Nikhit D’Sa

Dr Nikhit D’Sa is a developmental psychologist and applied education researcher. He studies how children learn and develop when faced with acute and chronic risk factors in low-resource and fragile contexts. In collaboration with Ministries of Education, multilateral donors, foundations, non-governmental organisations, higher-education institutions, faith-based communities, and schools, Dr D’Sa has worked to identify modifiable patterns and routines within relationships and settings that can be directly targeted through practitioner-led interventions. Most recently, he has collaborated with teachers and school leaders to understand how their occupational well-being and agency affect their instructional practices and ability to support children’s learning. Dr D’Sa has also pioneered innovative approaches to incorporating the perspective of children, parents, and teachers into context-relevant assessments of children’s social-emotional development and teachers’ well-being. Dr D’Sa currently serves as an assistant professor and director of research with the Institute of Educational Initiatives at the University of Notre Dame.