Education Management Information System (EMIS):

Integrated Data and Information Systems and Their Implications

In Educational Management1

Haiyan Hua and Jon Herstein

Harvard University

Paper Presented at the Annual Conference of

Comparative and International Education Society
New Orleans, LA
USA

March 2003

1
This paper is written based on the instructional materials Dr. Haiyan Hua and Dr. Tom Cassidy use at
Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a decade experience working on EMIS development in
Ministries of Education in Egypt, Jamaica, Malaysia, Ghana, and Latvia. We are very grateful to Dr. Tom
Cassidy and Dr. Tom Welsh for their leadership and pioneer work in the area of EMIS development.
EMIS and Their Implications in Educational Management Hua and Herstein

Abstract

Successful management of today’s education systems requires effective policy-

making and system monitoring through data and information. To this end,
countries around the world have invested significant resources into collecting,
processing, and managing more and better data through education management
information systems (EMIS). However, all too often EMIS design and
development has been limited to information technology enhancements, and/or
data storage and maintenance, with insufficient attention paid to the
management environment in which EMIS operates and data utilization for
policy decisions. This paper will examine the technical, organizational, and
institutional conditions that must be met in order to enable information-based
decision-making for effective system management. It will highlight the fact that
technical capacity building must be accompanied by the creation of the demand
for information and the nurturing of a culture of open communication,
information sharing, and information use.

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction................................................................................................................. 4
2. Managing Education System Data & Information (EMIS Framework)..................... 4
2.1 Definition of EMIS ................................................................................................. 4
2.2 Three Key Measures of EMIS Success................................................................... 5
2.2.1 Timely and Reliable Production of Data and Information.............................. 5
2.2.2 Data Integration and Data Sharing among Departments ................................ 6
2.2.3 Effective Use of Data & Information for Policy Decisions............................ 7
2.3 Summing Up ........................................................................................................... 8
3. Data Integration – Enabling the Creation of Policy-Relevant Information ................ 8
3.1 Data Integration Strategy – The Technical Elements ............................................. 9
3.1.1 Coding............................................................................................................. 9
3.1.2 Structure........................................................................................................ 11
3.1.3 Data context .................................................................................................. 12
3.2 Data Integration Strategy - The Institutional ........................................................ 12
3.2.1 Memoranda of Understanding ...................................................................... 12
3.2.2 Data Integration as Part of the Data Production Cycle ................................. 13
3.2.3 Roles and Responsibilities ............................................................................ 13
3.2.4 Policy Documents ......................................................................................... 13
3.3 Summary ............................................................................................................... 14
4. Use of EMIS Data: Systems of Policy Planning and Evaluation.............................. 14
4.1 Monitoring and Evaluation Systems..................................................................... 14
4.2 Policy Analysis ..................................................................................................... 15
4.3 Design in Policy Research .................................................................................... 17
5. A Culture of Information Use ................................................................................... 18
5.1 Symptoms and Sources of a Lack of Culture of Information Use........................ 18
5.1.1 Importance of a culture of Communication and Information Exchange ...... 19
5.1.2 Lack of shared vision for EMIS.................................................................... 19
5.1.3 Lack of organizational readiness .................................................................. 19
5.1.4 Common institutional issues ......................................................................... 20
5.2 Building an Environment that Nurtures a Culture of Information Use ................ 21
5.2.1 Culture of communication and information sharing..................................... 21
5.2.2 Shared vision................................................................................................. 22
5.2.3 Institutional Home ........................................................................................ 22
5.2.4 Accountability............................................................................................... 23
5.2.5 Budget ........................................................................................................... 23
5.2.6 Staffing.......................................................................................................... 24
5.2.7 Coordinating Body........................................................................................ 24
6. Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 25
Endnotes............................................................................................................................ 26

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1. Introduction

There is no doubt that education contributes to the advancement and enrichment in

cultural, social and economic development in all societies by endowing individuals with
the means to improve their health, skills, knowledge, and capacity for productive work.
Many years of research have provided clear evidence that education is a key factor to the
growth in development. However, how to maximize student learning in educational
systems with limited resources remains one of the greatest educational challenges. This
requires a constant monitoring and evaluation of the learning system in education by
collecting and examining data and information used in the process of educational
decision making.

Information-based decision making in the management of the education system has as its
goal increased access, efficiency, effectiveness, equity, and quality of education through
effective systems of monitoring and evaluation, budgeting and planning, policy research
and analysis. Education management information systems (EMIS) enable these informed
decisions to be made by providing necessary data and information and by fostering an
environment in which the demand for this information drives its use. Integrated data and
information systems are at the very core of EMIS development in their support of the
educational management functions throughout the education system.

The production of educational data and information is a critical cornerstone on which this
information-based decision-making framework is built. Deficiencies or inadequacies in its
availability, utility, or quality have far-reaching implications. This article will examine the
production and use of education information in the EMIS framework.

2. Managing Education System Data & Information (EMIS Development Framework)

“Perhaps for the first time in history, humankind has the capacity to create far more
information than anyone can absorb, to foster greater interdependency than anyone can
manage, and to accelerate change faster than anyone’s ability to keep pace.” (Peter
Senge 1990)i An EMIS is designed to manage this wealth of information in the education
system and put it to use to enact meaningful changes in education, while highlighting the
interdependencies that exist within different elements of the education system, as well as
between education and other aspects of society.

2.1 Definition of EMIS

An EMIS is an institutional service unit producing, managing, and disseminating

educational data and information, usually within a national Ministry or Department of
Education. The management functions of EMIS include collecting, storing, integrating,
processing, organizing, outputting, and marketing educational data and statistics in a
timely and reliable fashion. These specific tasks serve the needs of educational
management, resource allocation, and policy formulation, such as planning and
budgeting, policy research and analysis, monitoring and evaluation, allocating school
supplies, and domestic and global communication and collaboration.

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An EMIS is also a set of formalized and integrated operational processes, procedures, and
cooperative agreements by which data and information about schools and schooling, such
as facilities, teachers, students, learning activities, and evaluative outputs, are regularly
shared, integrated, analyzed, and disseminated for educational decision use at each level
of the educational hierarchy.

Lastly, EMIS is an institutional culture that perpetually advocates data and information
use and seeks to ensure it through the creation of an environment which permits
information systems to flourish (requiring institutional and organizational commitments),
while creating and sustaining demand for information products.

