College of Education and Human Development

Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development

UNESCO Chair in Education, Gender Equity, and Wellbeing

In June 2025, the University of Minnesota established the UNESCO Chair in Education, Gender Equity, and Wellbeing to strengthen research for educational policy and practice in and between the Global North and South.

A UNESCO Chair is a team led by a higher education or research institution that partners with UNESCO on a project to advance knowledge and practice in an area of common priority. The partnership is formalized through an agreement between the Director-General of UNESCO and the head of the institution hosting the UNESCO Chair.

Read more from UNESCO: “What you need to know about the UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks”

UNSECO logo with text reading "UNESCO Chair"

Key objectives of the Chair

  1. Establish and deepen international partnership/collaboration between south-south and south-north universities, particularly between the University of Minnesota, The University of Western Cape, The University of Free State and Christ University, as well as among other organizations and institutions working on education, equity and wellbeing.
  2. Advance research on wellbeing, equity, and education, and particularly gender transformative and inclusive education, for utilization at local levels in Africa, India, and the U.S as well as in UNESCO and other global institutions.
  3. Develop capacity of junior researchers and students in Africa, India, and the U.S. to advance gender equity/inclusion, education, and wellbeing.

Wellbeing, Equity/Inclusion, and Education (WEE) Research Collaborative

One way in which the UNESCO Chairholders and their partners achieve the objectives of the Chair is through the Wellbeing, Equity/Inclusion and Education (WEE) research collaborative, which brings together and advances research on wellbeing, equity, and inclusion through education (specifically intersectional analyses of gender, race and disability) from different national contexts, particularly in the global South.

The research collaborative aims to contribute to global agendas and the Sustainable Development Goals that address quality education and gender equality through nationally and locally specific approaches. 

Chairholder

Joan DeJaeghere

Professor; Director of Global Education Research, CEHD
Curriculum Vitae (PDF)
    BIOGRAPHY

    Profile

    As the oldest daughter of parents who had to leave secondary school due to financial needs, I am committed to concerns related to educational equity and wellbeing. Critical feminist and capabilitarian approaches—because they are concerned with challenging inequities and power relations and promoting justice and wellbeing — are perspectives I use to understand these issues. My work contributes to these bodies of scholarship; for example, I recently completed a grant funded (Aus Aid) research study on minoritized women who had little access to education in Vietnam, and we published a piece on aspirations and empowerment in World Development.

    This work also illustrates another one of my commitments: collaborative knowledge production and use. I have worked for more than 15 years with colleagues in Vietnam, co-researching and publishing with them. I have also collaborated with colleagues and CIDE alums in conducting research related to gender equity, youth livelihoods, and life skills in India, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and South Africa. I have learned that the wicked problems we face in education require collaborative research using many approaches and methods. For that reason, I enjoy working with large research teams and using longitudinal mixed methods.

    My research and engagement inform all my teaching, and I bring these perspectives and methodologies into my courses. Students experience hands-on research projects in my courses, and I aim to connect them with internships and other opportunities in education and development so they can further advance their interests and skills outside our program.

    I welcome students who are interested in:

    • gender and other social inequalities in education
    • using a capabilities approach to questions of equity and wellbeing
    • qualitative longitudinal and mixed methods
    • feminist perspectives on knowledge production and scholarship

    Selected Courses Taught

    • 5107 Gender, Education and Development
    • 8101 International Development and Education
    • 8103 Comparative Education
    • 8105 Qualitative Longitudinal Research in Education

    Selected Research Projects

    • Gender Responsive Equitable Agriculture and Tourism (GREAT) for ethnic minority women in Vietnam, sponsored by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and CowaterSogema (2019-2021)
    • Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE), Vietnam, sponsored by Department for International Development, UK (2016-2022)
    • Evaluation of Life skills Program and Girls’ Progression through Secondary School, Rajasthan, India, sponsored by Department of Labor (2015-19)
    • Learn, Earn and Save Initiative for Youth Livelihoods in East Africa, sponsored by The MasterCard Foundation [co-PI with David Chapman] (2011-2018)

    Selected Honors

    • Global Engagement Award, UMN Global Programs and Strategy Alliance (2018)
    • CEHD Excellence in Research Award (2015)
    • Fulbright Scholar, Vietnam (2013)
    • CEHD’s Women’s Philanthropic Circle Leadership Award (2009)
    • Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Minnesota, Faculty Fellow (2009)

    Professional Affiliations

    Headshot of Joan DeJaeghere
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    Co-Chairholder

    Karen Brown

    Senior Researcher, Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change
      BIOGRAPHY

      As the former Director of the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change and over nearly 30 years at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Brown has directed international and interdisciplinary education and research programs including the ICGC Scholars fellowship programs and a partnership with the Centre for Humanities Research at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. In her ICGC role, she co-founded the Master of Development Practice degree program in international development studies with the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. She serves as a Graduate Faculty member in Development Studies and Social Change (ICGC), Feminist Studies (CLA), the Human Rights Program (HHH/CLA), Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development (CEHD) and the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

      Dr. Brown’s past positions include Assistant Vice President for International Scholarship in which she directed the University’s system-wide Global Spotlight grants program to support international and interdisciplinary research and Special Assistant for International Scholarship in the Global Programs and Strategy Alliance. Dr. Brown earned her Ph.D. in Political Science (University of Minnesota) with concentrations in International Relations and Comparative Politics. She also earned an M.A. in East Asian Studies (University of Minnesota) and a B.S. in Chinese (Georgetown University). Her academic interests focus on gender and public policy in global context, international women's and children's human rights, girls in global policy, interdisciplinary education and international research ethics and methods.

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      Partners

      The University of Western Cape, Institute of Social Development 

      • Roles and contributions: Researchers from the Institute of Social Development conduct research on race, gender, and inclusion.

      The University of Free State, Higher Education and Human Development Research Group

      • Roles and contributions: Researchers from the Center of Higher Education and Human Development conduct research on gender, race, and migration in higher education.

      Christ (deemed to be) University, School of Social Sciences, Departments of Psychology and Education 

      • Roles and contributions: Researchers and educators from the departments of psychology and education conduct research on gender, caste, ability, and education.