Biography

Kofi Marfo is Professor and Foundation Director, Institute for Human Development, Aga Khan University (South-Central Asia, East Africa, UK). Kofi has previously held positions at the University of South Florida, Kent State University, Memorial University of Newfoundland, University of Alberta, and the University of Cape Coast. His current scholarly interests include: developmental science, social policy and childhood interventions; advancement of a global science of human development; and philosophical issues in behavioral science and education research. He has published in the areas of early child development, parent-child interaction, behavioral development in Chinese children adopted into the US, and childhood disability in low/middle-income countries. Kofi co-leads an initiative to strengthen Africa’s contributions to child development research, and is co-convener of the African Scholars Workshops (in Child/Early Child Development). Kofi has served on SRCD’s Governing Council, and is a member of the National Academies of Science Forum, Investing in Young Children Globally.

Hirokazu Yoshikawa is the Courtney Sale Ross Professor of Globalization and Education, and a University Professor at New York University. He conducts research on the effects of programs and policies related to early childhood development, immigration and poverty on child and youth development. He co-directs (with Larry Aber) the Global TIES for Children Center at New York University. He is aso Co-Chair of the Thematic Network on Early Childhood Development and Education (i.e., for the area of Sustainable Development Goal, or SDG 4) of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), the research network advising the Secretary-General on the development and implementation of the global SDGs. He serves on the boards of trustees of the Russell Sage Foundation and the Foundation for Child Development, and the advisory boards of the Early Childhood Program of the Open Society Foundations and the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report.

Lawrence Aber is the Willner Family Professor of Psychology and Public Policy at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, and University Professor at New York University. He received his Ph. D. in Clinical-Community and Developmental Psychology from Yale University. His basic research examines the influence of poverty and violence, at the family and community levels, on the social, emotional, behavioral, cognitive and academic development of children and youth. Currently, he conducts research on the impact of poverty and HIV/AIDS on children’s development in South Africa (in collaboration with the Human Sciences Research Council), the impact of preschool teacher training quality and children’s learning and development in Ghana (in collaboration with Innovations for Poverty Action) and on school- and community-based interventions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, Sierra Leone and Lebanon (in collaboration with the International Rescue Committee).

2-150 - Child Development in Low-Income and Conflict-Affected Countries: Policy and Research Directions

Session Type: Invited SRCD Salon

Sub Unit

• Invited Program on Global Change & Child Development

Moderator

• Kofi Marfo, Institute of Human Development, The Aga Khan University, Kenya

Panelists

• Hirokazu Yoshikawa, New York University

• J. Lawrence Aber, New York University