Maegan Shanks receives prestigious fellowship to study disability inclusive education in Kenya

Maegan "Meg" Shanks, G-'15, Faculty and Program Assistant for the MA Program in International Development (IDMA) and the Certificate Program in Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Planning (DEP), has been awarded the 2024 National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship. The fellowship program's goal is to encourage a new generation of scholars from a wide range of disciplines to pursue work related to the improvement of education. Only 35 researchers are selected annually for the award, which includes a stipend of $27,500, two professional development retreats facilitated by scholars, and mentorship.

"I applied for the fellowship to gain more support as a student from marginalized identities. As a Deaf Black woman, I wanted to make sure that I had all the resources needed to complete my PhD," says Shanks, who is in the doctoral program in International Relations at American University's School of International Service.

Her research looks at how disability inclusive education policies are being made in Kenya. "Kenya is ahead in many ways," says Shanks, who explains that Kenya ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2008 and has since passed several disability inclusive education laws. In practical terms, she notes, that means a deaf child in Kenya has access to sign language education and to signing models in the classroom, and there is an allocated budget for accommodation needs.

But there is still a gap between these laws and the vision laid out in the CRPD. "The gap will help me understand where and how we can strengthen the implementation of said laws and policies," Shanks says. She plans to conduct one-on-one interviews with policy makers and lead focus groups to see how people in Kenya interpret disability access.

"My research is in Kenya, but I hope that it can support all countries in adapting their policies and laws to provide equitable education that goes beyond providing classroom access. It will show what meaningful participation is," she says. "Oftentimes, children with disabilities are a focus of one government agency such as the Ministry of Health while education is another. They don't always talk. We need to find out what can be done to break down silos and bring agencies together with the community. Does that mean more meetings? More people with disabilities becoming liaisons? I want to find out."

Shanks has been engaged in international development work since 2008, when she went to Costa Rica as an exchange student through Mobility International USA. After her undergraduate college graduation in 2011, she volunteered with an non-governmental organization in Kenya. "I was planning to be a lawyer, but I wanted to volunteer first," Shanks says. "It was a career changer. I became interested in the field when I saw the need for more deaf people and people with disabilities leading their own work and development."

As she has continued this mission and pursued her PhD, Shanks recognizes that she is an outlier. "I do not see many people who look like me doing research in this field at this level," she says. "I think the most important message for me with this award is to show other BIPOC, deaf, and disabled students that you can achieve what you set your mind to."