My interest in childhood began during my work in the humanitarian sector in Palestine. Interactions with both local and international aid workers prompted me to critically reflect on the very notion of childhood—what it means and how it is experienced. I became particularly intrigued by the tension between an idealized, seemingly universal concept of childhood and the diverse ways childhood is lived and understood across different contexts. This, along with many related questions, has shaped my research and career over the past 15 years. Working in aid, development, and humanitarian contexts, I have explored how childhood experiences evolve across time and space, focusing on key issues and topics such as child labour, child detention, and education. I examined these issues through my doctoral studies at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) and extensive consultancy work in the humanitarian sector.

Before joining the School for Policy Studies, I was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Bath, where I investigated how the humanitarian system fails caregivers and hinders their efforts to protect children—ultimately contributing to child neglect and abuse. This project, co-funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, won the University of Bath’s Vice-Chancellor’s Engage Award for involving local communities as peer researchers.

I also worked as a Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, collaborating with colleagues from five academic institutions across the UK, Brazil, Palestine, South Africa, and Eswatini. Our project examined safe, inclusive, and participative pedagogy in early childhood education across diverse contexts as part of the UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund.