Full Library

Reliable and timely data is essential for decision-makers at all administrative levels to ensure inclusive, equitable, and quality education for all. Geospatial data has the potential to provide valuable insights across a range of areas of interest to the education sector, from identifying potential threats to schools and the education community, such as throughdata on natural disaster patterns, to supporting equitable allocation of resources based on data showing the remoteness of schools. However, the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is not widespread in the education sector. In this paper, we shed light on the experiences of five country governments, one regional agency, one international initiative, one implementing partner and one private entity, all using GIS for education decision-making in Latin America, the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa.This paper presents the findings from primary data collection and analysis of interviews with representatives from these organisations from August –December 2022. Across these countries, we identified two central applications of school geospatial data, which included education planning -which school mapping is a part of -and cross-sector coordination. Among the main challenges to effectively using school geospatial data to make decisions, we found significant issues with capacity building, funding, bridging the data, and policymaking. On the other hand, when school mapping was used effectively, it helped increase transparency and equity, intersectoral collaboration, cost-effectiveness, and accuracy and reliability. After comparing the seven cases, we concluded that two key enablers need to be in place to promote the impact of geospatial data on educational decision-making: ‘usability’ and ‘availability and openness’.

DOI: 10.54676/EJZH8821