Measurement of Equity in Education: A Handbook

Group Submission Type: Panel Session

Proposal

With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Education 2030 Framework for Action in 2015, equity has been placed at the heart of the international development agenda. In the domain of education, SDG 4 calls upon all UN Member States to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”.

There have been considerable advances in the measurement of equity over the years, in particular with regard to income inequality. Yet, the ability to measure equality in learning has been limited due to the narrow coverage of existing data sources (e.g. omission of certain population groups or forms of education), variations in data collection methods, differences in definitions and indicator calculations, and inconsistent use of information on equity in the design of education policies.

To support efforts to monitor progress towards the SDGs, the Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre at the University of Cambridge and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) are co-editing a “Handbook on Measurement of Equity in Education” (forthcoming, early 2018), produced in collaboration with FHI 360 and Oxford Policy Management. The Handbook is intended to serve as a reference for professionals involved in the measurement and monitoring of equity in education.

Although the Handbook is inspired by the SDGs and Education 2030, it is not limited to an examination of the proposed indicator framework for the 2030 agenda. Instead, it is designed to be suitable for any national analysis and monitoring of equity in education and progress towards national goals. It aims to provide a conceptual framework for measuring equality in learning; offer methodological guidance on the calculation and interpretation of indicators; and investigate the extent to which measuring equity in learning has been integrated in national policies and planning, data collection, and analysis.

In this session, contributors to the Handbook will provide an overview of its content and present examples of its application to national and international equity data.

This panel is presented in collaboration with the Education Equity Research Initiative, a collaborative partnership that connects organizations and individuals committed to building stronger evidence and knowledge for improving solutions for equity in and through education. It serves to help ensure that an equity lens is incorporated into data production and research across all education and development programs and policies. Learn more at www.educationequity2030.org.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Chair

• Friedrich Huebler, UNESCO Institute for Statistics

Individual Presentations

• A conceptual framework for equity analysis - Stuart Cameron, Oxford Policy Management; Rachita Daga, Oxford Policy Management; Rachel L. Outhred, Oxford Policy Management

• Metrics of equity in education - Wael Moussa, FHI 360; Carina Omoeva, FHI 360

• Consideration of equity in national education plans - Pauline Rose, University of Cambridge; Ben Alcott, University of Cambridge; Ricardo Sabates, University of Cambridge; Rodrigo Torres, Institute of Education, University College London

Discussant

• Sofia Contreras-Roldan, Instituto Nacional para la Evaluación de la Educación