Making Sense of Education Statistics: A Guide for Reformers
Distance Learning Course
The World Bank Institute
Background and Objectives
In this Information Age, statistical literacy is essential to good decision-making. Improved understanding of statistics will have high returns. In this context, this course is intended to enhance knowledge and understanding of education statistics and key concepts and tools used in the education sector, preparatory to pursuit of further training and/or work in the area of education reform. The course materials also should serve as a resource tool on statistics, as needed.
The impetus for development of this course came from participants in the pilot offering of a course on education reform offered by the World Bank Institute (WBI). Participant feedback revealed the need for an enhanced understanding of statistics and data analysis in order to benefit fully from training and perform well work related to education reform. (Information on WBI's Education Program is available on its website: www.worldbank.org/wbi/education.
Target Audience
The principal intended target groups for this course are education policymakers and senior technical staff directly involved in education reform in their countries. An education reformer, as a 'consumer' of data, is constantly required to critically interpret and evaluate statistical information such as educational research, opinion polls and surveys, financial indicators, and student and system assessments in order to make sound decisions that promote improved equity of educational opportunities, quality of services and efficiency of resource use in the society.
Content
This instructional CD-ROM is designed to be used as a preparatory or refresher course for those planning on pursuing training in the area of education reform or as a stand alone/self-moderated course. It encompasses 15 chapters or modules, as follow:
Course Overview
Getting Started
Preliminary Concepts: Statistics and Data
Preliminary Concepts: Variables and Measurement Scales
Understanding Graphs
Advanced Graphing
Frequency Distributions
Continuous Distributions
Understanding Central Tendency
Measures of Central Tendency
Measures of Dispersion
Lorenz Curves and the Gini Index
Understanding Correlation and Regression
Pearson Coefficient and Correlation
Additional Resources
Each of the core modules is structured similarly, commencing with a summary of the desired learning outcomes and content Quizzes, with answer sheets attached, appear at the end of each module to enable participants to test their own mastery of content. As the modules are interrelated, with earlier modules serving as building blocks for subsequent ones, it is preferable that the modules be studied in sequence. Notwithstanding, consistent with the self-paced design of this course, participants are encouraged to move quickly over modules and material within them with which they already are familiar and concentrate on that content which is new.
This statistics learning course is unconventional for two reasons. First, the content is eclectic, introducing the participant not only to statistics but also to several other concepts and data analysis tools such as graph reading and quintiles not normally included in an introductory course on statistics but crucial to support work on education reform. Second, this course is designed to be highly "participatory' and interactive in nature. Obtaining the desired intuitive understanding of the core concepts presented demands continuous critical thinking by the reader.
Contact Information
Training manager of DLC : Svitlana Shytikova svitas@uapa-dlc.org.ua
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