Degrees

MSc in Development Management (London School of Economics and Political Science)

PhD in Education (Institute of Education, University College London)

Research interests

My research is centred on the critical theme of inclusion in education, with a particular emphasis on three key dimensions: religion, gender, and disability. My PhD research explored the role of religion in classrooms in Pakistan with a focus on students’ national identities, construction of ‘self’ and the ‘other’ and moral education.

In my post-doctoral work, I have shifted my focus to the imperative issue of disability inclusive education, particularly concerning the education of girls with disabilities in the Global South. My research is grounded in the broader principles of social justice, and I am highly interested in the intersectionality of multiple forms of marginalisation. I also am interested in academic research’s practical applicability in policymaking. I have hence participated in multiple inclusion-focused research projects and worked with a range of organisations (IGOs, Academic institutions and NGOs).

Teaching Interests

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods

Education, Globalisation, and International Development

Publications

Niaz, L. & Anand, K. (2023). Populist Visions and Exclusion: Analysing Educational Policy Reforms in India and Pakistan in Exploring Education and Democratization in South Asia: Research, Policy, and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan.

Niaz, L. (2023). Pandemics, Media and Religion: Engendering the Narrative of the ‘other’ in Media Narratives During the Corona Pandemic: The Asian Experience Currently in publication. Routledge India.

Niaz, L; Chaudhary, C.H; Anand, K. (2023). Opportunities and Challenges of Tele Schooling: Lessons from Pakistan. In Rethinking Education in the Context of Post-Pandemic South Asia: Challenges and Possibilities. Routledge.

Niaz, L.; Anand, K.; Panjwani, F.; Lall, M. (2023). Religion and the construction of National Identity through Textbooks. In Bloomsbury Handbook of Schools and Religion.

Anand, K; Niaz, L. (2023). Towards Two Literate Nations: An Overview of Two Foundational Learning Programs in India and Pakistan In Foundational Learning: Debates and Praxis. NORRAG.

Fatima, T; Niaz, L. (2023). Failing to Learn: How Learning has taken a Backseat in Pakistan. In Politics, Economy and Society: Essays on Pakistan and Beyond. Folio Books.

Niaz, L. (2022). God in the Classroom: Exploring the Role of Religion in Five Case Study Schools in Lahore. PhD Thesis.

Anand, K., & Niaz, L. (2022). The Precarious State of Academic Freedom in Higher Education: The Case of India and Pakistan. In Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion (RSSSR). BRILL. Volume 32.

Niaz, L.; Anand, K. (2021). University Spaces as Agents of National Belonging: Analysing the Hidden Curriculum of Public Universities’ Campuses in India and Pakistan. Educ. Sci, 11.

Jamil, B. R., & Niaz, L. (2020). Teaching Religion in Schools: Practices and Impact in South Asian Countries. In Quality Education vs Fanatic Literacy. Centre for Social Justice.

Other interests

Teaching and learning dance forms, policy and political activism.