Rena Deitz

Dr. Rena Deitz is a Visiting Assistant Professor of International Education at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education, Culture, and Human Development. Her research focuses on the politics of education provision in conflict- and crisis-affected contexts. In particular, she studies how education, mental health, and social emotional learning (SEL) programs are transferred and adapted through foreign aid. Her work has appeared in the Journal on Education in Emergencies, Journal of Educational Psychology, and International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, and she led a rigorous review of the evidence on social emotional learning in development and emergency settings for USAID.

Dr. Deitz’s dissertation research examined how SEL manifests across cultures and is influenced by geopolitics and global power dynamics and priorities in a refugee-hosting settlement in Uganda. She has also conducted a study on the national roll-out of a mental health and psychosocial support training for teachers that she developed for the Ministry of Education in Ukraine, funded by the LEGO Foundation. In addition to her research, she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in international education, global affairs, and research methods, and trains government officials and teacher trainers on integrating play, social emotional skills, and mental health into education.

Prior to joining NYU, Dr. Deitz served as adjunct professor, education researcher, technical advisor, curriculum developer, and program manager for various NGOs, UN and government agencies, and foundations in international education. Dr. Deitz holds a PhD in International Education from New York University, an MA in International and Comparative Education from Columbia University Teachers College, and a BA in International Relations from Tufts University.