Raising the Capability of Producers and Users of Official Statistics

From face-to-face teaching of official statistics to e-learning for the Sustainable Development Goals

“…In their analysis of a small sample of New Zealand learners, Forbes and Keegan [15] found that they had highly variable backgrounds in statistics, from having never studied statistics or mathematics through to advanced tertiary level (some doing the Certificate as professional development for their job). The most common reasons given for enrolling were because the learner either wanted to learn about official statistics or to become more confident using official statistics.…”

“…In the early (2007-2010) cohorts, the mean completion rate for the certificate was low (65%) but the completion rate was larger for some of the Pacific Island cohorts, being as high as 80% in some countries [11,16]. Some learners also reported that either they were not seeking formal qualifications or that they found it hard to balance learning with their work and family commitments [15]. Not only was delivery of the Certificate very labour intensive, but there were also considerable financial costs, in particular when delivered in the Pacific Islands (even though this was supported by a New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs grant).…”

“…be free and easily accessible for learners be self-contained on a variety of IT platforms such as desktop computers, laptops, tablets and Smart Phones have an international perspective encouraging use in developing countries be interactive, making them less like static e-books and more like a miniature learning environment including questions and quizzes be based on a structured learning approach [18].…”

Getting the foundations right

“…Many NSOs offer access to, or specifically create, data sets for use in all levels of statistics education, aiming to provide resources that also in improving awareness and understanding of official statistics. However, as Forbes et al [12] emphasize: ".. to ensure that these data products are accessible, interesting, valued and engaged with, requires that official statistics agencies and statistical literacy educators work together to inform the education community about these products and how to use them effectively in their everyday teaching. "…”

“…Forbes et al [12] includes an excellent account of how SNZ worked collaboratively over many years with academics and teachers on developments ranging over statistical literacy resources, school curricula and assessment, to initiatives and eventually courses to raise the statistical capabilities of employees across government. Elsewhere in this special issue, Sharleen Forbes and John Harraway discuss how this led to three free downloadable web apps in official statistics hosted on the ISLP website, and to supplying initial input for the United Nations Institute of Training and Research (UNITAR) e-learning course Understanding data and statistics better -for more effective SDG decision making, as discussed also in this issue by Elena Proden.…”