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An overview of Education data in South Africa: an inventory approach

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  • Chris van Wyk

    (Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch)

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the various datasets pertaining to education in South Africa that are informing or could inform policy making in education. The paper serves as an inventory for anyone interested in understanding what data is available, how it may be accessed, what the quality of the data is and in what formats it may be accessed. The paper is divided into three parts. The first part provides a description of existing education datasets and the basic data elements contained in each of these datasets. When discussing each of the existing education datasets, the paper addresses the quality of the education data available in South Africa. The first part also refers to the policy implications and the important role that data plays in policy-formulation. No information system on its own is comprehensive enough to provide all the information needed in strategic decision-making. Hence, part two of this paper discusses the need for data integration as an important data management strategy. The third part examines the effectiveness of implementing a learner unit record system nationally in comparison with the EMIS system that is currently in place and that is based on aggregate or summary institution–level data.

Suggested Citation

  • Chris van Wyk, 2015. "An overview of Education data in South Africa: an inventory approach," Working Papers 19/2015, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:sza:wpaper:wpapers252
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    File URL: https://www.ekon.sun.ac.za/wpapers/2015/wp192015/wp-19-2015.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stephen Taylor & Derek Yu, 2009. "The importance of socio-economic status in determining educational achievement in South Africa," Working Papers 01/2009, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    2. Servaas van der Berg, 2006. "How effective are poor schools? Poverty and educational outcomes in South Africa," Working Papers 06/2006, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    3. Venkat, Hamsa & Spaull, Nic, 2015. "What do we know about primary teachers’ mathematical content knowledge in South Africa? An analysis of SACMEQ 2007," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 121-130.
    4. Nicholas Spaull & Stephen Taylor, 2012. "“Effective enrolment” - Creating a composite measure of educational access and educational quality to accurately describe education system performance in sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 21/2012, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    5. Gustafsson, Martin, 2015. "Enrolment ratios and related puzzles in developing countries: Approaches for interrogating the data drawing from the case of South Africa," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 63-72.
    6. Servaas van der Berg, 2007. "Apartheid's Enduring Legacy: Inequalities in Education-super- 1," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 16(5), pages 849-880, November.
    7. AfDB AfDB, . "Annual Report 2012," Annual Report, African Development Bank, number 461.
    8. Servaas van der Berg & Debra Shepherd, 2010. "Signalling performance: Continuous assessment and matriculation examination marks in South African schools," Working Papers 28/2010, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    9. Servaas van der Berg & Megan Louw, 2007. "Lessons learnt from SACMEQII: South African student performance in regional context," Working Papers 16/2007, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    10. Nicholas Spaull, 2012. "Poverty & Privilege: Primary School Inequality in South Africa," Working Papers 13/2012, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Heleen Hofmeyr, 2018. "Home background and schooling outcomes in South Africa: Insights from the National Income Dynamics Study," Working Papers 01/2018, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    2. Heleen Hofmeyr, 2019. "Performance Beyond Expectations: Academic Resilience in South Africa," Working Papers 19/2019, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    education management information systems; education data; performance data; data integration; unique identifiers; data quality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I29 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Other

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