Dr Daniel Shephard

Lecturer in Comparative Education and Education Policy, MSc Education Programme Co-Director

  • Institute for Education, Community and Society
  • Moray House School of Education and Sport
  • Comparative Education and International Development (CEID) Research Group

Contact details

Address

Street

Moray House School of Education and Sport, SJL 2.14

City
University of Edinburgh (Holyrood Campus)
Post code
EH8 8AQ

Biography

Background

I am a Lecturer in Comparative Education and Education Policy and the co-Director of the MSc Education programme. My research is at the intersection of education, development, and forced displacement. My disciplinary focus is sociology and my methodological expertise is in the use mixed methods, primary data collection, and social network analysis. 

I have conducted research on education and international development in more than 30 countries over more than 15 years. This has included work as an academic but also as an applied researcher working with institutions including the FHI 360, IRC, OECD, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNODC, USAID, the World Bank and many others. 

I hold a PhD and MPhil in Comparative and International Education from Columbia University and a MSc in Evidence-Based Social Intervention from the University of Oxford. 

CV

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Qualifications

  • PhD, Comparative and International Education, Columbia University, NY (2023)
  • MPhil, Comparative and International Education, Columbia University, NY (2021)
  • MSc, Evidence-Based Social Intervention, University of Oxford, UK (2011)
  • BA, English Language and Literature, Gordon College, MA (2006)

Responsibilities & affiliations

  • Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), Member
  • British Association for International & Comparative Education (BAICE), Member
  • American Sociological Association (ASA), Member
  • The Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE), Member
  • NORRAG, member
  • Nudge Lebanon, Board Member
  • ISCS Group, Board Member

Postgraduate teaching

Spring 2026:

  • Education and Conflict

Autumn 2025:

  • Education Policy and the Politics of Education

Spring 2025:

  • Education and Conflict
  • Research Methods 2

Autumn 2024:

  • Education Policy and the Politics of Education
  • Introduction to Comparative Education

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

Yes

Areas of interest for supervision

I am interested in supervising the following topics and methodologies:

Topics:

  • Education and development
  • Refugee education 
  • Migrant education 
  • Education and conflict
  • Educational data

Methodologies:

  • Social network analysis 
  • Mixed methods
  • Longitudinal research   
  • Primary data collection (qualitative and quantitative)

Research summary

My current research projects are focused on:

1. The social and academic effects of different institutional models for including forced migrants into education systems. This includes research completed in Jordan and planned research in Lebanon and Uganda as well as other contexts with large proportions of forced migrants.

2. Investigating the global international development financing and data eco-system and how its disruptions and rationales influence local communities. This includes an ongoing project, Disrupted Development, which tracks the long-term effects of the termination of USAID and broader international development reductions--this project is supported by supported by the the Tobias Center for Innovation in International Development at Indiana University Bloomington. https://edin.ac/4onAR0O

3. Improving the production and use of high quality evidence -- including non-indexed local evidence -- for the field of education in emergencies. This includes an ongoing collaboration with the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies. 

4. The development of new methods for detection student social networks and understanding their evolution over time, including through the incorporation of automated data collection methods leveraging machine learning and generative AI. This includes a pilot project in Uganda and future larger scale projects that combine with are my work on refugee school inclusion.

Current research interests

Comparative research on camp-based, double-shift, and single-shift schools that include students with refugee backgrounds. What influences more asset-based or deficit-based approaches taken by refugee education researchers in their peer reviewed publications. Understanding the drivers and hindrances facing the financing of refugee education inclusion in countries hosting large numbers of refugees. As part of my interest in the international data regime I am currently conducting a project investigating the 'policy linking' methodology.

Past research interests

My past research interests have always focused on understanding how to support marginalized learners and how schooling could support outcomes related to the broader social context. This has included research on education for homeless/street-connected children, those experiencing forced displacement and conflict, and research on education programs focusing on life-skills, financial capabilities, and children's rights.

Affiliated research centres

Project activity

My current research projects are focused on:

1. The social and academic effects of different institutional models for including forced migrants into education systems. This includes research completed in Jordan and planned research in Lebanon and Uganda as well as other contexts with large proportions of forced migrants.

2. Investigating the global international development financing and data eco-system and how its disruptions and rationales influence local communities. This includes an ongoing project, Disrupted Development, which tracks the long-term effects of the termination of USAID and broader international development reductions--this project is supported by supported by the the Tobias Center for Innovation in International Development at Indiana University Bloomington. https://edin.ac/4onAR0O

3. Improving the production and use of high quality evidence -- including non-indexed local evidence -- for the field of education in emergencies. This includes an ongoing collaboration with the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies. 

4. The development of new methods for detection student social networks and understanding their evolution over time, including through the incorporation of automated data collection methods leveraging machine learning and generative AI. This includes a pilot project in Uganda and future larger scale projects that combine with are my work on refugee school inclusion.

Current project grants

Rutkowski, D., Shephard, D., Montgomery, P. (2025). Disrupted Development. Tobias Center for Innovation in International Development at Indiana University Bloomington. [In-Kind Financing]

Past project grants

Shephard, D. (2024). Redefining refugees: The conversion of migrant status to refugee status in Jordan. Tobias Center for Innovation in International Development at Indiana University Bloomington. [Grant]

Shephard, D. (2023). Research Contract with UNESCO-IIEP on refugee education financing. [Research Consultancy]

Shephard, D. (2021). Social Networks and School Outcomes among Refugees and Host Students. NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship. [Fellowship]

Shephard, D. (2018-2021). Youth's experiences of the Mafita vocational training and apprenticeship programs in North West Nigeria: A Qualitative Report. [Research Consultancy]

Shephard, D. (2018). Reducing Vulnerability to Negative Coping Strategies Among Refugees in Jordan. Near East Foundation. [Research Consultancy]

Shephard, D. (2018). Research paper on the effect of peace education in Shatila, Lebanon. Basmeh and Zeitooneh and Malala Fund. [Research Consultancy]

Shephard, D. (2017). Meta-review of Oxfam Great Britain External Reviews on the Effectiveness of Influencing. Oxfam Great Britain. [Research Consultancy]

Yoong, J. & Salas, L. (2014) (Shephard, D. D. proposal co-designer as Senior Research and Education Manager at Aflatoun International). Strengthening Evaluation of Poverty Reduction Innovations. Asian Development Bank. [Grant]

Aflatoun International (Shephard, D. D. as PI) (2013-2014). Randomized controlled trial of social and financial education in Rwanda. United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) Innovation for Education fund. [Grant]

Conference details

I regularly present at CEIS and UKFIET and have also presented at ASA, AERA, and ISA.

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