer to the local communities by increasing information flow and interactions with them in order to mobilize their understanding, participation and support, in the true sense of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;All for Educationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;5.

Diagram 2. Horizontal information dissemination by level

Local Government

Government ministries and agencies

Ministry of Education

Non-govt bodies and general public

Provincial government departments

Provincial education office

Provincial bodies and general public

District government departments s

District education office

District bodies and general public

Local education office

School

School management board

Local community

For these reasons, all levels of the education administration from individual schools to the Ministry of Education must pay special attention to regularly disseminate information horizontally to the stakeholders at their respective levels (see Diagram 2 above).

Brian J. Caldwell: The transformation of education through networking. (can be accessed at: http://www.educationaltransformations.com.au/files/presentations/2004/et_transformations_of_education_through_net working.pdf)

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The kind of tools to be used for information dissemination may include:         

Brochures/pamphlets/flyers 6 School profiles District/provincial education profiles Annual reports Special reports on a specific topic or theme Summary tables, lists and charts Information display on school boards and during community activities Media releases Internet websites and by email

The kind of information channels and tools to be selected for use depends on the target audience and purpose. At the school level, school managers can directly use the school records to produce school reports and various summary lists, tables and charts to inform the school management board (see also Section 7 in Training Module A1) and to motivate and help them to actively participate in the school’s planning, management and decisionmaking processes. Selected parts of the report and summaries together with general information on the profile of the school can be incorporated into brochures and pamphlets for wider dissemination to the local community. Some tips about producing brochures are given in the textbox below and in the footnotes. Such brochures can be handed out during local or school events, and when the school manager and teachers interact with community leaders, parents and students. Some schools may organize for visitors, displays on school board of summary information about the school, classes, teachers and students, and distribute brochures. Copies of the brochure may be provided to related local government departments and bodies, for them to serve as intermediaries for distribution. These are some of the good practices in general information dissemination by the school. TIPS FOR PRODUCING EFFECTIVE BROCHURES: o 6 pages C-fold brochures printed on both sides can suitably include most key information o Attractively combine succinct text, graphics, photos, simple tabulations, etc. o Use 2-4 colours and glossy paper if possible o Consistently use same text font and colours o Always print more copies than estimated 6

For more information about producing effective brochures, see:

About.com: Desktop publishing – Brochures. (See http://desktoppub.about.com/od/brochures/Brochures.htm ) All graphic design: BROCHURE DESIGN TUTORIALS & TIPS & TEMPLATES. (See http://www.allgraphicdesign.com/graphicdesignarticles/brochuresgraphicdesign/brochuresdesigningtips.html ) Chicago Brochure Design.(See http://www.dcfb.com/Pages/brochure-writing.html ) Brochures Designs (See http://www.brochures-design.com/ )

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Activity 10: Find out about existing practices to disseminate information horizontally to the stakeholders at respective levels, and answer the following questions: For school manager or personnel: 1. Has your school produced and disseminated information to the school management board, parentsteachers association and other local stakeholders? 2. If yes, what kinds of information dissemination products/channels have you produced/used? To whom have you disseminated the information? How effective is each of these products/ channels? 3. If no, do you plan to begin producing and disseminating information to the local stakeholders? What kind of information dissemination products/channels do you intend to produce/use? For district and local education officers, school inspectors: 1. Do the schools in your area systematically produce and disseminate information horizontally to their school management board, parents-teachers association and other local stakeholders? What have you done to promote and support such practices? 2. Have you produced and disseminated information horizontally to the stakeholders in your district? If yes, what kind of information dissemination products/channels have you produced/ used? To who have you disseminated the information? How effectively is each of these products/channels? 3. If no, do you plan to begin producing and disseminating information to the stakeholders in your district? What kind of information dissemination products/channels do you intend to produce/use? For central and provincial education administrators: 1. Does the Ministry of Education systematically produce and disseminate information horizontally to the stakeholders at the central and lower levels? If yes, what kind of information dissemination products/channels have you produced/used? To who have you disseminated the information? How effectively is each of these products/channels? 2. If no, do you plan to begin producing and disseminating information to the stakeholders in your district? What kind of information dissemination products/channels do you intend to produce/ use? 3. What can the Ministry of Education do to promote and support the practices of systematic horizontal information dissemination at all levels of the educational administration?

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4.1

Improving school-community interactions through information dissemination and exchange

An added advantage of horizontal information dissemination to the local community and stakeholders is to generate information exchange and interactions for the mutual benefits of school and community development. Active dissemination of school information can induce local stakeholders to take interest in the activities, achievements and issues faced by the school. This can help to generate support from the local government and community, and to mobilize the families and parents to send their children to school. Through such information dissemination, the local stakeholders will also be encouraged to share with the school personnel other relevant information regarding for example: • • • • • •

local population dynamics and issues especially about the ‘unreached’ economic prospects changes in production and employment patterns social issues emerging needs for learning families with children facing difficulties in attending school.

