About

Maurice Sikenyi is the assistant director of the Ford Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Hailing from Kenya, he is an educational and international development scholar, practitioner, researcher, teacher, and leader. 

Prior to his current position, Sikenyi worked with governments, schools, donor agencies, women, youth, and vulnerable populations, supporting research, monitoring, and evaluation in international development for almost 10 years, including as global manager of literacy program research for the international NGO Room to Read.

His research focuses on the intersections of education, armed conflict, and development in developing countries. His recent research projects have examined higher education and peacebuilding in Africa, teachers’ applications of local knowledge and innovative strategies to address barriers to better education outcomes, youth unemployment and peace in Africa, education in emergencies, and the role of school leadership and peer coaching in improving teacher performance.

He has been a Matasa Fellow with the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex (UK) and a Fulbright Fellow with Syracuse University.

Sikenyi earned a PhD in education and development studies from the University of Minnesota and an MA in peace studies from the University of Notre Dame through the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.