2.2 Three Key Measures of EMIS Success

An EMIS’s success depends upon three factors:

• Timely and Reliable Production of Data and Information

• Data Integration and Data Sharing among Departments
• Effective Use of Data and Information for Educational Policy Decisions

2.2.1 Timely and Reliable Production of Data and Information

Timely production of data and information requires that there be a shared understanding
of the following by all potential data and information producers, users, or clients:

1) EMIS data produced regularly must meet the needs of overall

educational planning and budgeting cycle.

2) EMIS data produced regularly must meet the needs of educational

services, such as the Logistics Unit and other units of school supplies.

3) EMIS data produced regularly must meet the needs of educational

monitoring and evaluation, and policy research and guidance in a timely
fashion.

4) EMIS data produced regularly must meet the needs of international

collaboration and communication.

The timeliness of meeting these needs within the Ministry of Education is critically
important for the success of EMIS development. Obsolete data, even after produced,
may not have much value for use, resulting in missed intervention opportunities and a
pervasive distrust from information clients within or outside the organization. To
guarantee timely production of data and information to meet these needs, the process of
data collection, data entry, data processing, data integration, data analysis, and data
reporting should be short, efficient, and productive. This can be often achieved by
increasing the level of effort, beginning preparations earlier, proposing and reinforcing

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task deadlines, institutionalizing EMIS as a routine management process, and

strengthening the coordinating capacity of EMIS data-related activities.

The reliable production of data suggests that EMIS data, once produced, must reliably
report a “current reality or status” or “trend of change” of educational development of the
country, district, or school. It means that policy makers, planners, budget makers, field
educational officers, principals, teachers, parents, and students can trust the data and data
sources. To win such a trust, data collection must be treated as a scientific process of fact
finding. Variables must be indicative, meaningfully measuring certain elements of the
educational system or sub-systems. Regardless of whether data collection is routine or ad
hoc, data collectors must be well-trained and prepared to follow scientifically rigid steps.
They should not be left with much flexibility in interpretation of methodology or with
freedom to change the course of data collection. The level of data reliability can be
affected by almost all elements of data and information production procedures, which
include the design of data collection instruments, clarity of question items, field data
collection methods, educational and ethical level of respondents, design of computer
database applications, data entry procedures, data aggregation methods, data integration
procedures, and analytical and data processing capacity. To boost the reliability of data,
the overall design of the data collection process, data instrument development, and design
and development of computer database application must be carefully crafted. No amount
of technological innovation can enhance data and information that is of poor quality from
the outset. The maxim “garbage in, garbage out” is as true in data and information
management as it is in computer programming.

Both timeliness and reliability can affect the level of information user confidence and
trust in the data. Delay in data production and/or production of unreliable data can easily
lead to lack of data use and management frustration, resulting in ineffective planning and
budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, policy analysis, and policy-making. When data
and information users (e.g., policy makers, analysts) lose faith in EMIS’s ability or
credibility, they often discourage support for maintaining, strengthening, and upgrading
the EMIS system. In turn, data and information production capacity becomes even
worsened or diminished, further jeopardizing the ability to produce timely and reliable
data. This vicious cycle that permeates some educational systems must be eradicated. A
healthy culture of information-based decision-making and management, enabled and
supported by an information-user-demand-driven EMIS, must be nurtured and developed.

2.2.2 Data Integration and Data Sharing among Departments

Data integration is one of the most important EMIS development strategies. It means that
data from multiple sources (payroll, achievement, school census), multiple years, and
multiple levels (student, teacher, or school level) can be linked, integrated, or merged.
Data integration is intended to add value to the data that are already collected and
available in variously scattered places within the same system. Data integration is a must
occur before an educational policy analyst or planner can conduct a high-level and high-
quality policy analysis or planning exercise. It is common to see multiple units within a
Ministry of Education collect and manage large databases and not share them with each

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other. These various sets of data are collected to describe certain elements of the system.
For example, in a Ministry of Education, data on student achievement are often collected,
managed, and available at an examination unit; data on teacher qualification and salary
are at a payroll office; data on enrollment and school inputs are at a statistics unit, and
data on supplies of textbooks, classroom hardware, and other teaching resources are often
at a supply office. These offices often have separate databases for their own task
planning and management and they rarely share them with other offices. These multiple
sets of data are often designed in varying database applications, organized in different
platforms, and coded with self-developed identification code. As a result, the data cannot
readily be integrated or used integratively unless a data integration strategy is
implemented. Without coordinated management, there cannot be a monitoring and
evaluation system, a planning and policy analysis system, or an EMIS system that is
effective and policy-relevant. Without such systems, there would be no answers to policy
inquiries such as: How much do teacher qualification and salary contribute to student
learning achievement, given that the school environment and resource allocation are
identical? What is the impact of a new teacher-training program or a new curriculum (or
any new educational investment project) on student learning achievement? Clearly, we
must integrate the data from multiple sources so that we can conduct the right data
analysis to answer the right policy questions. Multi-level data from multiple sources and
years, once centrally integrated and organized, could have a tremendous value for policy-
relevant research and analysis and improvement in education management.

2.2.3 Effective Use of Data & Information for Policy Decisions

One of the most critical factors that contributes to the success of the EMIS development
is an institutional culture of making policy decisions based on data and information. This
culture is a user-demand-enabling environment under which the policy research and
analysis capacity can be built, strengthened, and further developed. Policy makers,
planners, policy analysts, and other high stakeholders are the users of the data and
information. The demand for using data and information should stimulate and nurture the
healthy development of an information-based decision-making culture and the EMIS
system. Often, the institutional demand for use of data and information is translated into
or demonstrated by the capacity of the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, Policy Research
and Analysis Unit, and Budgeting and Planning Unit within the Ministry. A weak
capacity in any of these management units would exert a negative impact on EMIS
development.

EMIS activities can often be misconstrued as information technology (IT) activities. It

should be noted that IT efforts represent the technical elements of a larger information
management capacity. IT development will not automatically bring about healthy data
flow, data sharing, information production, or information use for policy decisions.
Some people even firmly believe that the “productivity” can be significantly improved
and organizational “business benefits” can be extensively materialized once IT is
introduced. This perception gets exacerbated as people work farther away from the
central level (such as district offices) or in lower management positions. This perception
is not correct.

