Thematic Research Report series

Thematic Research Reports

241 complete publications covering the years 2005 to 2026.

Showing 4 of 4 results

241 publications in this series

ICEQC-R-2014-11December 4, 2014

Thematic Research Report

Evidence and Attribution in Public Claims of Educational Improvement

A global comparative indicator study of change, contribution and responsible public interpretation

Public claims of educational improvement influence confidence, finance, institutional judgement and policy continuation. Such claims should identify the outcome, population, period, baseline and evidence and should distinguish observed change, contribution and causal attribution.

Research category: Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype: Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope: Global

ICEQC-R-2014-08September 3, 2014

Thematic Research Report

Measuring Adult Participation in Education and Training

A global comparative indicator study of participation boundaries, learning exposure, equity and public reporting

Adult participation in education and training is a central measure of lifelong learning, social inclusion, skills development and the capacity of communities to respond to change. Yet the familiar headline percentage is unusually sensitive to definition. The reported value changes with the adult age range, the reference period, the boundary between formal, non-formal and informal learning, the treatment of very short activities, household coverage and the questions used to prompt recall. Two rates bearing the same name may therefore represent different populations and different amounts of learning.

Research category: Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype: Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope: Global

ICEQC-R-2014-05April 13, 2014

Thematic Research Report

A Data Architecture for Monitoring Access, Completion, Learning and Equity

A global comparative indicator study of linked education records, population coverage and accountable interpretation

Education monitoring should describe a connected public service rather than a collection of unrelated totals. Access concerns whether an entitled learner can enter and participate. Completion concerns whether that learner reaches a defined end point and receives a recognised result. Learning concerns what the learner can demonstrate under stated conditions. Equity concerns how opportunity, service and result are distributed across the population. These dimensions require different observations, but they must be capable of being read together.

Research category: Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype: Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope: Global

ICEQC-R-2014-01February 10, 2014

Thematic Research Report

National Averages and Hidden Inequality: Requirements for Disaggregated Reporting

A global comparative indicator study of distribution, population visibility and accountable public reporting

Comparative interpretation of executive summary depends upon a country can raise its average enrolment, completion or achievement while a poor, remote, disabled, linguistic-minority or otherwise disadvantaged population experiences little change. A contrary reading would overlook that the same national result can arise from broad improvement, concentrated gains at the top, altered population composition or the statistical disappearance of people who are hardest to observe. Public reporting must therefore show the distribution beneath the headline. National averages remain necessary for describing the scale and direction of education systems, but they are not sufficient evidence of equal educational opportunity.

Research category: Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype: Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope: Global