A Spatio-Temporal Model for the Evaluation of Education Quality in Peru

Abstract

The role of information and communication technologies in the development of modern societies has continuously increased over the past several decades. In particular, recent unprecedented growth in use of the Internet in many developing countries has been accompanied by greater information access and use. Along with this increased use, there have been significant advances in the development of technologies that can support the management and decision-making functions of decentralized government. However, the amount of data available to administrators and planners is increasing at a faster rate than their ability to use these resources effectively.

A key issue in this context is the storage and retrieval of spatial and temporal data. With static data, a planner or analyst is limited to studying cross-sectional snapshots and has little capability to understand trends or assess the impacts of policies. Education, which is a vital part of the human experience and one of the most important aspects of development, is a spatio-temporal process that demands the capacities to store and analyze spatial distributions and temporal sequences simultaneously. Local planners must not only be able to identify problem areas, but also know if a problem is recent or on-going. They must also be able to identify factors which are causing problems for remediation and, most importantly, to assess the impact of remedial interventions. Internet-based tools that allow for fast and easy on-line exploration of spatio-temporal data will better equip planners for doing all of the above. This thesis presents a spatio-temporal on-line data model using the concept or paradigm of space-time. The thesis demonstrates how such a model can be of use in the development of customized software that addresses the evaluation of early childhood education quality in Peru.