Such information can be crucial for identifying the ‘unreached’ children and unmet learning needs in the local area, and for adjusting the priorities and improving management of the school to achieve Education for All.

Activity 11: Find out about the nature of existing data and information flow between the school and the local community, and answer the following questions: For school manager or personnel: 1. Does your school frequently disseminate information about the school to the local community and stakeholders? What kind of data and information do you disseminate to them? 2. What kind of data and information flow exists between your school and the local community and stakeholders? What kind of data can you obtain from them? From which local stakeholder? How? When? 3. What use do you make of the data obtained from the local stakeholders? How useful are such data and information? What are the problems with such data and their use? 4. What should be done in order to improve the processes of school-community interactions through data flow and information dissemination? For district and local education officers, school inspectors: 1. Do the schools in your area frequently disseminate information about the school to the local community and stakeholders? What kind of data and information do they disseminate? 2. What kind of data and information flow exists between the schools in your area and their local community and stakeholders? What kind of data can they obtain from their local stakeholders? From which local stakeholder? How? When? 3. What use do the schools in your area make of the data obtained from the local stakeholders? How useful are such data and information? What are the problems with such data and their use? 4. What should be done in order to improve the processes of school-community interactions through data flow and information dissemination?

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4.2

Information exchange and networking among schools

Yet another form of useful horizontal information dissemination takes place when school reports and specific information and performance indicators are shared with other schools. Such information sharing facilitates comparison of different aspects of school performance, and promotes mutual learning of salient experiences, good practices and knowhow among the schools. A school can directly distribute school brochures, school profiles and school reports to other schools in order to generate information exchanges and discussions among school personnel either face-to-face or using telecommunication channels. The district and provincial education offices can also help to promote and facilitate such dissemination and exchange of information among schools. Provincial and district summaries produced by the Ministry of Education (see Example 1 in Section 3.5) can be used to generate dialogues among the provinces, districts and schools in order to compare performance and issues encountered, identify salient experiences, and learn from each other. A salient feature of such summaries is tables and charts of common education indicators which can be reliably compared.

Activity 12: Find out about existing practices to exchange information among the schools, and answer the following questions: For school manager or personnel: 1. Does your school directly exchange information with other schools? If yes, what kind of information and how? If no, why not? 2. What benefits does your school obtain from exchanging information with other schools? Also, what have been the constraints? 3. How do you plan to improve information exchange with other schools? For district and local education officers, school inspectors: 1. Does the schools in your area exchange information with other schools? If yes, what kind of information and how? If no, why not? 2. What has been your role in promoting and facilitating such information exchange among the schools in your area? 3. How do you plan to improve such information exchange among the schools in your area? For central and provincial education administrators: 1. Does the Ministry of Education systematically promote and facilitate information exchange among the schools in your country/province? 2. How do you plan to improve such information exchange among the schools in your country/province?

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4.3

Press and media releases

Increasingly, schools and education offices at different levels can make use of the media and press to help to disseminate information to the general public in order to inform them and to mobilize their participation and support7(See Picture 1 below). Besides regularly distributing the latest school brochure and documented information to the media, school managers and education officers may directly contact the media using the occasion of important school events or activities, or whenever there is a worthwhile piece of information or story to tell the public about what is happening in education or at the school. For example, the school opening day, sports day, graduation day or other national commemorations such as Teacher Day are all occasions for the school management to inform the media and the public in order to mobilize their participation and support. An interesting and meaningful happening or story with a student or a teacher in the school can also be the topic of a separate media release. To help the media to quickly and correctly write about and disseminate the information, often the school can choose to write up its own media release article8, and send to the media agencies for use. Here are some tips: TIPS FOR WRITING MEDIA RELEASES: o Pick a good story o Use an interesting headline o Attractive writing covering the basic information: who, what, when, where, why, how. o If possible include quotes from persons involved and/or affected o Always end with your contact information (phone number, email, etc.)

Family says “We should continue to encourage him for further study.”

Picture 1: Effects of Media release

Local community members say “Children are the future of our community. Let’s raise funds for supporting the school.”

Media Release on April 5, 2010 “Mr. Sam, a grade 4 student in A school won the award in the national mathematics competition…………”

District education officer say “Let’s interview him and his school, so that we can take measures to bring ripple effects to other schools.”

School manager in another school think “How can we improve the quality of education in our school?”

