Building Capacity and Connections: AFLEARN's Foundational Learning Data Management and Analysis Course
Article written by Mikaela Daries
Despite the chilling onset of winter in Cape Town, participants were all smiles at AFLEARN’s second one-week residential course, held from 9 to 13 June 2025.
For one week, a diverse group representing 13 African countries—including professors, researchers, curriculum developers, and government officials—gathered to strengthen their skills in managing and analysing foundational learning data and build lasting connections with peers pursuing similar goals. This mix of backgrounds helped create a lively course atmosphere where active learning and community were central to every session.
A Week of Hands-On Learning
Designed for experienced professionals working with education assessment data, the course combined lectures, practical data analysis, small-group work, and collaborative exercises. Participants worked with both course-provided and personal datasets, making the learning relevant and immediately applicable. The five-day course focused on technical and practical skills for managing and analysing foundational learning assessment data using Stata software. Participants addressed common challenges specific to assessment data, learned the importance of replicability and maintaining clean Do-files, and applied these skills directly to real-world data, reinforcing their ability to turn numbers into meaningful insights.
Building a Community of Practice
Beyond technical training, the course created space for participants to connect, share ideas, and build relationships with others working in foundational learning across the continent. From group activities to evening socials and tea-time chatter, there were plenty of moments for meaningful engagement, not only with peers but also with facilitators and tutors who offered steady support throughout the week. Many participants shared just how much they valued both the connections made and the support offered throughout the week.
“The opportunity to work with a network of professionals from across Africa was invaluable.”
“This course has been transformative—I feel more confident, competent, and connected.”
“They were incredibly helpful, respectful, and kind. A big thank you to all of you!”
“Facilitators were highly skilled, patient, and tailored their support to our diverse levels of experience.”
“The facilitators didn’t just teach—they created the conditions for us to grow.”
Support doesn’t stop when the course ends, either—participants continue to receive guided support through one-on-one sessions with course facilitators in the months that follow.
The Power of Practice
Participants consistently praised the blended approach, combining lectures, worked examples, practical exercises and the use of their own datasets. This approach made the learning relevant, allowing participants to bridge the gap between statistical theory and practice while discovering data quality issues in their own work. “The opportunity to work with our own data was ingenious. I’d recommend more time for data-specific exercises.” “There was excellent synergy between sessions—lectures, exercises, and real data use made learning stick.” “I loved that we could use our own data—it kept things practical and engaging.”
Finding the right pace for a diverse audience
The joy of diversity also brings the challenge of getting the pacing just right. Participants represented various experience levels, from seasoned analysts to those updating their skills, and their feedback reflected this diversity. Many offered thoughtful, constructive suggestions to strengthen future iterations of the course. They recommended differentiated learning pathways, more pre-course support, a higher facilitator-to-participant ratio during practical sessions, and a slightly longer course duration to allow time for deeper reflection and practice. We are committed to implementing these recommendations to improve future courses and look forward to adapting our approach to better meet participants where they are. With each course offering, AFLEARN’s goal remains the same: to embed a strong root system of practitioners across Africa—people grounded in data and purpose, who can nurture empowered organisations and ministries to turn evidence into action, shape policy, and drive meaningful change in foundational learning.
In Their Own Words
“Fantastic course! I am no longer intimidated by Stata and feel empowered to get stuck in!”
“This was a timely, useful course considering the large early grade data now being made public.”
“Data literacy is the new literacy—and thanks to you, we are helping reshape the future.”
“Thank you for the opportunity to experience excellence at the hub of Africa’s best university… It felt opulent to walk in the footsteps of giants.”
“This has been an unbelievably enriching, capacity-building and powerful session… Data never lies, but it must be well understood and analysed.”
Thanks to our generous funders
The course was made possible through generous funding from the Gates Foundation to AFLEARN and the What Works Hub for Global Education (WWHGE) to the South African Department of Basic Education’s Research Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate. Interested in joining a future training? Keep an eye out for details on upcoming trainings and events hosted by AFLEARN. Follow DataFirst on LinkedIn for the latest updates and insights.