ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Leadership in Education
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1616717
If evidence matters, why does the data die? Implementing Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) in Development Context s
Provisionally accepted
- The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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Over the last three decades, international organizations have been increasingly involved in collecting and utilizing data to enhance data-driven decision making in the education sectors of development contexts. This is carried out mainly through Education Management Information Systems (EMIS). Research shows, however, that while EMIS has managed to capture large amounts of data in such contexts, evidence of the use of data towards improvement of outcomes is sparse at best, with persistent reports that EMIS data is underutilized nationally. This article relies on documentary data and key informant interviews to explore the reasons for this failure of utility, critically examining the mechanisms underpinning the continued challenges to the utilization of EMIS data in development contexts. This examination reveals three profoundly contextual mechanisms operating within the structure of the 'development project:' (1) a Eurocentric notion of the generalizability of EMIS systems; (2) an enduring colonial mindset that considers educational data another resource that can be extracted and used; and (3) a devaluation of people from such contexts-as entities with agency and rights -in favor of data. The data is analyzed using a reflexive thematic analysis approach from a critical realist lens, interweaving literature, data and inquiry to raise critical questions about and offer potential explanations as to why the data dies.
Keywords: education management information system, EMIS, evidence-based, Data-driven, decision-making, Educational Data, Critical Realism, data colonialism
Received: 23 Apr 2025; Accepted: 18 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 ElMazbouh, Shah and Lee. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Manal ElMazbouh, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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