Project Leads
Principal Investigators
Dr. Amita Chudgar
Michigan State University
Amita Chudgar is a professor of education policy. Her work examines the influence of home, school, and community contexts on educational access and achievement of children in resource-constrained environments. Through the analysis of diverse, large-scale, national, regional, and cross-national datasets, she studies the role of policy-relevant variables in ensuring equal educational opportunities for disadvantaged children. Her long-term interests focus on ensuring that children and adults in resource-constrained environments have equal access to high-quality learning opportunities, irrespective of their backgrounds.
Dr. Nancy Kendall
University of Wisconson, Madison
Nancy Kendall is a professor of educational policy studies. Her research examines the consequences of national and international policies and funding streams directed at improving the lives and wellbeing of children, communities, and states positioned as “marginalized” by national and international regimes. Over more than 25 years of rural, community-based research in Malawi, her work has been directed by youth’s lives and the triumphs and challenges they face. These have included HIV/AIDS, economic marginalization, changing family support patterns, and climate change and environmental degradation.
Dr. Tom Luschei
Claremont Graduate University
Tom Luschei is a professor in CGU’s School of Educational Studies, where he teaches and advises MA and PhD students. The primary focus of his research is the impact and availability of educational resources—particularly high-quality teachers—among marginalized children and youth. He has conducted related research in Africa, Asia, and North, Central, and South America, and he has been invited to present his research in Argentina, Colombia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and South Korea.