United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Statistical Division Educational Characteristics in the Census Questionnaire Angela Me, Chief Social and Demographic Statistics Section

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 2 Educational Characteristics What is the objective of collecting educational characteristics in the census?

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 3 Educational Characteristics Core Topics Educational Attainment Non Core Topics Educational qualifications Field of study School attendance Literacy Computer literacy Education: all deliberate, systematic and organized communication designed to bring about learning

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 4 Educational attainment Definition: Highest level successfully completed Age limit:  10 years Highest level is different from the highest grade (as recommended in the UN Global Recommendations) Grade is a stage of instruction usually covered in the course of a school year Level refers to ISCED: primary, lower secondary, …. Grades provide information on levels of education not successfully completed, studies started and interrupted Is level more relevant than grade in Central Asia? What is the users’ requirement?

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 5 Educational attainment In the last census round, some ECE countries asked about grades in general or within different levels Example: Without education 1-3 grade of primary school 4 grade of primary school 5-7 grade of primary school Primary school Secondary school High school Higher education Example: What is the highest grade (1-13) of secondary or elementary school attended (completed or not)? How many years of education has this person completed at university?

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 6 Educational attainment Definition: Highest level successfully completed 18/35 countries in the ECE region asked in the 2000 round about highest level of education completed and not completed (attended) Eight countries/35 (Ukraine from CIS) asked also about the name of or the type of school Five countries/35 asked about the year when the level was completed

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 7 Educational attainment It is important to identify persons who have received no formal schooling, although some countries in the previous round did not do so Illiteracy should NOT be assessed through educational attainment, it is a different concept Example: 1. Higher 2.Unfinished higher 3.Secondary vocational 4.Primary vocational 5.Secondary complete 6.Basic general 7.Primary general 8.Has no primary education, but can read and write 9. Illiterate

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 8 Educational qualifications Definition: degrees, diplomas, certificates, etc. which have been conferred on a person by educational authorities, special examining bodies or professional bodies It is suggested to collect information on title of the highest degree, diploma or certificate About 50% of countries included in the previous census round

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 9 Educational qualifications It is important to distinguish educational attainment and educational qualifications What is your education level? Higher: 1. At least doctorate 2. Master's degree 3. Non-university certificate or diploma Post-secondary: 4. Post-secondary with secondary school certificate 5. Post-secondary without secondary school certificate Secondary: 6. Vocational with certificate 7. Vocational without certificate 8. General with certificate 9. General without certificate 10. Basic vocational Primary: 11. Primary completed Others: 12. Primary not completed and no school education Two separate questions, or if in the same question separate items

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 10 Field of study Definition: subject matter taught in an education programme Primarily for persons within the adult population who have attained secondary education or above One or multiple answers? Coding according ISCED About 50% of UNECE countries included in the previous census round

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 11 Field of study Nine/43 countries included in the last census round Example: Indicate the main subject area(s) in which the qualification(s) is held (tick all the boxes that apply)  Education  Art  Humanities  Social sciences/Business/Law  Life Sciences/Medical Laboratory Science  Physical Sciences/Chemistry  Mathematics/Statistics  Computing/Information Technology  Engineering/Architecture  Agriculture/Forestry/Fishery/Veterinary  Medicine/Dentistry/Nursing/Associated Medical disciplines/Social services  Tourisms/Hotel and Catering/Sports and Leisure/Transport Services/Environmental protection/Security services  Other Example: What is the major field of study or training of this person’s highest degree, certificate or diploma (excluding secondary or high school graduation certificates)? ___________________________

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 12 School attendance Definition: regular attendance at any accredited educational institution or programme, public or private, for organized learning at any level of education It refers to school population: 5-29, but the age-range can be extended to include attendance in pre-primary or adult education People who attend school are not only those who are recorded as “student” in the not economically active population 34/43 countries included it in the previous census round

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 13 School attendance It is important to distinguish school attendance from school enrolment Attendance refers to a day-to-day presence at an institution of learning, it excludes for example internet- based learning. It is important to study the out-to- school children Enrolment refers to the formal registration of the participants at the start of the course (registration) Attendance is more relevant for primary and secondary education

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 14 Comparison between attendance and enrolment ratios, 2000 Source: UNICEF Multiple Indicator Clusters Surveys 2, National Reports for attendance ratios and UNESCO for enrolment ratios

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 15 School attendance What is the relevant concept to include in the census in Central Asia? Attendance or enrolment? Can enrolment data be easily collected through administrative records? What concept was used in the previous census round: attendance or enrolment? Some countries used the concept of “study”, but not clear its definition

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 16 School attendance How to design census questions Identification of level/type of school attended (most used) Yes/No question on current attendance in school (not recommended) 16/34 countries included questions about the place of school attended

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 17 Literacy Definition: ability both to read and write Literacy is an applied skill and ideally needs to be measured in relation to a particular task (reading a newspaper or writing a letter), however, the census operations are too cumbersome to allow for a test in the field It needs separate question(s) Suggested age range:  10 years

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 18 Literacy As collected in the previous census, is it relevant for Central Asian countries?

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 19 Literacy It may be more relevant to have a set of literacy assessment questions The international community is working in developing a short set of questions, but there is not yet a final product. Consult UNESCO experts (Lamp- Literacy Assessment and Monitoring Programme)

- UNECE Statistical Division Dushanbe, March 2007 Slide 20 Computer Literacy Definition: ability to use basic computer applications to accomplish everyday tasks New topic in the Recommendations that is becoming very relevant Give consideration to the ability to use word processing, spreadsheet, , web- browsing applications