Mendenhall, Mary (mam2017)

Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, Ohio University
Master of Arts, Higher Education Administration, New York University
Doctor of Education, International Educational Development, Teachers College, Columbia University

My scholarly work examines the contemporary educational practices and policies that affect students, teachers, and communities living amidst displacement. I draw on participatory and qualitative approaches to critically understand and learn from and with displaced individuals, primarily in (but not limited to) Sub-Saharan Africa. As a multidisciplinary scholar—engaging with anthropology, policy studies, and sociology—I draw on critical and social justice frameworks in an effort to identify and conceptualize how more equitable, fair, and robust policies and approaches are needed to improve teaching and learning amidst displacement. My work spans refugee camp, urban settings, and resettlement contexts and engages diverse organizational actors, including community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), national governments, and United Nations (UN) agencies. My work has been funded by Columbia World Projects, Education International, the European Union, IDEO, the LEGO Foundation, UNHCR, and U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.

Books & Edited Volumes

Mendenhall, M., Marchais, G., Sayed, Y., Boothby, N. (Eds.) (2024). Education and resilience in crises: Challenges and opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa. Bristol University Press. (awarded the CIES Jackie Kirk Outstanding Book Award, 2025)

Pherali, T. & Mendenhall, M. (Eds.). (2023). Education and resilience in crises: Challenges and opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa. Education and Conflict Review (hosted by University College London), Special Issue No. 4.

Mendenhall, M. (Ed.). (2019). Data collection and evidence building to support education in emergencies. NORRAG, Special Issue No. 3.

Refereed Journal Articles (*denotes current and former students)

Mendenhall, M., Falk, D.,* & Bjorklund, P.* (Forthcoming, 2025). Urban refugees’ educational access in Kenya: Policy contradictions and implementation gaps amidst national insecurity and rising xenophobia. Comparative Education Review.

Mendenhall, M. (2023). Participatory approaches for strengthening teacher professional development in refugee settings: Successes and limitations. Globalisation, Societies, and Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2023.2246401

Mendenhall, M. & Falk, D.* (2023). National inclusion policy openings/barriers for refugee teachers: Critical reflections from Kenya. Journal of Refugee Studies. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fead026

Shephard, D.,* Falk, D.* & Mendenhall, M. (2023). “My teachers make me feel alive”: The contribution of student-teacher relationships to student well-being in South Sudan and Uganda. Compare. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2023.2170168

Falk, D.,* Shephard, D.* & Mendenhall, M. (2022). “I always take their problem as mine”: Understanding the relationship between teacher-student relationships and teacher well-being in crisis contexts. International Journal of Educational Development. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2022.102670

Mendenhall, M., Cha, J.,* Falk, D.*, Bergin, C.* & Bowden, L.* (2020). Teachers as agents of change: Positive discipline for inclusive classrooms in Kakuma Refugee Camp. International Journal of Inclusive Education, DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2019.1707300.

Mendenhall, M. (2019). Teachers for Teachers: Advocating for stronger programs and policies for and with refugee teachers in Kakuma Refugee Camp. Studies in Social Justice, 12(2), 356-363.

Mendenhall, M., Skinner, M.*, Collas, S.*, & French, S.* (2019). Expanding teacher support through mobile mentoring in Kakuma Refugee Camp: Benefits and challenges. Current Issues in Comparative Education.

Mendenhall, M. & Bartlett, L. (May 2018). Academic and extracurricular support for refugee students in the US: Lessons learned. Theory into Practice, 57(2), 109-118.

Mendenhall, M., Bartlett, L., and Ghaffar-Kucher. (2016). “If you need help, they are always there for us”: Education for refugees in an international high school in NYC. Urban Review. doi 10.1007/s11256-016-0379-4

Bartlett, L., Mendenhall, M. and Ghaffar-Kucher, A. (In press). Culture in Acculturation: Refugee Youth’s Schooling Experiences in New York Schools. International Journal of Intercultural Relations (Special Issue: Cultural and Academic Adjustment of Refugee Youth in Educational Settings). 

Mendenhall, M., Dryden-Peterson, S., Bartlett, L. Ndirangu, C., Imonje, R. Gakunga, D., Gichuhi, L., Nyagah, G., Okoth, U., and Tangelder, M. (2015). Quality Education for Refugees in Kenya: Pedagogy in Urban Nairobi and Kakuma Refugee Camp Settings. Journal on Education in Emergencies 1(1), pp. 92-130.

