Nidhi Singal
- DMB - Room 3S9 Location
- sn241@cam.ac.uk Email
- +44 (0)1223 7 67608 Telephone
Qualifications
- PhD University of Cambridge
- MPhil in Education University of Cambridge
- M.A. Applied Psychology University of Delhi
- B.A. (Honours) Applied Psychology University of Delhi
Memberships/Professional Bodies
Vice President Hughes Hall
Personal profile
Nidhi’s core areas of research interest lie in addressing issues of educational inequity among marginalised groups in Southern contexts. She has worked extensively with children and young people with disabilities in South Asia and Africa. Her research has focused on the experiences of children with disabilities attending a range of different educational arrangements the quality of teaching and learning in these settings and the impact of schooling on short and long term outcomes. Another important dimension in her work has been the development of culturally sensitive approaches in educational research. She is particularly interested in examining critically power relations in North-South research partnerships the ethics of research dissemination and the impact of educational research on policy making for children with disabilities.
She has extensive experience of working with key international agencies such as World Bank UNESCO-IIEP and UNESCO alongside disability specific international non-governmental organisations’ such as Humanity and Inclusion and Light for the World assisting them in developing research projects programme evaluation and policy work. Her work has been contributed to key developments in the field of disability and education. For the first Global Disability Summit co-hosted by the Department for International Development (UK) International Disability Alliance and Government of Kenya she led the drafting of the International Statement of Action “Accelerate Equitable and Quality Inclusive Education for Children and Youth with Disabilities” which has been signed by 31 donor agencies international NGOs research organisations and global education networks.
In 2021 Nidhi was appointed Deputy Chair of the UNPRPD Partnership Advisory Group hosted by UKRI. Among other current engagements she is a member of the Technical Advisory Council of the World Bank’s Inclusive Education Initiative; is on the Advisory panel for the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative’s disability and gender report; and contributes to the IIEP-UNESCO/UNICEF Foundations of Disability-Inclusive Education Sector Planning Course. Previously she has worked with the International Commission on Financing Global Education as the Disability Expert on The Education Workforce Initiative. She was part of the Technical Advisory Review Team for the Global Education Monitoring Report on Inclusive Education (2020) and was commissioned to write a background paper.
Nidhi is the Vice President of Hughes Hall the oldest graduate college of the University. In 2014 she was appointed a Trustee of the Cambridge Trust the biggest student grant making body in Cambridge. She is also a Trustee of UKFIET.
Academic area and links
- MPhil [Coordinator]: Education Globalisation and International Development
- Doctoral supervisions
Nidhi has a vibrant group of post graduate students working on two intertwined but distinct areas of: inclusive education- focusing on examining quality of classroom processes and introduction of new schooling reform efforts; and those working specifically on deepening scholarship in disability and education. Her research group have been central in collectively launching the Cambridge Network for Disability and Education Research (CaNDER) and the South Asian Approaches to Researching Education (@SaareNetwork)- both are key international networks drawing together diverse stakeholders from the Global South.
Research Topics
- Disability poverty and development
- Qualitative educational research in Southern countries
- Southern perspectives on inclusive and special education
Current Research Projects
- Evaluation of the Girls Education Challenge Fund II: Disability project
- Teachers with disabilities in primary schools in Ethiopia Cambridge Africa Alborada Fund
- Teacher effectiveness in secondary schools in Africa MasterCard Foundation
- Evaluation of the Inclusive Education Resource Centres in Ethiopia World Bank
Papers (only those since 2021)
Nowack, S., Gibson, J., and Singal, N. (2026). Autism and Education Research in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Literature Review. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-026-00574-w
Nowack, S. K., Singal, N., Gibson, J. L., & Dawson-Squibb, J.-J. (2026). Qualitative approaches to developmental psychology: Negotiating power, ethics, and geographies when researching in South African schools for autistic children. Methods in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metip.2026.100226
Sabates, R., Singal, N., Teferra, T., & Tiruneh, D. T. (2025). Disability and learning in Ethiopia: what changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic? International Journal of Inclusive Education, 29 (13), 2253–2272. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2024.2342362
Gao, A. L., Carter, E., Kwok, P. K. P., Shima, L. & Singal, N. (2025). Engaging student voice in Rwandan secondary schools: Understanding factors supporting learning in STEM and future aspirations. British Educational Research Journal, 51, 2920–2941. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.4201
Carter, E., Shima, L., & Singal, N. (2025). Understanding and addressing gendered learning and socioemotional differences among students: teachers’ insights from Rwanda. Cambridge Journal of Education, 55(5), 605–627. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2025.2534347
Lynch, P., Singal, N., & Francis, G. A. (2024). Educational technology for learners with disabilities in primary school settings in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic literature review. Educational Review, 76(2), 405–431. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2022.2035685
Carter, E., Kwok, P. K. P., Shima, L., & Singal, N. (2023). ‘A good teacher should…’: exploring student perceptions of teaching quality in Rwandan secondary education. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 28(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2023.2261545
Molina E. Carter E. Luna Bazaldua D. Pushparatnum A. & Singal N. (2024). Teaching for All? Measuring the Quality of Inclusive Practices Across Eight Countries. Compare.