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EMIS development should concentrate on data and information use and institutional
behavior change for modern management. Even without IT, there should be a system or
culture of data and information use for management. An IT development should be
designed to provide a technical enhancement to facilitate the capacity of data and
information production and use. There is a saying “manage your business, not your
applications.” In short, we must examine the key functions of the EMIS Unit and how it
can help to improve the integration and productivity of “educational business and
management” within a Ministry of Education.

2.3 Summing Up

To enable and build an effective EMIS system and capacity, and to create a strong
demand for using EMIS data and information, organizational capacity must be
strengthened, specifically the capacities of budgeting, planning, monitoring, evaluating,
and policy research and analysis, and policy formulation. To assess whether an EMIS is
effective or not, one must determine whether it accomplishes the following in a timely
and reliable fashion:

• define, collect, and process educational data and statistics;

• integrate data from multiple sources, multiple years, and multiple educational
levels within and outside the Ministry of Education;

• systematically store and manage databases and quickly retrieve them when
requested.

• produce an annual statistical report on the current conditions of the education

system and meet ad-hoc data and statistical requests from the senior management
of the Ministry of Education, as well as all other education information users.

• respond to and support inquiries and requests by educational policy researchers,

analysts, planners, and other management personnel for supporting activities such
as indicator development, statistical analysis, budgeting and planning, enrollment
projection, studies of educational effectiveness, and other quantitative system
analysis and monitoring and evaluation.

3. Data Integration – Enabling the Creation of Policy-Relevant Information

Integrating data, as mentioned earlier, means that data from multiple sources (payroll,
achievement, school census), multiple years, and multiple levels (student, teacher, or
school level) can be linked, integrated, or merged. Data integration is intended to add
value to the data that are already collected and available in variously scattered places
within the same system. Data integration is a prerequisite before an educational policy
analyst or planner can conduct a high-quality policy analysis or planning exercise.

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Data integration, procedurally, is the “tailpiece” to data collection and the “prelude” to
data utilization. It not only helps manage data in a more effective and consistent manner,
it also contributes to a readiness for more useful policy-oriented analysis, planning,
budgeting, and monitoring. Data integration does not necessarily mean having all data
physically integrated in one location, or dynamically linked at any given time. Data
sources can still be decentralized. The key to data integration is the process of
standardizing data structures, types, formats, and coding schemes, as well as creating
institutional agreements to share and mine data for policy-making purposes, including
monitoring the present, evaluating the past, and projecting the future needs of the
education system.

3.1 Data Integration Strategy – The Technical Elements

Despite the need to distinguish information management from information technology,

information management enabled by data integration does entail a certain amount of
technical consideration. As developments in IT permit larger volumes of more diverse
data to be collected from a growing number of sources (both within and outside of the
traditional education sector) and managed more easily, these technical considerations
become increasingly important to facilitate data integration for the creation of
meaningful indicators.

In simple terms, data must be made “integrateable” by understanding 1) the unique

identification codes used to identify various system elements, e.g. schools, students, test
subjects, etc.; 2) the structure of the contents of the data, along with variable code
values; and 3) the context from which the data is derived.

3.1.1 Coding

To maintain accurate and consistent records that permit longitudinal and cross-sectional
analyses, unique identification codes must be assigned to every level of the education
system for which data is collected (schools, teachers, students) and into which this data
can be grouped and compared (e.g., political units, system level). As separate data and
information systems develop in Ministries of Education, they often do so independently
of one another, resulting in different sets of codes being used as unique identifiers for
every level of evaluation (e.g., district, school, classroom, student, test subject). This
environment of disparate codes makes comparison of data from different sources and
accurate integration impossible. This challenge is dealt with in nearly every EMIS at one
point or another.

There are two possible solutions to the identification coding issue, each with advantages
and disadvantages. The first solution is to establish standardized codes accepted and
implemented by all education data providers. In such a scenario, representatives from
each unit or institution must come to agreement on, and begin using, unique identification
codes for every element of the education system: political division, local education
authority, school, teacher, student, test subject, etc. The advantage to such a solution is
that all education databases are easily and quickly integratable, permitting a wider range

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of personnel to perform integration procedures. This should expedite the creation of

integrated indicators, and should facilitate the flow of information by alleviating the
bottleneck caused by a limited number of individuals possessing the skills needed to
perform such functions. However, the standardizing codes must be well-managed and
coordinated. For example, new codes for schools or teachers must be applied from the
Ministry’s coding authority, often the EMIS database management unit. This is an on-
going process and often requires high maintenance and institutional discipline.

The first challenge inherent in this solution is unwillingness of institutions to change

codes. Each of the education institutions may feel that its coding system should be
adopted by all other data sources as a matter of pride and of perceived greater importance
in the education system. This is a symptom of the larger issue of lack of collaborative
spirit and absence of shared vision for information use in education. Furthermore,
institutions may claim that changing codes is too time-consuming and counterproductive,
which is a either sign of a lack of understanding of the importance of data integration or
proof that the institution does not see the value in such an exercise. In any event,
institutional unwillingness to collaborate or compromise on common coding results in an
inability to integrate data. This unwillingness is resolved through intensified sensitization
of education information personnel to the importance of integration of data and the
importance of the environment that must be created to enable such an undertaking.

The second challenge that adoption of common shared codes presents is the time and
effort required by each institution to migrate their coding system. In a country with many
schools, significant resources are needed to implement a new coding scheme at the school
level, where each school name must be matched with a “new” code. This is exacerbated
by lack of agreement or standardization of school names and/or definitions of schools.
Limited alleviation may be offered by “technological wizardry,” which may be used to
assist in identifying matching schools using algorithms to find similarities in spelling, but
there is no easy solution to this issue for existing schools. Newly-built schools can avoid
this problem by institutions agreeing on their name and spelling.

Further complicating adoption of common codes is the issue of definition of schools,

which is less frequent but more problematic. As Ministries of Education strive to
improve education quality, efficiency, access, and effectiveness by constructing
additional school buildings, it is not unusual for existing structures to be expanded. A 6-
room school with one class per grade may become a 12-room school with two classes per
grade. Some institutions may construe this as a second distinct school and others will
view it as an extension of the same school. Within the same country, “expanded schools”
may have one or two headmasters, may or may not have shared teaching staff, may have
shared or distinct parent-teacher associations, among other complications. Lack of
standardization in the definition of a school creates challenges when integrating data
because of an inability to identify all of the assets of the school in all data sources. As
with school names, agreeing upon the definition of a school (or any other asset to be
given an identification code) will facilitate coding in the future, but will not have bearing
on already-established schools.

