Engaged Scholarship.

Short Articles

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.

Research Reports and White Papers

Mendenhall, M. (2025). Teachers in Refugee and Displacement Settings Challenges and Strategies for Teacher Quality and Workforce Sustainability  (research report). UNHCR.

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.

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

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.

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., Russell, S.G., & Buckner, E. (2017). Urban refugee education: Strengthening policies and practices for access, quality and inclusion (policy report). Teachers College, Columbia University.

Mendenhall, M., Russell, S.G., & Buckner, E. (2017). Urban refugee education: Guidelines and practical strategies for strengthening support to improve educational quality for all (programmatic guidance report). Teachers College, Columbia University.

Mendenhall, M., Russell, S.G., & Buckner, E. (2017). Urban refugee education: Priorities for policies and programs (advocacy brief). Teachers College, Columbia University.

Winthrop, R., & Mendenhall, M. (2006). Education in emergencies: A critical factor in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (policy brief). Commonwealth Ministers Reference Book. Commonwealth Secretariat.

Case Studies

Mendenhall, M. & Hough, W. (2025). 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. (2025). 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.

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.

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. (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.

Teaching, Learning & Training Resources

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.

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

Op-Eds, Photo Essays & Other Think Pieces

Sherif, Y., Brooks, D., & Mendenhall, M. (2020). Teachers shoulder the burden: Improving support in crisis contexts (Op-Ed written for World Teachers’ Day 2020). Inter Press Service News Agency.

Mendenhall, M. (2019). Navigating the humanitarian-development nexus in forced displacement contexts (think piece). UNICEF Think Piece Series: Education in Emergencies. UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office.

Mendenhall, M., Collas, S., & Falk, D. (2017). Educating the future amidst displacement: refugee teachers in Kakuma Refugee Camp. Reconsidering Development, 5(1). [photo essay]

Podcasts

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

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