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Research Projects

Collaborative action research spanning education, language, history, and social change

4 Active Projects
4+ Countries
18+ Publications
50+ Collaborators

INARELS sustains several lines of research programs simultaneously under the leadership of independent teams of experts who work collaboratively with relevant community partners, schools, and policy makers. Projects span educational issues relating to language, culture, politics, economics, history, and the environment.

Active West & East Africa
Education History
Lead Researcher Desmond Ikenna Odugu, Ph.D.

Historicizing History Education

Education systems in several African countries have either reduced or eliminated history curriculum at secondary levels. This comparative inquiry examines the forces responsible for disinvestment in history education in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda — engaging academic experts, teachers, parents, community leaders, and policymakers.

Countries Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda
Discipline Comparative Education, History
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Active Pan-African
Language History Society
Lead Researcher Desmond Ikenna Odugu, Ph.D.

Language, Historical Literacies and Civic Engagement

A large-scale, cross-cultural comparative program investigating the intersection of language practices, historical literacies, and civic engagement in multilingual African societies. Re-conceptualizes social development in terms of individual attitudes to civic engagement and explores social identity as a mediating variable.

Scope Multilingual African societies
Discipline Sociolinguistics, Civic Studies
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Active USA / Diaspora
Education Society Diaspora
Lead Researcher Desmond Ikenna Odugu, Ph.D.

Achievement Gap and Intra-racial Dynamics (AGIRD)

Builds on extensive research on the educational experiences of African American students in the United States — including disaggregated data on immigrant and non-immigrant Black students. Explores immigration trends, socialization patterns, and academic achievement, with initial findings suggesting historical literacies may account for sub-cultural dynamics.

Region Midwest USA (initial phase)
Discipline Education, Sociology
Publications Member Access
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Dissemination Phase Africa-wide
Language Education Society
Lead Researcher Desmond Ikenna Odugu, Ph.D.

Language, Education, and Development

A decade of fieldwork on the imbrications of language, education, and development in Africa has produced extensive empirical evidence of language's significance to educational and social change processes. INARELS researchers are now developing dissemination plans including publication, conferences, and community outreach.

Scope Africa-wide fieldwork
Phase Dissemination & Publication
Publications Data Access Field Images Member Access
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Geographic Reach

Where INARELS Research Takes Place

Projects are grounded in specific communities and research sites. The map below reflects the current geographic footprint of INARELS — from West African classrooms to East African universities to the North American diaspora.

Major research site
Contributing site
INARELS HQ (Lake Forest, IL)
Nigeria Projects 1, 2, 4
Ghana Projects 1, 2, 4
Kenya Projects 1, 2
Uganda Project 1
Tanzania Project 2
Botswana Projects 2, 4
United States Project 3 (AGIRD)

Data Access & Sharing Policy

Access to project-specific data is managed on a project-by-project basis, determined by each lead researcher in consultation with all collaborators. Web registration and notification of the INARELS Leadership Team are required to access data. Full data sets may be available for teaching purposes with an electronic agreement. Learn more about data access →

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