Background
Although more learning data has become available in sub-Saharan Africa countries over the past two decades, this has not led to their effective use in the educational planning. In addition, despite the increasing attention that this topic receives internationally, a deeper understanding of what is driving the use of learning data is still missing. The need to address this gap prompted IIEP-UNESCO to launch a qualitative multi-case study to examine how and why countries in sub-Saharan Africa use learning assessment data in the education planning cycle. It sought to raise awareness on the complex dynamics that underlie processes of learning data use and increase attention to aspects less addressed in the available literature. Six countries participated in the study: the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Namibia, Senegal, and Zambia.
This webinar is the third session of a three-part series to present the findings of the study, upon the release of IIEP-UNESCO publications on the topic. It will look into the role of international partners in the development and support of learning assessment systems and national ownership of learning data. It will also explore the dynamics among central level units involved in the production and use of learning data and their interactions with the decentralized level. This webinar will examine the feedback loop of student results from the central level to schools. It will conclude the series with the ways forward.
The webinar will address the following questions:
- How did the support of international partners influence the development of assessment systems and what effect does this have on the current use of learning data?
- How do dynamics among national actors involved in the management of assessment data influence data use?
- How to improve a feedback loop of assessment results throughout the education system?
You can find more information about the series and key study findings in the concept note.
The webinar will be held in both English and French with simultaneous interpretation in the other language.
The series is supported by an online discussion forum on Slack for participants to exchange and discuss prior to and proceeding the sessions, as well as share useful resources.
Agenda
Opening remarks: Mioko Saito, Head of the Training and Education Programme Unit, IIEP-UNESCO.
Dynamics between actors and the use of assessment data, Ieva Raudonyte and Tuamanaia Foimapafisi
This presentation will explore actors’ interactions and their impact on the use of assessment data. It will show that although international partners have played a decisive role in the development of assessment systems, this has sometimes had unintended negative consequences on the national ownership of assessment data. The presentation will demonstrate that actors’ dynamics at the central level often reveal weak and ad hoc collaboration whereas decentralized level officials are not sufficiently involved in the management of learning data and need greater support to analyze and use assessment results.
Influence of partners and dynamics between national actors in Guinea, Djénabou Baldé
This presentation will give an overview of the nature of international partners’ support to the Guinean learning assessment system and the effects of this support on the use of assessment data. It will also delve into the dynamics between education stakeholders at the central and decentralized levels, and the implications of these dynamics for the use of assessment data.
Interplay of national and international actors in the learning assessment system in Senegal, Winnie Yondo
This presentation will look at the roles of national and international actors in the management and use of learning assessment data in Senegal. It will also explore how the different actors interact in these processes. The presentation will explore what limits the communication between them as well as the coordination among external projects linked to assessments.
How learning profiles can create feedback loops to improve learning in education systems, Laura Savage and Carmen Belafi
In this presentation, Carmen will present how the Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE) Programme has advanced the understanding of what learning profiles can tell us, and explain some of the ways that they have been used across the 6 million student data points that the RISE team and partners have analyzed. Laura will propose how learning profiles can provide feedback loops throughout an education system, and highlight some of the dynamics that can emerge from the engagement of global education aid actors in the generation, analysis and reporting of learning data.
Q&A session with the audience
The session will be moderated by Mioko Saito.
About the speakers
Mioko Saito is the Head of the Training and Education Programme Unit at IIEP-UNESCO. She is an expert in the area of quality of education and gender equality in learning achievement. She is responsible for numerous capacity building programmes for educational planners. She has also provided technical support on the conduct of a large-scale educational policy research for several of the regional networks, including SEACMEQ (Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring the Quality of Education), PASEC (Programme for the Analysis of Education Systems), NEQMAP (Network on Education Quality Monitoring in the Asia-Pacific), and SEA-PLM (Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics).
Ieva Raudonyte is an Associate Research Officer in the IIEP Research and Development team. She contributes to research activities related to the use of learning assessment data and the broader theme of teaching and learning. More specifically, she coordinates the IIEP’s research programme on the use of learning assessment data in the planning cycle and contributes to IIEP’s Learning Portal activities.
