Who I am: I’m a Senior Researcher in Stellenbosch University's Department of Economics, South Africa. I work with a great group of researchers at Resep. I’m also the PI of the Roots and Shoots study. I hold a PhD in Economics from Stellenbosch University, where I obtained a Master’s in Economics and Bachelor’s in Value and Policy Studies. 

 

What I do: I'm an education researcher working at the intersection of data, equity, and imagination. For over a decade, I've studied how children learn—and why so many don’t—focusing on foundational skills, teacher support, and the hidden forces that shape educational outcomes in South Africa. My work blends rigorous analysis with a deep concern for justice and possibility.

 

Until recently, my career goal was to inform policy that could meaningfully raise the learning outcomes of African children. I was particularly interested in the potential of socio-emotional skills to support academic achievement, especially in under-resourced contexts where traditional levers—like curriculum or infrastructure—often fall short. My work focused on measuring these skills in South African children, exploring their links to literacy and numeracy outcomes, and understanding how these relationships vary across school quality. But over time, I’ve grown increasingly aware of the limitations of working within the existing system. I’m now asking deeper questions—about what education is for, who it serves, and how it might be radically reimagined to prepare young people not just to survive in a broken world, but to help heal and remake it.

 

My research has been featured on a number of South African media platforms, including the Financial Mail, the Daily Maverick, City Press and Rapport. I have contributed to radio conversations on SAfm and Radio 702.

 

I was selected as a GEAI Africa Fellow in Education 2023-2025. 

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You can download my CV here.