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The third challenge that adoption of common codes presents is the use of historical data.
Once common codes are adopted and implemented, it becomes difficult to use historical
data for longitudinal studies, due to the newly-created inability to match codes within the
same institution. This necessitates either keeping records on two sets of codes, so that
old and new codes may be matched to enable internal data merging, or changing all
school codes in previous data files to reflect new codes. Either choice has implications
for ease of data use.

The second solution to the issue of coding differences throughout the education system is
the creation of a data file that can be used to “translate” between data sources. This
translation file is a data file that lists the codes used by each institution, along with the
name of the asset in question, i.e. school, district, region, etc. This file can be created
only after complete lists of codes are provided by each institution to whoever will be
responsible for the coordination of the integration initiative. Once provided, codes must
be matched manually, facilitated by grouping and sorting methods that expedite the
process. The benefit of this solution is that once created, the codebook permits any data
from any data source from any year to be used in creating integrated information.
However, using this file adds another technical skill to the list of those needed to
integrate data, and may create an obstacle in the integration process due to limited
technical expertise that may exist.

Regardless of which solution is implemented to overcome the coding problem, an initial

investment of time and effort will be required to enable the integration of data. It is
important to bear in mind that in addition to this considerable front-end work, ongoing
effort must be spent to maintain the system used to integrate data. As new schools are
constructed and old ones closed, common codes must be created or separate codes must
be shared among partners and added to the translation file. This must become a routine
and regular process in order to continue to permit data to be easily and accurately
integrated.

3.1.2 Structure

Partly because of the need to share data and information across different software
applications and computer platforms, and partly because of the need to minimize the size
of data files to facilitate their sharing, data are frequently exchanged and used in a text, or
“flatfile”, format. This format presents data as long strings of text, in which can be found
coded information that can be used by any software application or operating system. In
addition to an understanding of the codes used by the institution, a thorough knowledge
of the data structure is essential to being able to use and integrate the data. Furthermore,
in addition to using identification codes to identify specific schools and regions within a
system, institutions use codes to indicate attributes of elements of the system. For
instance, not only will a school have an identification code, it will also be coded as public
or private, primary or secondary, urban or rural, etc. “Codebooks” – documentation from
each institution that defines the codes used for each variable in the data record – are
required to correctly interpret the information in each file. Like the codebook

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documentation process, the data structure’s documentation must be constantly maintained

and updated as it evolves to make it continually usable.

3.1.3 Data context

Before this information can be used to its fullest capacity, documentation on what the
data means must be provided. For example, examining achievement data may raise the
following questions about its context:

• Does every student sit for this exam?

• Does every school participate in the examination system? Does the exam include
private and public schools?
• How old should the student be in an ideal situation? What are the implications of a
student who is 3 years older than the “target” age?
• What is the examination scoring method used?
• What are the implications of these test results on the student’s future?

Knowing the context from which the data come enables the creation of meaningful
indicators that will help guide education policy. In addition to the context of the data, it
is essential that the hierarchy of the data and its relationship to other data hierarchy be
clear. For instance, can records be grouped by school? District? Region? Are these
levels of aggregation identical to the aggregation that is possible using other data
sources? If not, is there any overlap? From a statistical analysis standpoint, it is
advantageous to maintain data in as disaggregated a state as possible, while at the same
time permitting aggregation when necessary. This permits analysis to be performed
using the maximum number of data points, and, for example, treats each student as a
separate record. Aggregating student-level data to school level presumes, during
analysis, that every student at the school is identical and negates any variation within the
school.

3.2 Data Integration Strategy - The Institutional

An institutional and organizational environment that supports data integration is essential

for success in integration efforts.

3.2.1 Memoranda of Understanding

All too often, units gathering and managing education data are reluctant to share their
information with other units. This can be attributed to one or more causes:

• The lack of value given to data integration, which is indicative of the lack of
understanding and shared vision about information use in the education system.
• The perception that information is proprietary, and should not be seen or used by
outsiders.
• The perception that information is a limited commodity, rather than a limitless
resource, and should therefore not be shared. This point of view is particularly

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true in situations where control of data and information equates to power and
authority.

These issues must be met with continuous sensitization and reinforcement from education
leaders of the value of data integration activities. To assist in this institutionalization,
formalized agreements between education agencies and institutions, and between
divisions within the same institution, must be drafted, adopted, and enforced to ensure
timely, reliable exchange of data and information among education stakeholders. A
Memorandum of Understanding should not only represent a commitment and a pledge to
facilitate this flow of information, it should also be treated as a binding contract and as
such should be enforced rigorously. A committed leader willing to oversee the
implementation of and adherence to Memoranda of Understanding is necessary in order
for them to have an impact. As time goes on, and as the data integration process becomes
institutionalized, these Memoranda of Understanding will be relied on less and less, as
the need for such mechanisms will diminish.

3.2.2 Data Integration as Part of the Data Production Cycle

Institutionalizing data integration is facilitated by including it as a regular and routine

part of the data and information production cycle. Establishing timelines for all aspects
of the data integration process, including exchange of data, updating of codes and
codebooks, technical integration activities, use of integrated data in reporting, availability
of integrated data, etc., will help to create accountability for the integration process.

3.2.3 Roles and Responsibilities

Further developing this sense of accountability is the designation of staff in each unit who
should be responsible for data integration. This facilitates implementation of Memoranda
of Understanding and clearly identifies staff throughout the system who serve as contact
points for data integration issues.

3.2.4 Policy Documents

Units and institutions may consider their data as sensitive, and may be reluctant to share
it due to issues of confidentiality. This is particularly true when dealing with data about
individuals, e.g., teacher data, such as salary, age, qualifications, or ethnicity, and student
data, such as achievement results, age, and ethnicity, among others. Creating policies
that specify who has access to what pieces of information will help not only to protect
individuals’ privacy, but it also alleviates concern on the part of contributing units and
helps to maintain the smooth flow of data and information.

Furthermore, creating policy governing access to integrated data eliminates any

bottlenecks in the flow of information out of the integrated system, enabling information
users to easily gain access to required information without having to deal with
“information brokers” – those who seek to control information.

