Name: Arja Dayal
Email: ad5313@nyu.edu
Program: International Education
Research Interests: Education policy, learning outcomes, inclusive education, intergroup prejudices, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia
Principal Advisor(s): Elisabeth King
Research Description/Bio: Arja Dayal is a fourth-year doctoral student in the International Education program at NYU Steinhardt. Her research intersects education policy, social psychology, and disability studies, focusing on inclusive education for marginalized groups in low- and middle-income contexts in Africa and South Asia. Currently, she is investigating learning gaps and peer prejudices in prosocial behaviors in mainstream classrooms involving children with disabilities in Zambia.
With nearly a decade of experience in field research, policy, and classroom settings, she employs interdisciplinary, quantitative, and evidence-based approaches. Prior to her doctoral studies, she worked with academics, donors, government, and implementing partners to undertake multiple rigorous evaluations across sectors, primarily using randomized control trials in Liberia, and Sierra-Leone with Innovations for Poverty Action, and using mixed methods quasi-experimental study in Timor-Leste. As a Teach for India Fellow, she also embedded herself as a second and third-grade teacher in a low-income public school working not only on student outcomes but also engaging with parents, school management, and the community on projects.
She holds a master’s in Public Administration in Development Practice from the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, and a bachelor’s (honors) in Economics from Hindu College, University of Delhi.
Selected Awards, Publications, and Presentations:
Awards:
NYU Bañuelos Family Changemaker Fellowship for Summer 2022 ($10,000)
NYU Steinhardt Shearwater Small Grant ($400 in 2023; $450 in 2022)
Publications:
Acris, S., Blewitt, A., Cabochan, L., Dayal, A., Huff, K R., King, E., and Salvatore, J. Disrupting Partisan Bias through Arts: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment. (Under review, Journal of Politics.)
Desrosiers, A., Kumar, P., Dayal, A., Alex, L., Akram, A., and Betancourt, T. Diffusion and spillover effects of an evidence-based mental health intervention among peers and caregivers of high-risk youth in Sierra Leone: study protocol. BMC Psychiatry 20, 85 (2020).
Reports:
Liberia National Learning Assessment Policy, 2021