This document aims to promote the use of education data from multiple-topic household surveys
and national censuses, and to provide guidance on the analysis and use of these data. In many
countries, large-scale household surveys are conducted regularly to provide information about
population, health, education, household income and expenditures, employment, and other
critical areas of study. In many instances, the education information from these data collection
efforts is underutilized either because potential data users are unaware of the education data
collected by these censuses and surveys, or because reports of the findings present education data
primarily as a background characteristic rather than focusing on education as an object of study
in and of itself. For example, reports may discuss data on adults’ educational attainment mainly
as a background characteristic associated with household expenditures or as a factor in women’s
fertility, rather than presenting data on differences in educational attainment by sex, age,
urban/rural residence, and other characteristics.
In addition, census and survey reports may not present education data in ways of most use to
educationists. For instance, data on children’s school participation may be presented for age
ranges that do not necessarily correspond to those relevant to the education system.1 If school
attendance rates are presented for children age 6-10, 11-15, 15-19, etc., rather than by the official
age range and level of schooling in the country (say age 6-12 for primary school and 13-18 for
secondary school), these data on school participation are not of optimal use to educationists
because they cannot be compared easily with school-based data collected by Ministries of
Education