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3.3 Summary

To sum up, the data integration component of EMIS requires:

• A strategy for dealing with differing codes from the various data sources – either
adoption of standard codes or the creation of a code translation file.
• Codebook details from each institution, along with an understanding of the file
structure, to correctly interpret the information contained in the data records.
• An understanding of the context of the data, to create informative and relevant
indicators that will shed light on policy questions and initiatives.
• Technical skills to integrate data files and a conceptual grounding in education
indicator development and information management.
• Creation of a conducive environment that supports data integration by addressing
issues such as the supply of data, timing and staffing of data integration activities, and
access to integrated data and information.

4. Use of EMIS Data: Systems of Policy Planning and Evaluation

Management functions in the Ministry of Education can be categorized into two related
sectors: policy planning and policy evaluation. Policy planning includes work of
educational projection, budgeting, organizing resources, and other pre-policy analysis and
assessment. Policy evaluation consists of monitoring and evaluation (M&E), policy
research, and other post-policy analysis. These management functions at the central
system level depend heavily on EMIS data and information. In this article, we mainly
focus on the component of policy evaluation and its relationship with EMIS functions.

4.1 Monitoring and Evaluation Systems

Systems of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) exist to assess what works and what does
not work, and to what extent it works or not. Monitoring and evaluation activities at
Ministries of Education usually consist of a good set of well-developed indicators
routinely produced by a small group of well-trained educational analysts. The function
should be to assist policy makers in adjusting or re-adjusting the course of educational
development and reform. The results of any valuation projects must help make decisions
on the basis of available strategic options associated with uncertainties, imperfect
information, and predicted values of consequences. It is essential that evaluation provide
informative results that make the uncertainties more certain, the imperfect information
more perfect, and the predicted values more accurate. An evaluation project that fails to
design for such an objective or is unable to deliver the requisite information would be
regarded as a project in vain.

The concept of evaluation belongs to the theory of organizational learning and systems
thinking which “is based on a growing body of theory about the behavior of feedback and
complexity – the innate tendencies of a system that lead to growth or stability over time.”
(Peter Senge 2000). The process of the evaluation is part of the process of systems

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thinking that reflects the organizational culture of seeking, analyzing, and sharing
information for decision making.

The value of the evaluation lies in the actual use of the provided information through
evaluation work for making or changing strategic decision(s) that result in added benefits
and values for systems, institutions, and individuals who are in them. Such value of the
evaluation cannot be materialized if any of the following three are present:

1) Decision-makers and evaluators who do not share the objectives of the evaluation.
2) Evaluators who fail to deliver the “promise” of the evaluation project.
3) Decision-makers who irresponsibly ignore the results and “depreciate the value”
of evaluation.

To conduct a system evaluation, we depend on data. In an education system, a routine

system evaluation must be put in place, requiring routine data collection and analysis.
System evaluators must design sufficient indicators that can be collected, monitored, and
evaluated and they must do the job of converting the field data on individuals or schools
to the aggregated and relevant system indicators. For this reason, EMIS is a prerequisite
for monitoring and evaluating activities.

Many evaluations are carried out in various scales at many systemic or institutional
levels. Large investments and sometimes strong commitments from decision-makers and
evaluators have been made in such an important and valuable work. But the “investment
returns” are often not materialized or even recognized in the end due to the reasons
mentioned above. As John Willinskyii (2003) recently pointed out, too much of what
policy analysts or researchers have produced goes unheard, unseen, or unused by policy-
makers who are actually in a position to do something with it, as well as by those who
suffer the consequences of this inaction or ignorance. Therefore, it is an institutional
development challenge that we not only produce data and information product, but also
ensure that it gets heard, seen, and used.

4.2 Policy Analysis

Applications of computer and information technology are increasingly prevalent, new

analytical tools are becoming easier to use, and information and knowledge-sharing is an
integral component in the new management culture across all systems. In this new age, a
much stronger demand for system-level policy research and analysis to determine quality
and support policy-making is emerging. As the primary catalyst for human resource
development and knowledge production, education systems must lead all public sectors
in building an internal capacity of conducting system-level policy research and analysis
in which analytical inquiries, use of information, and management of knowledge form the
basis for policy decision-making. In education systems, only strong institutional demand
for, and capacity of, policy research and analysis can bring about the effective functions
of educational monitoring and evaluation and management information systems, and only
when these management capacities are well established can the quality of education in a
large system be improved.

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The objective of policy research and analysis is to assist educational policy-makers and
policy analysts in developing critical perspectives on policy formulation and options
through analytical processes. These analytical processes involve the development of
policy-related inquiries, construction of measurements, collection of data, analysis of
data, and policy relevant information and interpretation. In all, policy research and
analysis serve to “mine data” effectively for policy-making. Reliable data, used in
conjunction with appropriate analytical techniques, generate credible evidence or
information for policy-makers and analysts to use in establishing a strong knowledge
base and facilitating smarter decision-making. This requires examining applied
techniques in educational policy research and analysis, and attempting to understand
various complex models that are in place to capture the inner dynamics of the educational
system, including the hierarchy of relationships between, and the information flow
among, its components. One rational premise that we must always keep in mind is that
research and analysis significantly contribute to the quality of information produced.
Better information leads to better decisions. Therefore, it is critically important to realize
and establish an institutional culture that uses data and information to improve the pace
and quality of educational decisions, and to accumulate institutional knowledge, skills,
and capacity to better use educational resources, creatively develop curricula, and
effectively maximize learning.

The essence of educational policy research and analysis is to use and analyze routine and
ad hoc system-generated indicators to answer system-level policy inquiries. This applies
to both pre- and post-policy research and analysis. Because the education system is
dynamic, the indicators that measure various aspects of the system must vary over time.
The infrastructure of the education management information system and its timely and
reliable production of system indicators is, therefore, the prerequisite for the policy
research and analysis.

Longstanding challenges in education policy continue today: What and how should
students learn and what and how should teachers teach in today’s context and for
tomorrow’s world? What factors in education contribute effectively to learning or
teaching? And what resources can we efficiently use or organize to ensure that learning
happens with promising effect? These questions are easy to identify but not as easy to
answer. Policy analysts must conduct relevant systems analysis in order to begin to
answer these questions. Skills and knowledge that students have learned from schools
must be proven relevant and useful outside the education system. For a long time,
educators have been trying, unsuccessfully, to figure out what should be “taught” in the
long education cycle to address the most current social and economic needs of societies
and what should be the “right coefficients” for allocating limited resources (or
investments) to the learning and teaching environment. Policy makers must be confident
in making decisions concerning which elements in our education system and system
inputs should be invested in this year and which next year or in the future.

