Bridging the Data-Evidence Gap in Education for Improving Foundational Learning in Malawi

Posted on by Jillian Makungu in Blogs

By Paul Chiwaya, Louiss Saddick, Halima Twabi, and Esme Kadzamira

Invisible evidence and inaccessible data undermining the progress of foundational learning in Malawi. What will it take to make evidence visible and data accessible?

Introduction

In this blog, we explore gaps in evidence availability and data accessibility that hinder informed decision-making on foundational learning in Malawi, and discuss the key actions needed to make evidence visible and data accessible. We conducted a country situational analysis to map data and evidence on foundational learning since 2010. The findings reveal that despite increasing recognition of the importance of foundational skills such as literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional competencies, progress is held back by high internal inefficiencies, poor learning outcomes, and an underutilised evidence base that remains sparse, fragmented, and often inaccessible (⇡Kadzamira et al., 2025; ⇡Asim & Gera, 2024).

The state of Foundational Learning in Malawi

Malawi’s education system has long struggled with chronic resource constraints, inadequate infrastructure, high repetition rates, and high pupil-teacher ratios—factors that continue to undermine the delivery of quality foundational education. These systemic challenges have made it difficult to ensure that all children acquire basic literacy and numeracy skills. Despite concerted efforts by the government and development partners, learning outcomes at the foundational level remain alarmingly low.

National assessments conducted since the early 2000s, such as the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA), reveal that a significant proportion of Malawian learners in the early grades are not meeting the expected benchmarks for reading and numeracy (⇡Pouezevara et al., 2012; ⇡Brombacher, 2019). These challenges are particularly acute in rural areas, where shortages of qualified teachers and adequate learning materials are most severe (⇡Asim & Gera, 2024). 

To help turn the tide, international organisations like Save the Children, USAID, and the World Bank have stepped in with programs to boost foundational learning in Malawi. These programs have introduced early literacy and numeracy interventions, teacher training, and community engagement initiatives. But there’s a catch—without reliable data to track progress, it’s difficult to determine their effectiveness, identify what works and what doesn’t, and sustainability build on any gains made.

Data gaps and inaccessibility: A major barrier to progress

A significant obstacle to improving foundational learning in Malawi is the lack of accessible and reliable data. Accurate data collection is crucial for understanding the state of learning in the country, identifying improvement areas, and measuring the effectiveness. One of the key issues is the sheer inaccessibility of data. Much of the data on foundational learning is collected through large-scale assessments, national surveys, and international evaluations. Yet, this information is not always publicly available or easily accessible to stakeholders who need it most. While government ministries, international organisations, and research institutions may collect valuable data, the lack of a centralised database or platform to share and access this data presents a major barrier to progress.

Data is often siloed, either within government agencies or within the organisations that commissioned the studies. These restrictions limit collaboration and hinder the use of data to inform national policies and programming. Without clear, open, and transparent data systems, stakeholders such as educators, policymakers, and civil society organisations struggle to make data-driven decisions to improve foundational learning.

Furthermore, limited access to education data in Malawi hinders efforts to identify gaps and inconsistencies in the data system, making it difficult to gain a clear understanding of the challenges learners face in acquiring foundational skills. For instance, while assessments like EGRA and EGMA provide some insight into literacy and numeracy learning outcomes, far less information is available about socio-emotional learning. Data on the learning environment, including teacher-student interactions, the quality of instructional materials, and the role of parental involvement, is also scarce. This incomplete picture means that interventions may only address a portion of the problem, inadvertently leaving critical areas overlooked.

The invisibility of evidence: A hindrance to effective policy

The problem of invisible evidence is closely tied to the issue of data gaps. Even when data is collected, it is often not synthesised into actionable evidence that can inform policy, programs, and decision-making. As a result, foundational learning interventions in Malawi are sometimes based on assumptions rather than robust evidence, reducing their overall effectiveness.

Another aspect of this challenge is the limited analysis of students’ progress over time. Although our mapping exercise revealed the existence of longitudinal datasets that can be used to analyse students’ progress over time, these datasets have not been analysed. As a result, it is difficult to determine whether interventions aimed at improving foundational learning have sustained effects on learners’ outcomes. Furthermore, limited research exists on the specific needs of different regions, such as rural versus urban areas, which can result in one-size-fits-all solutions that may not address the unique challenges faced by various communities.