The John Lyon School: Press releases. (See http://www.johnlyon.org/content/category/4/13/49/ )

Media College.com: Press releases format. (See http://www.mediacollege.com/journalism/press-release/format.html )

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4.4

Using the internet

With the spread of access to the internet, schools and district education offices can either set up their own website to disseminate information9, or make use of other existing websites such as those of the Ministry of Education10,11,12 and of local government departments (see samples below and websites in the footnote).

There are various examples of school website, such as Bangkok Patana School (See http://www.patana.ac.th/), Jakarta International School (See http://www.jisedu.org/site/main.php?sWidth=1366&sHeight=768,), etc. 10

Singapore Ministry of Education web site. (See http://www.moe.gov.sg/)

Bangladesh Ministry of Educaiton web site. (See http://www.moedu.gov.bd/)

Philippines Department of Education web site. (See http://www.deped.gov.ph/ )

Singapore Nanyang Primary School web site. (see http://www.nyps.moe.edu.sg/)

New Zealand Ngatea Primary School web site. (see http://www.ngatea.school.nz/)

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There are the practices in some countries where the Ministry of Education provides technical assistance to individual schools in designing, setting up and maintaining their website. Another approach that has been adopted is to ask school managers to fill in a standard template with information on their school, and then post it on the website of the Ministry of Education for general access. Many books and internet sources are available regarding how to design and set up a website. One can also learn many doâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ts from badly designed websites for example those indicated on the website15. The design of a website must incorporate mechanisms to regularly update its information contents. A big turnoff for the users is to see websites that contain many out-of-date information, and websites that show the same information over many months or years, without anything new. A person should be trained and assigned to systematically gather the latest information and to regularly update the website. Like in preparing media releases, this person must continue to look for relevant news, events, information and stories, and to use them in regularly updating the website.

http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/

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Activity 13: Find out about the state of horizontal information dissemination and flow at your level, particularly regarding what kind of information are disseminated, how are they disseminated, what are the experiences and lesson learned, and answer the following questions: For school manager or personnel: 1. Does your school prepare media releases whenever there is a worthwhile occasion, event or story about what is happening at your school? If yes, how frequently do you do this? If no, why not? 2. Does your school disseminate information using a website? If yes, are you using your own website or some other website? If no, why not? 3. What kind of feedback have you received regarding the information you disseminated? 4. Do you think such information dissemination helps to strengthen the linkages between your school and the local community as well as with other schools? Why? 5. What do you think should be done in order to further improve information dissemination? For district and local education officers, school inspectors: 1. Do the schools in your area prepare media releases whenever there is a worthwhile occasion, event or story to tell the public about what is happening at their school? If yes, how frequently? If no, why not? 2. Do the schools in your area disseminate information using a website? If yes, are they using their own website or some other website? If no, why not? 3. What kind of feedback have you received regarding the information the schools disseminated? 4. Do you think such information dissemination helps to strengthen the linkages between the schools in your area and the local community as well as with other schools? Why? 5. What do you think should be done in order to further improve information dissemination? For central and provincial education administrators: 1. Do the schools in your country/province prepare media releases when there is a worthwhile occasion, event or story about what is happening at their school? If yes, how frequently? If no, why not? 2. Do the schools in your country/province disseminate information using a website? If yes, are they using their own website or some other website? If no, why not? 3. What kind of feedback have you received regarding the information the schools in your country/province disseminated? 4. Do you think such information dissemination helps to strengthen the linkages between the schools in your country/province and the local community as well as with other schools? Why? 5. What do you think should be done in order to further improve information dissemination?

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Data and information flow within a school

Well-managed data and information flow within a school can greatly help to strengthen mutual understanding and collaboration among all concerned persons. Within a school environment, data and information can flow among four main groups of people (see Diagram 3 below):    

school manager administrative personnel teachers students Diagram 3. Data and information flow within a school School manager

Teachers

Administrative personnel

P T A Students

Student Council

Parents

Community

VEC (Village Education Committee)

as well as be extended to immediate stakeholder bodies such as the School Management Board, Parent-Teacher Association, Village Education Committee, and Student Council if it exists. 5.1

In-school data flow

The flow of data within a school begins when a teacher or administrative personnel collects and records data regarding for example a student, a class, a school activity and/or a financial transaction related to the purchase of an equipment, etc. In doing so, they create a school record which will be a tool to carry the flow of data, initially to the school management office for organized storage, then to the relevant person through access to the record and transmission of the data (see also Training Module A1). Such data flow by creating, storing, accessing school records and transmitting data are usually regulated within a school according to defined schedule of school activities and data/information access and flow procedures (see Sections 3.1 to 3.9 in Module A1). During such data flow, frequent two-way communications can occur between