Some people are satisfied with what they see in education because they do not have a
benchmark against which they can compare. Others advocate constant reforms but fail to

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spell out specific alternatives because these alternatives have not been tested to assess
their effectiveness. Still others remain engaged in a classical debate about whether there
should be an advocacy for the standardization of education production or the art of
customization in teaching and learning practices. Although education is one of the
foundations of human society, many of the same questions are continuously raised by
new generations of educators and educational managers. If teachers can only teach what
they learned from schools, then the knowledge and skills transferred in classrooms are
already “obsolete.” If students learn obsolete knowledge and skills, how can they
become effective and productive in the social and economic environment that is
becoming more global and dynamic? If learning achievement can be standardized and
measured reliably, what are the educational policy-maneuverable factors that could
positively impact achievement? How should educators manage the dynamic education
system in which more questions than answers are constantly generated? These are the
kinds of inquiries that the Policy Research & Analysis unit should be able to address and
answer in quest of policy options and solutions.

4.3 Design in Policy Research

The most important element of research is design. The most important segment of the
design is constructing research questions. It is the research question(s) that determines the
type of research method to be used and the amount of resources to be required for the
research. “Our theories determine what we measure.” (Peter Senge 1990) In the field of
education, there is no lack of researchable inquiries, ranging from asking questions about
educational system efficiency and effectiveness to pondering the best teaching and
learning practices. However, to translate the researchable inquiries into specific research
questions requires a comprehensive understanding of the research process and skills. As
Light, Singer and Willett put it “you can’t fix by analysis what bungled by design.” (By
Design, 1990) This also suggests that no one should design research without knowing the
appropriate analysis tools and techniques.

When designing education policy research, a researcher must understand the policy
context and articulate the fundamental problem(s). He or she must also be able to see the
relevance of the research products to the problems. Only under this prerequisite can the
researcher(s) start the design work. The tasks of the design work are 1) to compose
relevant research questions, 2) to determine an appropriate method(s), 3) to develop a
feasible data collection scheme, and 4) to plan analysis strategies.

System monitoring and evaluation is often yet to be institutionalized, and policy research
and analysis is often yet to be established. Both are critical management functions for
providing guidance for the policy makers in Ministries. Only by institutionalizing these
functions can system-wide data integration, data sharing, and data production processes
become valuable, and the culture of making decisions based on data and information be
cultivated. A policy research and analytical capacity within ministries of education must
be established and strengthened in order to use the existing data for production of various
information products.

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5. A Culture of Information Use

Volumes of educational data are collected annually. Sometimes, the collection process is
quite sophisticated and the data content in the EMIS system alone is rich. Students’
academic activity data, teacher qualification and salary information, and school general
profile are all collected. Variables can be outputted and used for policy research and
analysis. One question that remains is why Ministries do not see more data analysis
reports, indicator reports, policy research reports, or system development briefs, given
that fact data have been collected, stored, and organized in an even, timely, and reliable
fashion?

“Structures of which we are unaware hold us prisoner.” (Peter Senge 1990)iii All too
often these structures within the education system, which may exist by design or by
evolution, are invisible to Ministry staff, though they hinder the use of information and
ultimately have a detrimental effect on education. Until they are identified and
addressed, they continue to be white elephants that limit the effectiveness of EMIS.

Technical resources and abilities alone can guarantee neither data integration nor
information use. Only after an organizational and institutional environment conducive to
its development has been created, only after the structures which impede information use
have been eliminated, can an integrated EMIS be expected to flourish.

5.1 Symptoms and Sources of a Lack of Culture of Information Use

A rational model informs us that the healthy development of an information-based

decision-making culture can be nurtured by increasing the decision-makers’ demand for
data and information. This kind of demand can be demonstrated in the institutional
capacity of the Planning and Budgeting Unit, the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, and
the Policy Research and Analysis Unit. However, these units are often weak or
inefficient, demonstrating lack of information demand and lack of a value placed on
information in the decision-making process.

More often than not, development of an institutional culture and capacity to use
information requires a change in culture that is often met with resistance. Examples of
this resistance include:

• A lack of faith in the merits of EMIS. “The system is unproven. We have not
seen any improvement since we began to collect data.”
• Appeals to tradition. “We’ve always done things our own way. The new way of
using information to make decisions is not how things have been done in the past,
and the old way was good enough.”
• Finding continual flaw with data or information. “This information surely still
has some errors in it. It must be ‘preliminary’ or unofficial.”

Alleviating this limit to growthiii depends on a skilled leader’s ability to identify and
address the true source of resistance, rather than merely reiterating conceptual and

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philosophical foundations, which are unlikely to be embraced so long as there is an

obstacle in the way. Our experience shows us that common causes of this resistance
include lack of a culture of communication and information exchange, lack of shared
vision for EMIS, lack of organizational readiness, and a set of institutional issues
common to most Ministries that impede the development of EMIS.

5.1.1 Importance of a culture of Communication and Information Exchange

Communication within Ministries of Education is often uncoordinated or nonexistent.

Disjointed, semi-autonomous units operating independently of one another with no
centralized management results in a lack of internal communication within the Ministry,
and permits the individuals or units to control data and information. This influences the
overall institutional culture of the Ministry and often results in poor external
communication as well.

Part of the culture of information use is based on the notion of information sharing and
communication. The absence of commitment to this idea hinders effective system
management as well. In many places, data and information are viewed as a commodity.
Should a data user need information on teacher salaries, for example, the person who is
“in charge” of this data in the payroll department is in an advantageous position because
he possesses something that is in demand. In his opinion, it is counterintuitive to freely
share and disseminate this data and information because once he ceases to be the sole
owner of the data, it stops having any value to him.

The issue that is at hand here is one of lack of commitment to the notions of data
integration and data use. Data must be shared before it can be integrated to create
meaningful policy indicators. And only then can it be used to make better decisions. The
more information is shared and used, the more valuable it becomes perhaps not
personally, but systemically and communally. Data managers and data users often fail to
see the overall benefit to the system because they are too concerned with personal
benefits. This short-sightedness must be overcome by creating an institutional vision for
EMIS on the basis of the personal visions of EMIS staff, as well as through training and
awareness campaigns accompanied by policies and protocols that guarantee that data and
information will be shared.

