Data management: An integral part of teaching, learning

Tshwarelo Hosia | Monday February 16, 2026 09:44

It should not be regarded as an additional burden, eating and encroaching on teaching time and distracting the teacher from the vital cause of classroom teaching and learning. Notwithstanding the value added of data, it seems data has become classroom practitioners’ Cinderella, where they seem to have not only negative perceptions towards data but also opportunities lost for interaction with data for purposes of improving and upgrading pedagogy.

The question is whether indeed data is considered an additional heavy burden which teachers should not carry.

Are data too irksome and a waste of teachers’ valuable teaching time? What are existing teacher perceptions of data? Well, without proper research on the relationship between teachers and data, conjecture and speculation are bound to rule the discussion. Getting back to the basics, teachers are trained to deliver quality instruction, to teach and give students, parents, and oversight bodies feedback on the outcomes of the interaction between students and teachers in the presence of content. In the process of executing their core functions, teachers and schools find themselves swimming in a lot of data. Most of the time, the data goes to waste because of the prevailing indifference to data. There is so much data to contend with and make sense of. Yet the challenge is that many teachers are not necessarily data savvy. Teachers administer weekly topic quizzes, monthly tests, and fully fledged half-yearly examinations. Data is generated in the process, which as per standard practice, is recorded in books for purposes of providing feedback to their principal customers - students and oversight institutions as well as parents and other stakeholders. The principal purpose served is to know how well students are doing or responding to teacher pedagogy.

This is a key aspect of generating data, but it is certainly not the only aspect. Classroom data, whether coming in the form of tests and examinations or through observations, should also guide and enrich teaching and learning. Teaching should not be a rigid, watertight and inflexible regimen, which does not benefit from data generated in the process of teaching and learning. Once marks are recorded and students advised as required, this often brings the story to an end. There is hardly any attempt made to go deeper and interrogate the story behind the data. An opportunity to improve the use of data to inform teaching and learning is missed in the process.

When faced with data, classroom practitioners should always ponder the factors behind and beneath the data. What does data suggest about teaching, and what are the grey areas requiring attention? To deal with this challenge, it is fundamentally important to embed data in the work of classroom practitioners.

To promote wide use and interaction with data and create a data-friendly environment, teachers ought to be data savvy. They need to see data as a game changer in education; a missing component, which should be sought and found, cannot be overemphasized. Perhaps it could be useful and worthwhile to create a position of data manager within the structure of a school and oversight institutions. A dedicated data officer would build capacity and make data a friend of teachers and not an intimidating, additional and unnecessary busybody creature.

Data experts should train teachers on data interpretation and analysis. To enjoy the process, teachers should have hands experiences on data as individuals and groups.

This would create a collaborative environment where teachers would share insights and perspectives with data and pedagogic experiences. As a team, teachers could design a data-driven plan; execute it collaboratively and as individuals, while creating room for monitoring and evaluating. Generating data and making use of it would go a long way to enhance teaching and learning while breaking down silos in the teaching fraternity. Teaching is a very challenging endeavour and can be insurmountable to those who do not embrace collaborative teaching approaches.

It should be the focus of school principals and oversight bodies to ensure that data assumes its rightful central position in educational settings. It is not a burden but a phenomenon that smoothens and guides strategic teaching and learning interventions. No one should have a phobia or attitude towards data.

Data should be a way of life in the teaching setting and not a temporary project that only becomes relevant when confronted with data enquiries from external bodies such as parliament and media.

It is the engine of the teaching profession and must enjoy some modicum of love and respect. To avoid a state of inertia, teachers should learn from data and grow professionally as a result of students’ feedback. Indeed, data offers opportunities for versatility and professional development, while also informing the research agenda. The goal is to make every teacher data savvy and improve their relationship with it.