Addressing the gaps: Steps toward improvement

While the challenges related to data and evidence are significant, they are not insurmountable. Several key actions can be taken to address these issues and increase the use and users of foundational learning data in Malawi:

  • Strengthening data systems through co-creation of a centralised data portal: One critical step is strengthening Malawi’s education data systems. This should involve creating a centralised platform where data from different sources—government assessments, donor programs, and independent studies—can be housed and accessed by all stakeholders. Such a platform should prioritise openness, accessibility, and transparency, allowing for real-time data sharing and breaking down existing data silos.
  • Improving data collection: There is a vital need to improve the quality and scope of data collection efforts. Beyond literacy and numeracy, data should also capture socio-emotional skills, teacher quality, classroom environments, and parental involvement. To ensure inclusivity and relevance for targeted interventions, data must be disaggregated by region, gender, socioeconomic status, and disability. Furthermore, regular feedback sessions are essential for identifying gaps in data collection methods and tools and for continuously improving data systems. 
  • Transforming data into actionable evidence: Collecting data is only the first step. Malawi must invest in systems and processes that transform raw data into actionable evidence. This includes establishing well-resourced national and sub-national data analysis units capable of synthesising complex datasets into clear, evidence-based policy recommendations. At the sub-national level, tools like dashboards enable rapid data visualisation and support timely, informed decision-making. These tools also play a critical role in identifying data gaps and improving data collection methods and tools.
  • Engaging stakeholders: Addressing the foundational learning crisis requires a collective effort from all stakeholders involved in the education sector. This includes the Ministry of Education, development partners, civil society organisations, and local communities. Regular stakeholder engagement will ensure that on-the-ground realities inform interventions and address the unique needs of different regions and groups, moving away from potentially ineffective one-size-fits-all approaches.
  • Fostering a culture of transparency and accountability: Finally, there needs to be a greater emphasis on transparency and accountability on data within the education sector. This can be done by, among other things, revising data-sharing policies to allow ethical sharing and access to important education data and creating agreements between the Ministry of Education and stakeholders to support evidence-based planning. By making data and evidence publicly available, the government can foster a culture of transparency and accountability. This, in turn, will encourage education stakeholders to utilise data-driven approaches in designing, implementing, and evaluating foundational learning programs, ultimately leading to more effective and sustainable outcomes.

The promise of foundational learning in Malawi cannot be realised without addressing the critical gaps in data and evidence. Strengthening data systems, improving the accessibility of information, and turning data into actionable evidence are essential to building an education system that provides every Malawian child with the skills they need to succeed in life. By confronting these challenges head-on, Malawi can ensure its foundational learning programs are effective, equitable, and sustainable, laying the groundwork for a brighter future for all. 

References

  • Brombacher, A. (2019). Research to Investigate Low Learning Achievement in Early Grade Numeracy (Standards 1–4) in Malawi: The victory of form over substance. HEART. https://docs.edtechhub.org/lib/AIUSUUNA
  • Kadzamira, E., Saddick, L., Twabi, H., & Chiwaya, P. (2025). Exploring the Foundational Learning Data and Knowledge Ecosystem in Sub-Saharan Africa: Malawi’s Situational Analysis. Unlocking Data. https://doi.org/10.53832/unlockingdata.1019

EVIDENCE USE – INCREASING USES AND USERS IN EDUCATION

Posted on by Charles Gachoki in Blogs

“Strategies implemented in schools to maximize student learning should be evidence-based.”-The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership 

Evidence-based education is an approach to teaching and learning that emphasises using empirical research to guide classroom instruction decisions and practices. This approach aims to ensure that educational methods and interventions are effective, efficient, and aligned with the latest available scientific findings on how students learn and develop. 

Florio, (2016) traces the foundations of evidence-based education back to the success of evidence-based practices in other fields, such as medicine, healthcare, and management. The growing momentum of evidence-based education over the past three decades has been driven by the desire to move away from reliance on intuition, tradition, or personal experience, and instead base educational decisions on rigorous, objective, and replicable research.

Multiple sources of evidence

One of the key features of evidence-based education is the emphasis on using multiple sources of high-quality, rigorous scientific studies and empirical evidence to inform decision-making, teaching methods, strategies, and interventions researched and proven to be effective.

Evidence can come from a variety of sources, including randomised controlled trials, longitudinal studies, meta-analyses, and case studies.

Challenges in application

There is a lack of good-quality research evidence to tell us how to mobilise evidence into use in education.

Although the role of evidence in the education system is not currently in doubt, equally research also tells us that teachers rarely apply this evidence to inform their classroom teaching. While this pool of evidence exists ways and means are scarce of mobilising this evidence into usable bits for classroom use. Simply put a lot of innovative education interventions exist but only a handful are put to use due to a lack of awareness of their existence as well as application evidence on how to use them. 