5.1.2 Lack of shared vision for EMIS

Resistance to adopting a culture of information use can often be attributed to lack of a

shared vision for EMIS development. A shared vision is one that is developed from
individuals’ visions for EMIS – what it should be, how it should function, what goals it
seeks, how it should be able to improve the education system for the common good.
Without a shared vision, units and individuals within the Ministry are less likely to feel
ownership of EMIS, are less likely to be proactive in the advancement of EMIS, and are
more likely to contribute less-than-best levels of effort and intention.iv

5.1.3 Lack of organizational readiness

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Organizational structures influence the environment in which EMIS develops.

Organizations with unclear lines of accountability, with redundant or nonexistent
responsibility assignments, and with poor coordination and leadership hinder EMIS
development.

Failing to establish an organization that holds staff accountable may result in an

inefficient structure composed of loosely-affiliated units with different goals and
missions, poor or no collaboration or communication, and general inefficiency and
ineffectiveness. Without accountability, demand for information can not possibly be
created because those who would be responsible for producing information have no
management or supervision.

Furthermore, lack of clearly defined responsibilities for staff may result in certain
functions being overlooked or neglected, while at the same time other functions are
performed by multiple individuals or units. Functions for which no one is responsible are
unlikely to be performed, to the detriment not only to EMIS development but also to its
ability to operate. Redundancy in responsibility, either de facto or by design, results not
only in inefficiency, but also in the lack of legitimacy, as no single office is viewed as the
authority. This may result in conflicting data and information being used, which
jeopardizes the legitimacy of EMIS as a whole, and may decrease demand for
information.

One function that often goes overlooked when examining organizational structure for
EMIS development is marketing and promoting of EMIS. This is a critical aspect of
creating demand for information use, as well as for decentralization and democratization
in education management. Promoting data and information entails both internal and
external marketing campaigns to raise awareness of the existence of information
products, in the hopes of increasing their use at all levels of the system. Failing to
successfully market information may result in valuable, useful information products
collecting dust on shelves not because of a lack of desire to use them, but rather because
of a lack of awareness of their existence.

Assigning responsibility for promoting and marketing information also establishes one
unit as the authority for fielding and fulfilling information requests, which helps to
alleviate any confusion or obstacles to free-flowing information.

5.1.4 Common institutional issues

There seem to be some institutional “headaches” that are quite prevalent in the Ministries
of Education. Although many require changes in social and economic conditions,
government structural reforms and social attitudes, some remain as challenges for the top
management of the Ministry. These headaches include:

• Low salary (lower than other social sector profession)

• High turn-over rate (higher than other sectors’ average)

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• Low motivation in education sector

• “Brain-drain” within the Ministry and the country (well trained staff leave)
• Lack of data integration and quantitative analysis skills
• Lack of data and information sharing
• Lack of system and program monitoring and evaluation
• Lack of policy research and analysis
• Lack of optimal ways to manage resource allocation
• Too many uncertainties (lack of visions, goals, targets, ways of achieving them)
• Major decisions are made but staff cannot explain why they are made
• Lack of guidance for dealing with educational dilemmas such as “fees or free”,
“private or public”, “standardization or customization”, “skill or knowledge
teaching”

Although institutional problems appear to be many and known to all, a systemic analysis
of these problems and an institutional capability of identifying strategies for resolving
these problems remain inadequate. System monitoring and evaluation is yet to be
institutionalized, and policy research and analysis is yet to be established. Both are
critical management functions for providing guidance for the policy makers in these
ministries. Only by institutionalizing these functions can system data integration, data
sharing, and data production processes become valuable and the culture of making
decisions based on data and information be cultivated. We must establish and strengthen
a policy research and analytical capacity within Ministries of Education using the existing
data for production of various information products.

5.2 Building an Environment that Nurtures a Culture of Information Use

Some Ministries have a tremendous potential for enabling a new management

environment where educational policies are made on the basis of timely and reliable data
and information. With computer technology and office network connectivity available in
most offices, and electronic data rich in content, these Ministries are ready for the
establishment of the institutional capacity of using data and information for policy
decisions.

5.2.1 Culture of communication and information sharing

Creating a culture of communication and information sharing is no small task. This, too,
may be met with resistance. Policies can be established, formalized, implemented, and
enforced to promote internal and external communication and information sharing, but
this does not create a culture.

Adopting a culture of communication and information sharing is a step toward system

thinking. This shift requires “seeing interrelationships rather than linear cause and effect
chains, and seeing processes of change rather than snapshots.” (Senge 1990) It requires
individual staff and units to understand the way in which their interaction with other in
the Ministry affects overall education.

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This shift in culture depends on understanding the value of communication and the free
flow of information, creating opportunities that promote the culture, and changing
organizational structure to eliminate the ability of units to exist in isolation.

5.2.2 Shared vision

Creation of a shared vision for EMIS leads to all stakeholders, from data entry staff to
policy-makers, feeling a sense of ownership not just in EMIS but in its outcome as well.
It empowers individuals and units to do more than merely comply with directives; they
are willing to do whatever is in their power to guarantee the success of EMIS. In systems
of semi-independent units with no recent history of collaboration, a shared vision is
critical for enabling coordinated work designed to develop EMIS. “A shared vision is the
first step in allowing people who mistrust each other to begin to work together.” (Senge
1990)

Creation of a shared vision for EMIS requires a strong leader and manager who possesses
a personal vision himself and who is able to identify the individual visions of his staff and
incorporate them into a shared vision that all will embrace. Too often, the vision of the
donor, the consultant, an individual, or a small group is enforced on others. This stifles
effectiveness of EMIS and relegates it to the status of “project.”

5.2.3 Institutional Home

To establish EMIS as a permanent and sustainable operational unit within a Ministry of

Education, a clear “institutional home” needs to be put into a vision as well as a reality.
Although the EMIS’s position within the organization will vary depending on the pre-
established structure of the Ministry, the pre-existing relationships between units or
divisions, and the intended role EMIS is to play in the policy process, EMIS officer
ranks, career professional development, personnel compensation packages, departmental
service-orientation, permanent budget, etc. must be established and honored. The EMIS
must be accountable to management functions such as educational planning, budgeting,
and resource allocation, as well as decision-making functions such as monitoring,
evaluation, and policy research and analysis. Satisfaction from these functional units
within the organization is the ultimate criteria for measuring the EMIS achievement.
Without an institutional home, an EMIS cannot easily operate or be held accountable. A
failure in EMIS development often lies in a “project status” with temporary officers
borrowed from other divisions under an ad hoc budget playing semi-independent role
with no accountability for the domestic management functions except for the external
project sponsor.

