Education research in the Pacific

Tebbutt Research has worked across a wide range of education research projects in the Pacific, including student assessment, education monitoring, scholarship outcomes, TVET, workforce development and education system analysis.

Our work in this sector includes large-scale data collection, field operations, survey implementation, tracer studies, stakeholder research, qualitative interviews, data analysis and reporting. These projects help education systems, development partners and training providers understand learning outcomes, programme performance, student pathways and transitions from education into employment.

Student assessment and learning outcomes

Tebbutt Research has supported major education assessment work in the Pacific, including regional literacy and numeracy assessment programmes.

The Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PILNA) is the largest regional education assessment programme in the Pacific. It measures literacy and numeracy outcomes for students who have completed four and six years of basic education, across participating Pacific Island countries.

Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment 2018 – ACER

Improving the quality of education in the Pacific – ACER

Education assessment projects require careful field preparation, school-level coordination, interviewer and test administrator training, quality control and disciplined data handling. In the Pacific, this also requires practical experience working across countries, languages, school systems, transport conditions and local education contexts.

Education monitoring and system data

Education systems need reliable evidence to understand progress, identify gaps and monitor outcomes.

Tebbutt Research has undertaken education sector research and analysis in Papua New Guinea and the wider Pacific, including work connected to education monitoring, learning assessment and programme performance.

This has included large-scale analysis of survey data collected by the Ministry of Education in Papua New Guinea. Although that work is not part of the public record, it reflects an important part of Tebbutt Research’s education capability: turning complex education datasets into usable findings for planning, monitoring and decision-making.

Public reporting on PNG education highlights the importance of learning outcomes, assessment systems and monitoring evidence in education reform.

Papua New Guinea SABER Student Assessment Country Report – World Bank

Papua New Guinea PaBER Report

Scholarships and alumni outcomes

Tebbutt Research has also worked in scholarship and alumni outcomes research.

Scholarship programmes are not only about education access. They are also about long-term development outcomes: employment, leadership, professional networks, institutional contribution, community impact and links between study and work.

Tracer studies and alumni surveys help programme managers and development partners understand what happens after students complete their awards.

Australia Awards Pacific Scholarships Alumni Survey 2021 – DFAT

Australia Awards Global Tracer Facility – ACER

This type of research sits at the intersection of education, labour markets and development outcomes. It requires direct engagement with alumni, employers, institutions and stakeholders, as well as analysis that connects education experience with longer-term results.

TVET and workforce development

Technical and vocational education and training is another important area of Tebbutt Research’s education work.

TVET research often focuses on whether training is linked to employment, whether graduates are using their skills, what employers need, and how programmes contribute to workforce development.

Tebbutt Research has undertaken monitoring, evaluation and tracer-style research associated with vocational education and workforce development programmes in the Pacific.

Australia Pacific Training Coalition – Partnership Hub

Graduate Tracer Survey Report 2024 – Australia Pacific Training Coalition

Our work in this area has included research methods such as graduate destination surveys, employer surveys, stakeholder interviews, labour market assessments and programme evaluation.

Education, skills and employment pathways

Education research is often most useful when it connects learning to what happens next.

For schools, that may mean understanding literacy and numeracy outcomes. For scholarship programmes, it may mean understanding alumni contribution and career pathways. For TVET, it may mean assessing employment outcomes and employer demand. For education systems, it may mean tracking progress against national education goals.

Tebbutt Research’s education work has covered these different parts of the education pathway, including:

• Large-scale student assessment support
• Literacy and numeracy measurement
• School-level survey implementation
• Education monitoring and evaluation
• Scholarship alumni surveys
• Tracer studies
• TVET and workforce development research
• Employer and labour market research
• Graduate destination studies
• Education data analysis and reporting
• Stakeholder consultation
• Programme evaluation

Research grounded in Pacific education systems

Education research in the Pacific requires strong local implementation.

Schools may be remote. Student and teacher records may vary in quality. Languages and terminology differ by country and community. Fieldwork may need to coordinate with ministries, schools, principals, teachers, students, parents and development partners.

Tebbutt Research brings practical Pacific research experience to this work, including field logistics, survey implementation, data quality systems, qualitative and quantitative methods, and analysis for education and development audiences.

Our education-sector work reflects a wider role we play across the region: helping clients and partners collect, analyse and use evidence about learning, skills, training and education outcomes in Pacific communities.

Closer to home

While we are proud to have worked on education programmes across the Pacific, education is also part of Tebbutt Research’s own story. Across our offices and field teams, Tebbutt Research has supported staff to build skills, continue their education and advance in their careers. This includes supporting staff through formal education (in some cases to post-graduate level) as well as on-the-job training, mentoring, research and fieldwork experience, technical skills development, and support for staff taking on new responsibilities.

For us, education is not only a research sector but part of how we build capability within our own team and capacity-building in a broader sense across the region. Many staff who started their careers as interviewers at Tebbutt Research have gone on to great things with leading organisations in the Pacific.