PROF. NIRMALA RAO
PROF. NIRMALA RAO
Ph.D., C. Psychol., FPBS, FHKPS
Nirmala Rao is a Serena H C Yang Professor in Early Childhood Development and Education, Chair Professor of Child Development and Education, and Director of the Consortium for Research on Early Childhood Development and Education (CORE), Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong (HKU).
She is a Developmental and Chartered (Educational) Psychologist by training and has conducted research on early childhood development and education in Asian cultural contexts. Professor Rao has published widely and serves on the Editorial Board for premier scholarly journals. She is a regular participant in high-level international meetings, written advocacy material, and undertaken consultancies for international organisations. Professor Rao has received awards for both research and teaching.
AREA OF RESEARCH
Early Childhood Development and Education
Child Development and Educational Policy
Developmental and Educational Psychology
Culture and Pedagogy
HK$200M+
Grants
Received
300+
Research
Outputs
30+
Supervised Doctoral Students
UNICEF
Research Impact: EAP-ECDS as Best of UNICEF Research 2015
3
Administrative Leadership across Faculty of Education, Graduate School and HKU
KEY PROJECTS
Validation, Finalization and Adoption of the East Asia-Pacific Early Child
Development Scales (EAP-ECDS)
Validation, Finalization and Adoption of the East Asia-Pacific Early Child Development Scales (EAP-ECDS)
Early childhood development, preschool quality, school readiness and early achievement: A longitudinal study in China
Early childhood development, preschool quality, school readiness and early achievement: A longitudinal study in China
RECENT AWARDS
Outstanding Researcher Award (ORA)
HKU
Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship
Best of UNICEF Research
RGC
UNICEF