Lynch P. Singal N. & Francis G. A.(2024). Educational technology for learners with disabilities in primary school settings in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic literature review Educational Review 76:2 405-431 DOI: 10.1080/00131911.2022.2035685
Khalid A. and Singal N. (2022). Parents as partners in education during COVID-19-related schoolclosures in England: challenges and opportunities identified by parents with Pakistani and Bangladeshi
heritage Journal of Family Studies DOI: 10.1080/13229400.2022.2098804
Carter E. Kangabe B and Singal. N. (2022). Head teacher and government official’s perceptions of teaching quality in Rwanda. Educational Management Administration and Leadership.
https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432221130587 [Open Access]
Taneja-Johansson S. and Singal N. (2021). (Special Issue Editors) Pathways to inclusive and equitable quality education for people with disabilities: cross-context conversations and mutual learning International Journal of Inclusive Education DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2021.1965799
Singal N. Mbukwa-Ngwira J. Taneja-Johansson S. Lynch P. Chatha G. and Umar E. (2021) Impact of Covid-19 on the education of children with disabilities in Malawi: reshaping parental engagement for the future International Journal of Inclusive Education DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2021.1965804
Carter E. Onwuegbuzie A. Singal N. and van der Velde L. (2021). Perceptions of teaching quality in Rwandan secondary schools: A contextual analysis. International Journal of Educational Research Volume 109.
Taneja-Johansson S. Singal N. and Samson M. (2021). Education of Children with Disabilities in Rural Indian Government Schools: A Long Road to Inclusion International Journal of Disability Development and Education DOI: 10.1080/1034912X.2021.1917525
Ware H. Singal N. and Groce N. (2021). The work lives of disabled teachers: revisiting inclusive education in English schools Disability & Society DOI: 10.1080/09687599.2020.1867074
Book Chapters (only those since 2021)
Singal, N. and Wijesinghe, T. (2024) Education against (Dis)ableism. Experience of teachers with disabilities in mainstream schools. In The Routledge Companion to Disability and Work, Routledge.
Singal, N. (2023). Teachers with disabilities in mainstream schools: embodying and enacting inclusive education. In International Encyclopaedia of Education. Elsevier.
Singal, N. (2022). Inclusion and disability in Southern contexts. The Digitalization of Education. NORRAG.
Singal, N. (2021). Education of children with disabilities in the South Asian context. In Handbook of Education Systems in South Asia.
Singal N. (2021). Addressing dilemmas of difference: Teachers’ strategies to include children with disabilities in rural primary schools in India. In Reforming Education and Challenging Inequalities in Southern Contexts, Routledge.
Writing for research outreach (only those since 2021)
The sound of equity: Teachers’ school journeys captured through soundscapes.
Not the exception, but essential. Teachers with disabilities in mainstream classrooms.
Teaching against the odds: Teachers with disabilities in Indian mainstream schools.
The intersection of climate, disability and education: what can we learn from current scholarship?
Educating children with disabilities: Addressing the unfinished agenda. Reflections a decade later.
Disability-inclusive education: An analysis of commitments made at global summits
Being a teacher with disabilities: Experiences from across five countries.
Professional publications (only those since 2021)
Singal, N. and Godwin, K (2026). A missing link for inclusive education: The importance of supporting teachers with disabilities to ensure learning for all. Learning Generation Initiative.
Singal, N., Kwok, P., and Wijesinghe, T. (2024). Being a teacher with disabilities: Perspectives, practices and opportunities. British Council.
Singal, N., Niaz, L., Gupta, R., Bligh, L., Oganda-Portela, M.J., Aslam, M. and Rawal, S. (2023). Independent evaluation of the Girls’ Education Challenge Phase II – Evaluation study 4: Educating girls with disabilities in GEC II
Singal, N- World Bank (2023). Approaches to deliver Inclusive Education in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Kurian N. and Singal N. (2022). Conducting rigorous and ethical educational research with young people in sub-Saharan Africa: A review of the literature. Leaders in Teaching Research and Policy Series.
Molina Ezequiel M. Pushparatnam A. Melo C. Wilichowsk T. Mijares A. T. T. Ding E. Beth J. Carter E and Singal N. (2021). Teach Primary (Second Edition). Washington DC: The World Bank. License: Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 4.0 IGO
Singal N. et al. (2021). Revisiting Equity: COVID-19 and Education of Children with Disabilities. Qatar: WISE.
Singal N. and Ware H. (2021) English language teachers with disabilities: an exploratory study across four countries. British Council.