Why we historians should care about statistics?

I rarely claim myself historian. Rarely.

I never learn statistics beyond mean and median. I never quite grasp the implicaitons of SD either. Equation is simply not my cup of tea. (I tried to construct one for historical analysis for fun) 

But life is all about learning. Learning to be an individual, a human kind, a man/woman, a scholar, a historian. By and large, learning how to learn is the key and education plays the pivotal role throughout our lives. 

Working in academia, I am concerned about education, in particular higher education. Recently I have turned my eye to education statistics, initially U.S., and my scope now spans to the other side of the Atlantics to U.K. and the world. Below are three principle websites providing important education statistics.

Digest of Education Statistics, 2008 by National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, Department of Education, U. S.

"The 44th in a series of publications initiated in 1962, the Digest's primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American education from prekindergarten through graduate school. The Digest contains data on a variety of topics, including the number of schools and colleges, teachers, enrollments, and graduates, in addition to educational attainment, finances, and federal funds for education, libraries, and international comparisons."

Points to think:

For scholars of gender studies, refer to figure 24, Median annual earnings of persons 25 years old and over, by highest level of education and sex: 2007. On the same highest education level, why males earned at least 40% more than females across all education level (e.g. bachelor's and master's degree)?

For engineering and education students, refer to figure 25, Average salaries of bachelor's degree recipients 1 year after graduation, by field: 1991, 1994, and 2001. Engineering graduates ranks no. 1 in 2001! And education graduates no. 1 from the bottom...sorry.

For HK grumpy teachers, graduates and students of humanities and social sciences, let's face the global trend, refer to figure 15, Trends in bachelor's degrees conferred by degree-granting institutions in selected fields of study:1996-97, 2001-02, and 2006-07. Business has been the top one for a decade while social sciences and history (together in one category) no. 2. (business outnumbered twice though)

For narrow-minded law legislators and school administers, refer to figure 28, Public direct expenditures for education as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP [among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries], by country: 2005. Top five are Iceland (7.2) (the government just bankrupt), Denmark (6.8), Sweden (6.2), Finland (5.9), and Belgium, Flemish (5.8). What about U.S. and U.K.? Both in the middle (4.8 and 5.0). Japan? The bottom (3.4). (No kidding!) Quality education is not merely higher percentage of expenditures, it's about quality and devotion.

For our government, refer to figure 5, Highest level of education attained by persons 25 years old and over: March 2008. About 20% attained bachelor's degree while approximately one-thirds completed high school or equivalent. Only 10% achieved postgraduate level.  

Research & Statistics on Education and Training by Department for Children, Schools and Families and Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills, U.K.

It should be interesting and stimulating to compare with the situation of post-colonial HK. 

Global Education Digest 2008 by Institute for Statsitics, UNESCO

"The Global Education Digest 2008 presents the latest available data for more than 200 countries and territories." "These data can be used to provide a global perspective on long-term progress towards educational goals and to identify the advances and setbacks of individual countries." "The Institute’s historical dataset now includes about 30 indicators for more than 200 countries and territories. The Digest presents 15 of these indicators, which are most commonly used for monitoring progress towards Education for All and related targets of the Millennium Development Goals."