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the school manager and the responsible school personnel to ensure timely recording and updating of data, as well as data quality. When it comes to accessing and using the data in the school records, further interactions between the school management and teacher and students can occur based on the type of recorded data and information, for example relating to their attendance and performance, and to their use of various facilities and teaching/learning materials in the school. Rules may be set to allow different school personnel to access different kinds of school records in relation to their responsibilities, so that they can find, retrieve and use data that are appropriate for performing their duties. Care must also be taken not to allow unauthorized access to school records especially those containing personal or financial details (see Sections 3.1 to 3.9 in Module A1). Essentially, the school manager and administrative personnel can have access to all the school records, whereas the teachers can access records regarding the classes and students under their charge. Students can be allowed to access their own student records and test/examination results. 5.2

Information dissemination within a school

Although certain school records may not be directly accessible to all the people in a school because they contain personal or financial data, they can be used to generate a wide range of general summary information for open dissemination to everyone within the school. The way to do so is to extract and summarize the data in individual school records into for example the following information products (see also Section 7 in Training Module A1): 

Summary tables of the number of students by grade, class, sex, age, performance, etc.



Summary lists of students participating in different school activities



Graphs depicting changes over the past years in terms of student enrolment and the number of classes and teachers



Charts showing the structure of school personnel and of the school management board



School calendar indicating major school activities and events.

Besides actual counts, the summary tables and graphs can show indicators in the form of percentages, ratios, growth rates, etc. These information products can be posted on the school board, and/or incorporated into brochures and the school’s website. They can also be copied and distributed either on paper or electronically to the teachers and administrative personnel for reference.

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Example 2: Summary table on the school board

News of this month

We made it! We should continue to study hard.

Average score of midterm exam Class A Class B Class C 77 79 73

5.3

Managing data and information flow in school

Efforts to strengthen data flow and information dissemination in school and to expand their use can help to build capacities for evidence-based school management. The ultimate goal is to form a culture and practices for active production, flow and use of information and data for informed decision-making in school. It is the role and responsibility of the school manager to set rules, procedures and schedules within a school regarding data flow, access, and information dissemination in order to maximize their use. Such rules and schedules may govern: a) School manager-teacher communication: regarding requirements on the kind of data to be collected and recorded by teachers, and feedback information to be provided by the school manager to the teachers in terms of indicators regarding for example studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; attendance rates, performance by subject and behaviour, and other identified issues needing the teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention. b) Administration personnel-teacher communication: relating to data flow regarding daily operations of the teachers in managing classes and students, and of the school administration in managing school facilities, school personnel, material and finance resources. c) School manager-administrative personnel communication: about the kind of summary information to be regularly produced and submitted by the administrative personnel on the functioning of the school, and feedback instructions and queries to be provided by the school manager. d) Communications among teachers: about class scheduling, coordination of contents and methods, teacher absence and replacement, student characteristics, performance, behaviour and issues, etc.

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Activity 14: Discuss with school managers, teachers and administrative personnel to identify issues regarding data flow and information dissemination within schools, good practices and lessons learned, and answer the following questions: For school manager or personnel: 1. How does the flow of data and information function within your school as compared to what has been mentioned in the sections above? 2. What kind of problems and issues do you face regarding data flow and information dissemination within your school? Why? 3. What action can be taken to improve data and information flow within your school? How? For district and local education officers, school inspectors: 1. How does the flow of data and information function within the schools in your area as compared to what has been mentioned in the sections above? 2. What kind of problems and issues do the schools in your area face regarding data flow and information dissemination within your school? Why? 3. What action can be taken to improve data and information flow within the schools in your area? How? For central and provincial education administrators: 1. What can be done at your level to improve data and information flow within the schools in your country/province? Activity 15: Discuss with school managers and personnel in designing various kinds of in-school information dissemination tools including those indicated in Section 4.2 Activity 16: Discuss with school managers and personnel in defining in-school rules and regulations, procedures and schedule governing data flow, access and information dissemination.

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Quiz

Q1.

Which of the following are correct about information ? (Please tick all correct answers) □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Q2.

Better to keep information to oneself and not to share it. With growing demand of information, quality of it becomes worse. Information has more value when it is shared and used by more people. Information includes indicators It is necessary to choose carefully whether this information correct or not. The more people have access to information, the less information will be generated by them. Information is provided by only media. The more people have access to and use information, the more information and knowledge will be generated, shared and used. Information can contribute to upgrade our skills and knowledge. Information dissemination can be implemented across the education systems. Education for All (EFA) is about: (Please tick all correct answers)

□ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ Q3.

