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Despina Karamperidou

Education Research Manager (Former title)

Despina Karamperidou is an Education Manager at the UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti, where she leads research on teachers and manages the Time to Teach, the Teachers for All, and the Sport for Development projects. Despina’s research focuses on improving education quality through improved teacher management and training. Her work involves extensive field research and employs multiple qualitative and quantitative data collection and interpretation methods. Despina holds a PhD in Political Science from the European University Institute (EUI) and master’s degrees from the EUI (M.Res. Political Science) and the University of Bristol (M.Sc. Economics). She has received various research grants and completed research fellowships at Yale University and the Central European University. From 2013 to 2015, Despina worked with the Robert Schuman Research Center for Advanced Studies managing projects on migration and state capacity, in the EU and beyond.

Publications

Winning the Game: How Sport for Development supports the psychological well-being of adolescent refugees
Publication

Winning the Game: How Sport for Development supports the psychological well-being of adolescent refugees

In 2022, UNHCR estimated that 103 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide; in the same year, UNICEF further reported that 37 million of those displaced were children. Children and adolescents are more likely to have specific needs and vulnerabilities within the broader refugee population, which may affect their psychological well-being. In view of this, UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight and the Barça Foundation teamed up to investigate how Sport for Development (S4D) can be a positive intervention in the lives of refugee adolescents. The mixed-methods study was conducted in 2022 in two locations in Greece: Athens and the island of Lesvos, capturing the mental health profile of adolescent refugees (ages 11-19) and the key mechanisms of an S4D programme that may influence their psychological well-being. It builds upon previous research jointly carried out by the two organizations, providing key insights to improve the effectiveness of S4D programming (especially programmes that engage with young refugee populations), as well as recommendations for governments and donors that support S4D.
Time to Teach: Teacher attendance and time on task in West and Central Africa
Publication

Time to Teach: Teacher attendance and time on task in West and Central Africa

Teachers are the most important drivers of students’ academic achievement and they are at the heart of learning recovery efforts. Finding out the bottlenecks and necessary conditions for ensuring teachers’ presence at school and in the classroom is essential. Time to Teach is a mixed methods research initiative that aims to find out the contextual, working conditions and policy factors impeding primary school teacher attendance in 11 West and Central African countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, The Gambia, and Togo.
Hora de ensinar: Assiduidade dos Professores e Tempo de Trabalho nas Escolas Primárias de Moçambique
Publication

Hora de ensinar: Assiduidade dos Professores e Tempo de Trabalho nas Escolas Primárias de Moçambique

Este estudo “Hora de Ensinar” combina e reforça a base de evidências sobre o absentismo dos professores do ensino primário em Moçambique.
Unlocking Learning: The implementation and effectiveness of digital learning for Syrian refugees in Lebanon
Publication

Unlocking Learning: The implementation and effectiveness of digital learning for Syrian refugees in Lebanon

Digital learning has the potential to offer interactive and personalized learning for children, in and out of school, including the most marginalized. However, depending on programme design, delivery, and use, digital learning can also exacerbate learning inequalities. This report presents tangible findings on the implementation and use of digital learning to improve outcomes for marginalized children in Lebanon. This report focuses on the UNICEF-Akelius Foundation Partnership and its implementation of a digital course used on tablets and mobile phones for language learning of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The report provides findings across three areas: First, the report investigates the digital course’s use in a blended learning environment where it was used on tablets by students as part of traditional face-to-face classroom instruction with teachers. Second, the analysis examines the transition to remote learning where the course was used on devices owned by the household, supported by teachers remotely. Third, the report estimates the effectiveness of the use of the digital course during this period of remote learning from August–November 2020 showing positive results for language and art competencies.

Journal articles

Teacher Training and Textbook Distribution Improve Early Grade Reading: Evidence from Papua and West Papua.
Journal Article

Teacher Training and Textbook Distribution Improve Early Grade Reading: Evidence from Papua and West Papua.

Podcasts

A Conversation with our Education Team
Podcast

A Conversation with our Education Team

Videos

Sport for Development Research Case Study: Playing the Game with EduSport in Jamaica
Video

Sport for Development Research Case Study: Playing the Game with EduSport in Jamaica

Phase II of UNICEF Innocenti's Sport for Development research looks at 8 different S4D programmes around the world. This video reveals how sport for ...