Tuamanaia Foimapafisi is an Education consultant. She contributed to the implementation of the research programme on the use of learning assessment data at IIEP-UNESCO. Prior to this, she was a research assistant in a study of racial discrimination in New Caledonia.
Djénabou Baldé has a long experience in education and research, notably at the École Normale Supérieure, the Institute of Education Sciences of Guinea (ISSEG), the African Distance Learning Network (RESAFAD), UNICEF, UNESCO, and UNDP. Since 2013, she has been the national coordinator of the Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa (ERNWACA) and since 2018, she has been in charge of the Advanced Studies Department of ISSEG. She has published numerous articles and books and participated in many conferences, seminars, and symposiums in Guinea and internationally.
Winnie Yondo is a statistical engineer and economist, who specialises in research and evaluation methods in several key development issues in African countries. As a consultant for UNESCO and IIEP-UNESCO, she has dealt with themes related to the assessment of learning achievement, the planning of education systems, and the training and professional integration of young people.
Laura Savage is a Senior Education Adviser at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). She is currently Team Leader of the Education Research Team, working to generate rigorous research on questions of how to improve learning outcomes for all children. In particular, Laura works on RISE – an outstanding research programme generating new thinking and robust evidence on improving systems of education – and FCDO’s education partnership with the UK Economic and Social Research Council. Laura has lived and worked in Malaysia, Bangladesh and Malawi and has previously worked for a range of global education organisations including UNICEF and Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Laura holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge on the politics of aid in national education reform.
Carmen Belafi is a Research Associate for the RISE Programme, a global, multi-country research programme investigating the system drivers of the learning crisis and understanding how countries can overcome them in order to deliver learning for all. Her focus is the political economy and the politics of learning. Prior to joining RISE, Carmen worked as a Policy Officer for Education at The ONE Campaign. She was also a consultant for GIZ, Germany’s leading development cooperation agency. She holds a Master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Tuebingen.
Resources
Foimapafisi, T.; Raudonyte, I. 2021. The Use of learning assessment data to improve educational planning: IIEP-UNESCO Online Learning Series concept note.
Foimapafisi, T.; Raudonyte, I. 2021. L’évaluation des apprentissages au Sénégal. Fiche d’information. Paris : IIPE-UNESCO.
Raudonyte, I. 2021. Utilisation des données d’évaluation des apprentissages : Sénégal. Note d’orientation. Paris : IIPE-UNESCO.
Foimapafisi, T.; Raudonyte, I. 2021. L’évaluation des apprentissages en Guinée. Fiche d’information. Paris : IIPE-UNESCO.
Raudonyte, I. 2020. Utilisation des données d’évaluation des apprentissages : Guinée. Note d’orientation. Paris : IIPE-UNESCO.
Raudonyte, I.; Foimapafisi, T. 2021. Utilisation des données d’évaluation des apprentissages en Guinée. Etude de cas. Paris : IIPE-UNESCO.
Raudonyte, Ieva. 2019. Use of learning assessment data in education policy-making. IIEP Working Papers, 34. Paris: IIEP-UNESCO.
RISE Papers and Insight Notes
Belafi, C.; Hwa, Y.; Kaffenberger, M. 2020. Building on Solid Foundations: Prioritising Universal, Early, Conceptual and Procedural Mastery of Foundational Skills. RISE Insight Series. 2020/021.
Hwa, Y.; Kaffenberger, M.; Silberstein, J. 2020. Aligning levels of instruction with goals and the needs of students (ALIGNS): Varied approaches, common principles. RISE Insight Series. 2020/022.
Beatty, A. et al. 2018. Indonesia got schooled: 15 years of rising enrolment and flat learning profiles. RISE Working Paper Series. 18/026.
Kaffenberger, M. 2019. A Typology of learning profiles: Tools for analysing the dynamics of learning. RISE Insight Series.2019/015.
Kaffenberger, M. and Pritchett, L. 2017. More Schooling or more learning? Evidence from learning profiles from the financial inclusion Iisights data. RISE Working Paper Series. 17/012.
Video: Kaffenberger, M. 2019. Building on Solid Foundations: What Learning Profiles Tell Us about Prioritising for Learning.
Additional resources are also available in the Slack discussion forum.