1. Overview of the project
STATISTICS ON SCHOOLS AS ENTITIES
Overview of the project
Team of experts: Dr Anissa Amjahad, Dr Solène Larue, Dr Emira Bečić
Eurostat project manager: Dr Dario Buono
DG EAC responsible: Dr Luca Pappalardo
Eurostat Framework contract Quality, methodology and research
Lot 1: Methodological support
N°: LOT 1
Specific contract Ref. N°:

2. Background of the project
The project results from DG EAC‘s needs of quantitative data on schools as entities.
The statistics on schools as entities are needed for:
Monitoring the effectiveness of the Erasmus+ programme (schools are beneficiaries) and fine-tune the programme year by year by calculating uptake indicators;
Following the potential uptake of the European Fund for Strategic investments and other Funds for education and better understanding the investment needs for the education sector; and
Understanding the trends in the school sector to support Member States in their efforts of efficient investment.

3. Project objectives
The project objectives are to investigate and to provide a clear analysis on the availability, comparability and analysis possibilities of data on schools as entities.
Scope of the project : EU Member States + EFTA countries

4. Data needs Number of schools overall and by Geographical levels NUTS1,
If possible NUTS2
ISCED levels
ISCED 0, 1, 2, 3
Integrated school
Ownership/governance
Public
Private
Number of pupils
Size ranges
Average/median number of pupils per school

5. Step 1: Collection of information
The first step is to collect information about data availability on the number of schools in the EU and EFTA.
This information will be collected through a questionnaire sent to national contact points.
The questionnaire will provide information on:
Type of school for which data is available;
Available associated variables (number of pupils);
Available breakdown: ISCED, NUTS, type of schools, etc.;
Definition and classification used; and
National sources used.

6. Step 2: Analysis of the information
The second step consists of the analysis of the collected information.
The analysis includes two dimensions:
A gap analysis between the desired levels of detail and the existing one in the countries (quantitative side of the analysis)
An assessment of the comparability of the definitions and classifications used by the countries (qualitative side of the analysis)

7. Step 3: Feasibility of the data collection
The third step of the project is to formulate recommendations on the feasibility of a data collection.
The recommendations will include:
a list of statistics available for collection including breakdowns;
a list of metadata to be collected;
Recommended harmonised definitions and methodological challenges to be tackled.