The impact of school mapping in the development of education in Tanzania: an assessment of the experiences of six districts

In this study the authors have looked at the impact of school mapping in the development of education in Tanzania. The study examined the experiences of six districts where school mapping exercises were carried out. The key question that guided the study is what happened after school mapping. Through a combination of instruments and/or techniques-interviews, questionnaires, focus group discussion, and document analysis, the study found that school mapping impacted in varying degrees positively on the development of education in the districts in terms of increased enrollment and attendance, decreased incidents of dropping out, improved information for decision making, and enhanced capacities of field actors to plan and take action. The authors conclusively argued that for the benefits of school mapping to be maximized and sustained, it should not be a one shot activity for data collection purposes only. Rather, it should be an on-going process of assessment, analysis, and action. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.