Education Outcomes Linkage 2018/19 is now available via ADR Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) is now receiving applications from accredited researchers to use the Education Outcomes Linkage (EOL) 2018/19 for research in the public interest. NISRA is part of ADR Northern Ireland.

The EOL 2018/19 is a longitudinal relational database comprised of a range of tables containing post primary schools’ data for pupils aged 14 and over in Northern Ireland. It is the first stage of the development of a Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) database for Northern Ireland. The Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) was developed by the Department for Education, England and is a dataset which connects individuals’ education data with their earnings, benefits and tax data. There are also Scottish and Welsh equivalents.

The EOL links together a number of datasets held by the Department of Education (DE) in Northern Ireland; the Schools Census (including attendance data), School Leavers Survey and Exams Database. It comprises a suite of datasets which can be linked via an anonymised unique pupil number. Data is available for pupils who are present in the 2018/19 School Census and who also have an exam outcome in the 2018/19 academic year (EOL Core Members). The 2018/19 EOL contains the following data for EOL Core Members:

• School Census 2018/19 and 2015/16-2017/18 (where available);
• School Attendance 2015/16-2018/19 (where available);
• School Leavers Survey 2018/19 (where applicable); and
• Exams Database up to and including 2018/19.

Join an information session on Wednesday 29 March, 10:30 – 12:00 to hear more about the EOL dataset.

Areas of research interest

The EOL has been developed in order to advance research across a range of themes. The EOL can offer an evidence base for policy development and decision making as well as the monitoring of public policy in Northern Ireland. It can do this by allowing a number of research questions to be considered. These include the best predictors of educational attainment, the impact of Free School Meals, an exploration of Special Educational Needs (SEN) outcomes, the impact of geographical comparisons, ethnicity, religion, and first language on exam performance. The EOL will form the foundation of the LEO database in Northern Ireland through which a broader range of research goals can be met.

How to access the EOL data

Access to the EOL dataset is limited to researchers and research teams with accredited researcher status under the Digital Economy Act 2017 (DEA) and subject to approval by the data providers and the UK Statistics Authority Research Accreditation Panel (RAP). In the first instance, researchers should submit a one-page proposal to the NISRA Research Support Unit (RSU) summarising the main aim and objectives of the proposed project as well as the methodological approach that they are intending to use. Researchers should also include details of the data required (including a variable list) and cohort required. RSU, in consultation with the data providers, will determine the feasibility of the project prior to the completion of a full application by the researcher(s). Find out more about how to apply for approval.

Read more about the EOL on the NISRA website.