Furthermore, failure to establish EMIS’ home within the Ministry may lead to:
• A divisional and management distrust that result in an inability to establish an
authority as the official source of educational data and information which in turn
leads to redundancy of efforts of data and information management by others.

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• A failure to sustain a long-term collaboration among all EMIS relationships

established under the EMIS project in data collection, data sharing, data
integration and data dissemination.
• A likely disruption or total collapse due to personnel loss, budget cut, or technical
misfortune (or technical transition).

5.2.4 Accountability

Accountability within the organization can be created by establishing an EMIS

organizational structure with clearly defined responsibilities and policies to guide what
data should be collected and what should be disseminated. EMIS alone can not and
should not do the job. These require strong leadership from education policy makers who
represent the demand for EMIS’s products, which will compel EMIS to deliver.
Ultimately, educational policy makers are the management to which the EMIS is
accountable. Without the appropriate institutional structure and accompanying policies,
an accountability system is nothing more than rhetoric.

Accountability for EMIS can be considered from two perspectives: internal

accountability and external accountability. Internal accountability refers to the processes
wholly within the auspices of EMIS’ mandate and power. EMIS is internally accountable
for activities such as technical data collection, data entry, data processing, producing data
reports and meeting ad hoc report requests. External accountability refers to the actions
that must be taken by other units on behalf of EMIS, such as budget support, policy
research and analysis, and collaboration with other divisions and policy guidelines in data
and information sharing:

Internal accountability is created by establishing work-related procedure policies,

individual task descriptions, and responsibility charts, as well as other administrative
guidance. External accountability is created through sensitisation and marketing of EMIS
information and its role in the management of the education system, coupled with the
constant reaffirmation of the value of information-based decision making.
Accountability is pointless if there is no demand for the product. Whether or not the
product is created becomes a moot point.

5.2.5 Budget

EMIS activities are frequently funded initially by donor organizations. This initial
investment of capital and capacity building must be met with sustained levels of input.
This implies continued training and development of staff, as well as the inclusion of
EMIS activities in a Ministry’s annual activity cycle. As such, funding must be secured
as with any other activity, and EMIS initiatives must be explicitly cited in Ministry
budget proposals.

The continuation of EMIS funded by donors or one-off disbursements does a disservice

to sustainability of information management and perpetuates the notion that EMIS is both
temporary and exogenous. The full potential of EMIS can only be realized when

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ownership by local staff is created, and this can only come about when a budget is
secured.

5.2.6 Staffing

For EMIS to be successful, it needs an able and willing staff. Technical and conceptual
skills can be transferred and capacity can be built. However, there will always be
challenges in the area of staffing.

• EMIS is frequently a “new” undertaking, and as such its staff is often cobbled
together from existing personnel. These staff members may have additional
responsibilities unrelated EMIS, which they may view as their “official” jobs. In
environments of limited resources where staff are stretched thin, “extra”
responsibilities such as EMIS may suffer.

• Civil service staff may be more likely to leave the public sector after acquiring
additional training, especially in the area of IT, as it may enable them to earn a
higher salary elsewhere. This may increase staff turnover, which is already quite
high.

• Many EMIS positions are “cutting-edge”, in the sense that their roles and
responsibilities are unique and on the forefront of education development. As
such, it is conceivable that there is no existing career path for EMIS staff. While
this may not seem an immediate concern, it is important when considering the
long-term organizational needs of EMIS.

Under most contexts, staff motivation is the key to the sustainability. Ministries of
Education must be more creative in supporting their staff’s level of confidence and
motivation. It is commendable if management can create incentive programs for overtime
work, contractual terms for professional training and study tours, etc.

5.2.7 Coordinating Body

An effective EMIS requires the collaboration of many individuals and units. A

coordinating body, made up of representatives from as many stakeholder groups as
possible, is needed to provide EMIS policy guidance and maximize its impact on the
education system. Such an oversight committee should be made up of data providers,
data users, information managers, researchers and policy makers. This group must meet
on a monthly basis to:

• Identify data and information needs. This includes input from policy-makers,
researchers, donor partners, NGOs, government agencies, etc.
• Monitor the progress of data and information and address impediments to its
free flow both into the EMIS and out of the EMIS.
• Ensure that data is integrated successfully.
• Promote and market data for use in the policy process.

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• Disseminate relevant information.

• Monitor progress toward EMIS’ goals.
• Determine areas for future EMIS development and future courses of action.

6. Conclusion

The development of an Education Management Information System (EMIS) is essential

in the modern management of education systems. It is designed to support information-
based decision-making processes. Computer technology, database tools, and technical
skills provide necessary assistance in the data and information production capacity for the
education system. However, an EMIS unit needs a clear vision to see and know what to
produce, who the product is designed to support, and which departments and units to
include. The development of EMIS involves nurturing a new management culture more
than establishing a data and information system. The process of data collection,
integration, analysis, and dissemination is important, but even more critically, it is the
culture of data sharing, information use, and organizational management that leads to the
effectiveness of the EMIS development. It is important to remember that EMIS
development is not IT development.

No one wants just “policy talk.” Policy must be supported by evidence or analysis of the
evidence. EMIS is developed to provide that evidence. EMIS and other management
functions such as monitoring and evaluation, policy research and analysis, and budgeting
and planning together should provide the results of the analyses of that evidence. This is
the support that Ministries of Education need and policy makers in the Ministries of
Education deserve.

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Endnotes
i
Peter Senge is a senior lecturer at MIT, and the bestselling author of “The Fifth Discipline”. His book
“Schools that Learn” is an important resource for all educators and policy makers in all cultures.
ii
John Willinsky is a Professor of Literacy and Technology at the University British Columbia, Canada.
His paper “Policymakers’ Online Use of Academic Research” is published in Education Policy Analysis
Archives, Volume 11, Number 2. January 2003
iii
“Limits to growth” is one of the system archetypes developed by Peter Senge in his book “The Fifth
Discipline.”
iv
Senge describes in detail a range of participation in vision-less organizations, ranging from apathy to
commitment.

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