DARE – Disability inclusive data and systems: analysis of the integration of the Washington Group questions on disability into the annual school census in Pakistan

The study explores experiences of stakeholders in collecting, analysing and using disability data in Pakistan’s 2023 annual school census (ASC). It will aim to provide recommendations for increasing relevance, accuracy and usefulness of future disability data collection.

Specific research questions:

• How does the Washington Group on Disability Statistics Short Set (WG-SS) ASC data and data quality vary across schools and provinces? What are potential drivers of these differences and what learnings can be applied to future ASCs?
• How have education stakeholders, including teachers, experienced training for and implementation of WG-SS in the ASC? How were tools and data collection processes understood and what roles did different stakeholders play? How have data analysis and data use been experienced? What were the key benefits, successes and challenges in using WG-SS in the ASC?
• At each system level, what opportunities exist for strengthening collection, processing and use of disability data? What education system infrastructure and capacity strengthening will facilitate smoother integration of disability data?

In 2023, Pakistan used four of the WG-SS questions in its 2023 annual school census, to strengthen disability inclusiveness of education sector data. The study findings will inform recommendations for strengthening use of the WG-SS questions in the 2024/25 ASC.

This mixed-methods study aims to better understand the nature and quality of this ASC data in the following ways:

• Documentary analysis will compare training and data collection across the four provinces, identifying challenges encountered and solutions adopted in each context.
• Quantitative analysis will assess data quality and variations by student age, sex and school location. Additionally, we will compare ASC data to individual child-level WG-SS data from schools in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, identifying challenges in data aggregation and whether particular groups of children are missing from the ASC data. Finally, vision screening among all children in eight schools will enable us to assess validity of the WG-SS vision domain question.
• Qualitative work will explore experiences and perspectives of federal and provincial stakeholders, and teachers in four schools in each province, to identify strengths and areas for improvement.

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