Ongoing Projects

Refugee Perceptions of Resettlement Policy and Local Integration (PI)
Manya Kagan (PI) with Maria Nagawa (Princeton), Guy Grossman (University of Pennsylvania), and Ibrahim Kasirye (EPRC) Funded by: Displaced Livelihoods Initiative  (2024-2025)
This study examines refugees’ perceptions of resettlement criteria and how these perceptions affect their willingness to invest in local integration while living in host countries. We are currently undertaking an exploratory study comparing refugee perceptions with actual policies and practices related to resettlement, including a desk literature review, interviews with key stakeholders and focus groups with refugees in Uganda. Later, we plan to seek further funding for a two-stage randomized controlled trial (RCT) testing whether providing accurate resettlement policy information and teaching local language skills improves social and economic integration for refugees.

Dialogue and critical thinking: Undergraduate academic writing and dialogue (Co-PI)
Co-PIs: Sigal Ben Porath and Ariana Zeitlin, University of Pennsylvania and Tom Nachtingal, Stanford University
This study looks at how dispositions for dialogue are developed among undergraduate students at the University of Pennsylvania. The purpose of this study is twofold: 1) to evaluate if, and to what extent, Paideia-designated seminars foster student development of dispositions needed to engage in dialogue across differences; 2) to examine the specific programmatic and pedagogical elements of Paideia-designated seminars that are contributing to student dispositional development. The findings and insights from this evaluation will inform dialogue-centered programming at the University of Pennsylvania and expand knowledge more broadly about the effects of college-level courses focusing on dialogue. It will identify key program components that are most effective towards cultivating student dispositions such as curiosity, humility, and empathy.

In the shadow of two wars: perspectives of statusless children and youth from Ukraine and Eritrea in Israel Today (Co-PI)
Co-PI: Noa Levy, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Funded by: Minerva Center for Human Rights Child and Youth research grant   (2025-2027)
This research project examines the experiences of stateless asylum-seeking youth, mainly from Ukraine and Eritrea, engaging a Youth Advisory Board (YAB) consisting of asylum-seeking youth who will co-design the study, drawing on their lived experiences and expertise to inform the study. The study explores how these young individuals interpret and experience their right to development, as outlined by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), within the context of their precarious legal status and social marginalization and explore their intersecting condition of liminality.

Leveraging Early Adolescence for Development: Longitudinal and Experimental Evidence from Ghana (PI: Elisabetta Aurino and Sharon Wolf)
This ERC project focuses on early adolescence (10-14 years), a delicate stage in human life during which strategic interventions can have a dramatic impact on individual future well-being, both in terms of seizing opportunities and preventing health or economic risks. Unfortunately, evidence on ‘what works’ at this stage is scarce, especially in economically disadvantaged world areas, where 90 % of the world’s 1.2 billion adolescents live. Further, we don’t currently know whether investments at this stage can boost the effectiveness of support received earlier in life (e.g., early childhood care) or make up, at least partially, for early-life poverty. This research aims to address this lack of evidence by developing and testing an innovative and digital parenting program to support adolescents in Ghana. This intervention will be tested by relying on a sample of 2,500 children and their parents. This sample is unique as children were part of a randomized experiment testing whether improved quality preschools were effective for their academic and social development in 2015 and was followed up since. Children and their parents were interviewed using quantitative and qualitative surveys at 13, 15 and 17 years. I have joined the research team and support the qualitative data analysis, writing and publication.

“Teaching at the Right Level” Interventions for Displaced Children in Nigeria
Part of Sharon Wolf’s project and collaboration with AREAi. This research explores the existence of targeted education interventions for children who have been displaced due to conflict and climate disasters in Nigeria. This study examines the impact of 6 months of “teaching at the right level” educational intervention programs for children who have never attended school, looking at the impact of formal, informal, and EdTech on children’s well-being and learning. I have joined the research team and am conducting fieldwork, qualitative data analysis, and mixed-methods research analysis.

Nyerere’s “fossilized” education for self-reliance: Between Washington D.C and Tanzania (PI: Yonatan N. Gez)
Part of the ERC Grant “The Afterlives of Development Interventions in Eastern Africa” (PI: Yonatan N. Gez, ISCTE) – I am a board member of this project.  (2025-2027)
This research explores the contemporary revival of Tanzania's self-reliance education scheme, framed within the concept of the "afterlives of development." Drawing on Julius Nyerere's 1967 guide "Education for Self-Reliance," rooted in his Ujamaa socialist ideology, the model was initially popular but fell out of favor during economic crises and geopolitical shifts. Recently, it has re-emerged, supported by the same international donors who once rejected it, along with Tanzanian actors. Through archival research, interviews, and school ethnography, I examine the revitalization of Nyerere's educational philosophy and its lasting influence in East Africa.

Walking to School: Planning for Educational Facility Location in Urban Malawi (Co-PI)
Co-Pi is Tamara Kerzhner, University of Toronto. The proposal is currently under review: Volvo Research and Education Foundations Governance of Walking Grant. We are also preparing it for several other grants. We anticipate conducting this research between 2026-2028.
In Malawi, going to school is the most commonly taken trip by children, typically done on foot, exposing children to various risks. Managing children’s travel burdens significantly affects household costs, time, and safety concerns. Despite these challenges, urban planning rarely considers school locations, with decisions driven by legislation, land availability, and profitability. Using an interdisciplinary approach, combining the sociology of school choice and the geography of walkability to explore the relationship between school access and urban mobility. The study involves interviews, surveys of parents and caregivers on school choice, and walking interviews with children to capture their daily experiences of walking to school.