HISP is a global collaborative network aiming to improve health care and education in developing countries through information systems research and implementation. Coordinated by the Information Systems Research Group at the Department of Informatics at the University of Oslo, a core activity of HISP is the development of the open-source DHIS2 platform, which is used by more than 80 countries. HISP supports ministries of education by strengthening information systems to provide quality data and facilitate better education system planning.
Currently, DHIS2 is utilized by the Ministry of Education in the Gambia. Master students engaged with the project will be involved in an actual implementation of DHIS2 for education and will contribute to the Education Data Use (EDU) research project. The project can involve prototyping where we will test new ideas and get feedback from potential users in pilot districts and schools. The overarching goal is to support the national goal of monitoring the progress of every child in the education system to ensure no one is left behind.
Master students can take an active role in the development of features and Apps or they can focus on aspects of design, or overall documentation and reflections on the implementation and use of education data.
Key possible themes for master topics include:
- Follow the pilot implementation of a software module for enrolment and management of learners and teachers in two schools in the Gambia (the module will allow administrators to digitally allocate classes to students, record attendance, manage assessment data, and produce reports for attendance, assessments, and transcripts)
- Study the use of DHIS2 to record teacher attendance, support the teacher posting process, and monitor teacher appraisal and discipline
- Pilot study VPN connections as a way for school managers to access education management information systems through the internet
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Impact study of data use by planners at the district/regional offices in the Gambia
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Investigate the recording and use of daily learner and teacher attendance data, how useful is it? How is it used? Is it possible to develop an "early warning" system that predicts learner drop out from school and informs action?
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Design of school inspector workflow tool/worklist to support school inspection activities
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Digitalization of teacher/classroom observation tool (used for teacher pedagogical training and follow up)
The project can support up to four master students on topics listed above. The students will need to travel to the Gambia to do fieldwork. Students can work on projects and their master thesis in pairs if this is desirable.
To learn more about the DHIS2 implementation in the Gambia and the context of the project see here.