According to the Glossary of education reforms, the debates about and around evidence use in education systems depend largely on the existence and actual use of the available evidence. For instance, policymakers at national and sub-national levels, teacher trainers, teachers and researchers sometimes argue that the body of existing evidence is too big a forest to mine what is useful, or even impossible, for schools and educators to act thoughtfully and appropriately on available evidence, given that it is not synthesised and therefore would classify it as unavailable. In other cases, governments, schools and school systems may largely or entirely ignore available evidence; subsequently, perpetually known school problems may go unaddressed on one hand, while effective, well-established teaching practices and innovations are never adopted and the system is plunged into a “rudderless mass” of evidence-informed policy initiatives. 

Increasing Use and Users of Evidence

So how can we increase the uses and users of education evidence in the education ecosystem? While this blog was not intended to answer this question it was intended to ignite other questions. While previously funders have supported extensive efforts to expand the production of evidence in education the wind is blowing from generation towards uptake of the evidence generated. Think of it this way: researchers and organisations have carried out research over several years whose results and learnings lie with them or the funder. Proponents of evidence-based practice propose platforms for knowledge sharing and collaboration generated through co-creation initiatives to synthesise such findings into one document or theme. Such platforms act as repositories of published research outputs, grey research as well as public goods such as ed-tech, guidelines and frameworks which go a long way, especially in making research products available, accessible and affordable. 

Platforms for knowledge sharing and collaboration generated through co-creation initiatives can synthesise findings into accessible documents or themes.

Such co-creation initiatives by different actors in the education ecosystem overcome the multiplicity of evidence generation. Tons of papers inform of student theses lie in libraries and occupy space in their online repositories while there is no chance that the findings lying there will ever be found and at least shared if not implemented. The immense evidence in those Masters and PhD theses does not become invalid just because they are unpublished or are published in “predatory” journals based on some classification. Evidence is evidence unfortunately the “fountains of knowledge” repositories do not communicate with each other. How do they even ensure the originality of the student’s work in the face of AI? How can we motivate the students and faculties to get their work published to enhance the visibility of the evidence generated? 

Barriers to evidence use

This blog cannot be complete without addressing the politics and gatekeeping in access to data which cuts across the data landscape. Even within the government different departments cannot share evidence and even when it is possible none is willing to use the other departments’ evidence-sometimes departments within the same organisation. Issues of the government not trusting the credibility of evidence generated by non-state actors demand co-creation. Where funders are involved, gatekeeping comes in the form of ownership of the evidence generated. A probable solution to this challenge apart from co-creation is establishing communities of learning where evidence generators and users share a platform to discuss the generation and use of evidence.

“Expanding the skill to recognise quality research is essential to help teachers and school leaders become better consumers of evidence.” ~Teacher Magazine

The assumption so far is that while evidence is available synthesised or otherwise, the users have the requisite capacity to use the evidence in their processes and decision-making. Far from it, evidence generators must ignite the demand for evidence users to utilise available evidence in education. The trend has been to address the supply side by making research findings as simple as possible and using different mediums to present the evidence. The demand side, however, requires equal attention to ensure we address the width and the breadth-increase the uses and users of the available evidence produced. The establishment of a community of learners as a platform for stakeholders to learn can be used as a platform to set research agendas that guide the whole country’s research compass towards demand-driven research and innovations.

Education system cultures that vary by jurisdiction may not be encouraging or seen to promote the use of evidence because teaching practice is heavily dependent on directions from respective ministries. A study of teachers in Australia showed that teachers sometimes view the adoption of external evidence as a way of taking away the teachers’ autonomy in the classroom. The issue of validation of proven innovations may affect the adoption of evidence especially where assessment data does not support the practitioners’ innovation. There is also observable affinity by the government to hold at a higher value and adopt external evidence compared to locally generated and assembled evidence.  For instance, Kenyan teachers in National schools may fail to adopt innovations from County and extra-county schools.

“In Australia, 83 percent of educators believe that using research will help improve student outcomes; 45 per cent believe that their schools do not support the use of research. 32 percent of educators do not feel confident to analyse and interpret research.” Monash University-Q project

What comes out clearly and shown by research is that mere accessibility to raw or synthesised research evidence is not generally an effective way of getting it used, even if that evidence is presented to users by knowledge-brokers, in short courses or workshops. What is more likely to work for both policy and practice is the packaging of high-quality evidence into a more usable format and presenting it actively or iteratively via a respected and trusted conduit, or through other mediums such as legislation. Having the users do the research is another promising approach. funders should require grantees to use evidence assembled in evidence hubs and libraries created using their grants in previous projects. This can be facilitated by a supportive evidence-use culture across the education ecosystem.