Mendenhall, M. (2014). Education sustainability in the relief-development transition: Challenges for international organizations working in countries affected by conflict. International Journal of Educational Development, 35, 67-77.

Mendenhall, M. and Anderson, A. (Summer 2013). Strengthening national and regional capacity for Education in Emergencies in East Africa: Lessons learned and future directions for an NGO-University partnership. Harvard International Review.

Anderson, A. and Mendenhall, M. (2006).  Inter-agency network for education in emergencies, Forced Migration Review Supplement (Education and Conflict: Research Policy and Practice).

Book Chapters

Mendenhall, M., Falk, D. & Shephard, D. (2024). Teacher and learner well-being amidst displacement in South Sudan and Uganda. In M. Mendenhall, G. Marchais, Y. Sayed, & N. Boothby (Eds), Education, crisis, and resilience: Challenges and opportunities in DRC, Ethiopia, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Bristol University Press.

Bartlett, L. & Mendenhall, M. (2022). Strategy 15: After-school and summer programming. In M. Bajaj, D. Walsh, L. Bartlett & G. Martinez (Eds.). Humanizing Education for Immigrant & Refugee Youth: 20 Strategies for the Classroom & Beyond (pp. 141-146). Teachers College Press.

Mendenhall, M., Pacifico, A., & Hu, S. (2019). Teacher professional development in crisis contexts: Teachers’ reflections and stories of change in Kakuma refugee camp.  In A.W. Wiseman, L. Damaschke-Deitrick, E. Galegher, & M.F. Park (Eds.). Comparative perspectives on refugee youth education: Dreams and realities in educational systems worldwide (pp. 245-270). Routledge.

Mendenhall, M. and Tangelder, M. (2017). Faculty development for Education in Emergencies: A University-NGO partnership in Kenya. In C. Smith & K. Hudson (Eds.), Faculty development in developing and fragile contexts: Theory and practice for improving the quality of teaching in higher education (41-63). New York: Routledge.

Mendenhall, M. and Chopra, N. (2016). Educating for Peace in Kenya: Comparing National and Local Initiatives. In M. Bajaj & M. Hantzopoulos (Eds.), International Perspectives on Peace Education, Bloomsbury Publishers.

Mendenhall, M. (2010). The relief-development transition: Sustaining the educational support provided by international organizations in post-conflict settings.  F. Vavrus and L. Bartlett (Eds.). Critical Approaches to Comparative Education: Vertical Case Studies from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. Palgrave Publishers: UK. 

Published Reports

Falk, D., Mendenhall, M., Fabo Njia, C., Kebe, G. (2024). ERICC Policy Brief Teacher Management in Conflict and Crisis Settings: Addressing resource gaps and enhancing quality in education. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.27119595.v1

Mendenhall, M., Richardson, K., Bangirana, C.A., Bol, J., Canavera, M., Ezekiel, W., Frieder, M., Greene, L.R., Mayevskaya, Y., Nalyong, E., Okot, O.R, (2024). Reimagining education: Integrating the arts in schools with refugee children. The Alternatives Project. NORRAG.

Mendenhall, M., Telford, R., & Hure, M. (2023). National inclusion efforts: Don’t forget refugee teachers. Refugee Teachers: The Heart of the Global Refugee Response. NORRAG Policy Insights.

Mendenhall, M. (2024). Teachers in Refugee and Displacement Settings: Challenges and Strategies for Teacher Quality and Workforce Sustainability (research report). UNHCR.

Mendenhall, M. & Hough, W. (2024). Teachers in refugee and displacement settings: Challenges and opportunities for strengthening teacher quality and workforce sustainability amidst national inclusion efforts (Chad case study). UNHCR.

Mendenhall, M. & Henderson, C. (2024). Teachers in refugee and displacement settings: Challenges and opportunities for strengthening teacher quality and workforce sustainability amidst national inclusion efforts (Malaysia case study). UNHCR.

Mendenhall, M. & Richardson, K. (2024). Teachers in refugee and displacement settings: Challenges and opportunities for strengthening teacher quality and workforce sustainability amidst national inclusion efforts (Uganda case study). Teachers College, Columbia University.

Mendenhall, M., Falk, D., & Shephard, D. (2022). Education for life: Well-being and resilience in South Sudan and Uganda (research report). Teachers College, Columbia University.

Mendenhall, M., Falk, D., & Shephard, D. (2022). Education for life: Methodological reflections brief. Teachers College, Columbia University.

