Child Protection and Education in the Context of Rising Heat and Drought Across Africa

ESRC Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) collaborative doctoral studentship.

The Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

 

SUPERVISORS

Associate Professor William Rudgard, University of Oxford
Professor Lucie Cluver, University of Oxford

 

PROJECT OVERVIEW

This project will support the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in understanding and mitigating the impacts of increasing heatwaves and drought on child protection and education across Africa. The student will generate new evidence to inform early warning systems for disaster risk management, ensuring that humanitarian responses better integrate children’s needs, through research questions focusing on sub-Saharan Africa including:

  1. What is the extent of exposure of children to protection and education risks associated with heatwaves and drought?
  2. What is driving the effects of heatwaves and drought on child protection and education outcomes?
  3. Are subgroups of children at higher risk? For example, children with disabilities, children who are alone (orphans, connected to the streets, unaccompanied or separated).

4. In what ways are school systems in Africa currently engaged in heatwave and drought preparedness, and how can education systems more effectively reduce children’s risks?

Anticipated methods for Research Questions 1-3 include advanced statistical analyses of existing datasets and combining of climate data with child protection and education survey data. The student will work with IFRC to identify countries of most interest, research the most relevant data (including a prioritisation of longitudinal datasets), and conduct merging with geospatial data to link climate and child survey data across multiple countries, likely utilising machine learning methods. The student will then conduct multivariate regression, mediation, and moderation analyses to identify extent of risks, potential pathways of risk, and sub-groups of children at exacerbated risk, and to test associations between school heatwave preparedness and protection and education outcomes.

Key outputs to be jointly developed include:

  • A briefing paper and results to be shared within the IFRC Network of 191 National Societies, and within relevant networks it participates in.
  • Child-friendly materials to support disaster preparedness, particularly in schools.
  • Guidance for IFRC National Societies in identifying children at greatest risk of heatwaves and droughts.
  • Development of evidence-based recommendations to support schools to reduce children’s risks related to heatwaves and droughts.

PARTNERSHIP

The IFRC is the world's largest humanitarian network, active in more than 191 countries, bringing together more than 16 million volunteers. The IFRC acts before, during, and after disasters and health emergencies to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people, reaching 160 million people every year through long-term services, development programmes, and disaster response, and to improve global humanitarian standards. The partner for this project is the IFRC Protection, Gender and Inclusion and Education Global Teams, which will contribute unparalleled expertise in developing and enhancing support tools - such as guidance, implementation tools, and training – used by IFRC National Societies in implementing safeguarding within their institutional systems. The teams’ expertise further includes supporting the development of strategies and operational plans, and during emergencies, enhancing the operational coordination and cooperation on Protection, Gender and Inclusion, and Education at field and regional levels. IFRC will contribute access to geocoded humanitarian preparedness and response data, to allow analysis of research questions. The student will gain expertise on climate data and analysis and will share knowledge about child-focused risks.

 

STUDENTSHIP DETAILS

The PhD studentship will be funded by the Grand Union DTP for an expected 3.5 years (or part-time equivalent) from October 2025. The award length offered may differ depending on the candidate’s prior training and how they meet ESRC training requirements. The part-time option is only available to students with a Home status, or those that do not require a Visa for study in the UK.

Information about Grand Union DTP ESRC studentships and eligibility can be found on the Grand Union DTP website.

 

APPLICATION DEADLINE

12:00 midday UK time on 27th January 2026

 

HOW TO APPLY

To apply for the studentship, you must submit an application to study for a DPhil in Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation at the University of Oxford. Details about applying can be found via https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/courses/dphil-social-intervention 

Your application should include a research proposal that indicates how your proposed research would engage with the core elements of this project if you were offered the studentship. Your proposal may draw on the description of the research detailed above.

In addition you must complete a Grand Union DTP Application Form  and upload it, together with your graduate application form. Please ensure you also select 'ESRC Grand Union DTP Studentships in Social Sciences' in the University of Oxford scholarships section of the University's graduate application form.

The admissions process is in two parts: applications will be assessed by the institution and the selected candidate will then be assessed as part of the applicant pool for ESRC Grand Union DTP funding.

 

QUERIES

Queries about the studentship should be addressed to Associate Professor William Rudgard (william.rudgard@spi.ox.ac.uk)