Improving life standard Spreading information and knowledge to all Enhancing gender equity Decentralization in education Making sure that every person finds a job Increasing schools’ ownership Giving everyone the abilities to learn and to apply knowledge and skills Teaching people to teach Promoting community based education Building schools everywhere The reasons for promoting data flow and information dissemination within the education system are: (Please tick all correct answers)

□ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

To keep students and teachers busy To keep all stakeholders informed about what is happening in education To discuss with education stakeholders To promote decentralization in education To confuse stakeholders and to discourage them from interfering with the education system To improve transparency and accountability To upload skills and knowledge about education To generate better understanding and support from the stakeholders To make concern for education issues we have To exchange information with other schools, regions, or countries

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Q4.

Data and information flow within the education administration should be: (Please tick all correct answers) □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Q5.

Managed carefully not to get out information to others Mainly for the Ministry of Education to give orders to the districts and schools Benefiting all levels including communities Data and information only flow upwards from the schools to the Ministry of Education 2-way both upwards and downwards Benefitting to improve education policy Benefiting only the central and provincial education authorities Sharing within same level Benefiting all levels of the education administration down to the school level Dealt with government mainly Which are the five principles for data flow and information dissemination ? (Please fill in the blanks marked by the dotted lines)

    

Q6.

Reliable .............................. timely .............................. as complete as possible

What can be the pitfalls when the Ministry of Education feeds back processed and analysed information and indicators to decentralized education offices and the schools? (Please fill in the blanks marked by the dotted lines)      

too little information ........................................ too much information ........................................ available only after a long span of time ...................................................................................................................................................

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Q7.

What kind of benefits are there to exchange information among schools? (Please tick all correct answers) □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Q8.

To facilitate comparison of school performance indicators To get example to improve school policy To identify issues each school has To encourage students and teachers to move from school to school Ti enhance teachers’ motivation To promote mutual learning of salient experiences, good practices and knowhow To facilitate accountability by schools To obtain more funding for all the schools To generate networking among schools and sharing of teaching-learning resources To know school characteristics each other What kind of information feedback can be provided to the schools and district education offices? (Please fill in the blanks marked by the dotted lines)

     Q9.

Annual report, indicator report, news bulletins, media releases, brochures and posters …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Provincial and district summaries comparing the districts and schools …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Individual school summaries with calculated indicators compared to district/provincial/national averages The channels and tools for information dissemination can include: (Please fill in the blanks marked by the dotted lines)

       

Brochures/pamphlets/flyers ..................................................................... District/provincial education profiles Annual reports Special reports on a specific topic or theme ..................................................................... ..................................................................... Internet websites and by email

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Q10. □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

In-school data and information flow mainly involves : (Please tick all correct answers) the school manager District officer administrative personnel parents Ministry of Education community leaders teachers local government departments students Police

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Further studies  C. Antonelli: The governance of localized knowledge: An information economics approach for the economics of knowledge. Working paper No. 02/2005. Universita di Torino. (can be accessed at: http://ideas.repec.org/p/uto/labeco/200502.html )  Brian J. Caldwell: The transformation of education through networking. (can be accessed at: http://www.educationaltransformations.com.au/files/presentations/2004/et_transformations_of_educ ation_through_networking.pdf)  Jadwiga Brzdąk and David Oldroyd: From Diagnosis to School Improvement - A case study of quality assessment, development and culture in a Polish secondary school. (can be accessed at: http://www.oki.hu/oldal.php?tipus=cikk&kod=quality-06-brzdak)  Priyanka Pandey, Sangeeta Goyal and Venkatesh Sundararaman: Community Participation in Public Schools - The Impact of Information Campaigns in Three Indian States. Policy Research Working Paper No. 4776. 2008, The World Bank. (can be accessed at: http://wwwwds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2008/11/11/000158349_200811111 42153/Rendered/PDF/WPS4776.pdf)  Sharon F. Rallis and Ellen B. Goldring: Principals of dynamic schools – Taking charge of change. Corwin Press, 2000. (can be accessed at: http://www.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=B_RL_ltvwEC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=%22school+management%22+data+records+use+%22information+diss emination%22+education&ots=KDqy_FjlXP&sig=_mkq7MPdigeiATt0L4ZGgHIkWuc#v=onepage&q=&f=fa lse)  Press release  Press Releasing.com. (see also: http://www.pressreleasing.com/tips.htm)  Press Dr.com. (See http://pressdr.com/blog/media-release-writing/50-tips-for-press-releasewriting.php )  24-7 Press Release. (See http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press_writing_tips.php) 

Building a school website. (See http://www.wigglebits.com/)

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