Mendenhall, M., Falk, D., & Shephard, D. (2022). Education for life: Impact of COVID-19 research brief. Teachers College, Columbia University.

Ervin, E.*, Kwok, J.*, Falk, D. & Mendenhall, M. (2022). Learning from school leaders in crisis contexts: A case study of Kakuma refugee camp and Kalobeyei settlement (case study). Promising Practices in Teacher Well-being, Management, and School Leadership. INEE.

Mendenhall, M., Chopra, V., Falk, D., Henderson, C., & Cha, J. (2021). Teacher professional development and play-based learning in East Africa: Strengthening research, policy and practice in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania (white paper). The LEGO Foundation.

Falk, D.*, Shephard, D.*, & Mendenhall, M. (2019). In their words: Teacher well-being amidst displacement and fragility in Uganda and South Sudan (case study). Teachers in Crisis Contexts: Promising Practices in Teacher Management, Professional Development, and Well-being. Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies.

Mendenhall, M., Russell, S.G., & Buckner, E. (2018). The right to education for urban refugees and the national security conundrum: A closer look at the Kenyan context (research brief). NORRAG Special Issue: The Right to Education Movements and Policies, 01.

Mendenhall, M., Gomez, S. & Varni, E.* (2018). Teaching amidst conflict and displacement: Persistent challenges and promising practices for refugee, IDP and national teachers (background paper). Global Education Report: Migration, Education and Displacement. UNESCO.

Mendenhall, M. (2017). Strengthening teacher professional development: Local and global communities of practice in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya (case study). Promising Practices in Refugee Education. UK: Save the Children, UNHCR, Pearson.

• For additional coverage of this project, see UNHCR Left Behind: Refugee Education in Crisis Report (pp. 38-39) and UNESCO A Lifeline to Learning: Leveraging Technology to Support Education for Refugees (p. 39).

Mendenhall, M., Russell, S.G., and Buckner, E. (2017). Urban Refugee Education: Strengthening Policies and Practices for Access, Quality and Inclusion. [Policy Report]. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.

• Press coverage in NEA Today, “Despite Inclusive Policies, Refugee Children Face Major Access to Education” by Nicole Schorchit (March 21, 2017)
• Press coverage in Huffington Post, “The Global Search for Education: First of Its Kind Global Refugee Study Highlights a Gap Between Policy and Practice,” by C.M. Rubin (April 7, 2017)

Mendenhall, M., Russell, S.G., and Buckner, E. (2017). Urban Refugee Education: Guidelines and Practical Strategies for Strengthening Support to Improve Educational Quality for All. [Programmatic Guidance Report]. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.

Mendenhall, M., Russell, S.G., and Buckner, E. (2017). Urban Refugee Education: Priorities for Policies and Programs. [Advocacy Brief]. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.

Teaching & Learning Resources

Mendenhall, M., Chopra, V., & Bazlen, R.* (2022). Navigating ethical dilemmas in education in emergencies (EiE): A compendium of vignettes for research & practice. Teachers College, Columbia University.

Mendenhall, M., Falk, D., Ervin, E., & Kwok, J. (2022). School leaders’ roles, responsibilities, and relationships in refugee settings (Kenya case study). Collaborative Education Leadership Lab.

Mendenhall, M. (2019). Massive Open Online Course: Protecting Children in Humanitarian Settings.  Contributed reflections from research in Kakuma refugee camp on Schools, Communities, and Child Protection in Practice as part of Enabling Communities as Protective Environments lesson.

Mendenhall, M. (2018). UNICEF Education in Emergencies E-learning Course. Contributed presentation on the role of teachers as part of the Teaching and Learning lesson.

Training for primary school teachers in crisis contexts. Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE). 

• Students enrolled in my Education in Emergencies class (2014-15) developed these materials.

Teachers in crisis contexts peer coaching pack. Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE). 

• Students enrolled in my Curriculum and Pedagogy in International Contexts class (2016) developed these materials.

Podcasts

Mendenhall, M. (2019, June 13). Building Evidence on Education in Emergencies [Audio podcast].

Mendenhall, M., Russell, S.G., & Buckner, E. (2016, September 1). Urban refugees and education [Audio podcast].

Mendenhall, M., Ndirangu, C. & Gakunga, D. (2016). Quality education for refugees in Kenya: Pedagogy in urban Nairobi and Kakuma Refugee Camp Settings [Video podcast].