Michele Giannola

Research Focus

Millions of children are at risk of inadequate care and stimulation at home and school, leading to persistent variability in the skills of affluent and deprived children. Since learning follows hierarchical rules, understanding how home and school environments interact is key to helping children reach their potential. I will explore these questions in three projects. Using longitudinal data from a parenting and teacher intervention in Colombia, I will analyze home and school inputs, dynamic interactions and whether they are complements or substitutes for learning. Second, drawing on unique data collected with the Palestinian Ministry of Education, I will study how variation in conflict exposure at home affects child development and assess the mitigating role of high-quality school environments. Informed by the findings, I will then field an international survey of parents and teachers to explore mechanisms and examine perceptions about high-quality learning environments, how they vary across respondents (e.g., by SES, culture), and how they compare with objective quality measures. These projects aim to inform policies that support every learner to thrive even in challenging contexts.