Successful delivery of capacity building and support to education systems, particularly in the Pacific, requires addressing both technical solutions and political challenges. To that end, the Pacific Community (SPC) is currently reinforcing its support to education statistical capacity in the region, The inherently political nature of educational systems sometimes results in difficulties in terms of using data for decision-making. Progress in educational outcomes is more achievable when we consider the intersection of what is both politically possible and technically sound.
Thirteen individuals from four Pacific Island ministries of education are participating in a five-day sub-regional workshop this week to examine the role of education data and the demand for such data to be used in data-informed decision-making in Pacific Island education systems. The Pacific Community, with the support of the Australian Government (DFAT), is working in collaboration with the University of Alberta and participants from Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Tuvalu, from 14-18 August in Nadi, Fiji.
The workshop will be an opportunity for SPC to dialogue with national experts and following the workshop participants along with SPC EQAP staff will undertake interviews with some of their senior policy makers and decision makers in their government ministries. In particular, the exercise aims to depict the challenges (political, technical, capacity or cultural barriers) to effective use of data to improve practise and any incentives and motivations around data use for the countries participating in the study. The findings from these interviews then will feed into formulating a set of key indicators of data use which may be used by countries to inform further action and share best practises within the region.
Useful links:
EQAP website
EMIS Project