Elaine Chase

Professor Elaine Chase serves as Professor of Education, Wellbeing and International Development at University College London's Institute of Education (IOE), specifically within the Education, Practice & Society department. With extensive experience bridging academic research and practical application, she previously worked as a health promotion specialist in the UK and served as a youth health programme advisor with Namibia's Ministry of Youth and Sport for several years.

Her research focuses on the sociological dimensions of health, wellbeing and rights for marginalized individuals and communities, examining the critical interface between policy, practice and context through qualitative and mixed-method studies conducted internationally. Her work spans diverse vulnerable populations including young parents, youth in public care, young people accessing sexual and reproductive health services across Eastern Europe, Central Asia and MENA regions, HIV/AIDS-affected families, children living in poverty, and unaccompanied children seeking asylum across Europe.

Professor Chase currently leads multiple significant research initiatives: the Life Facing Deportation project examining immigration policies' impacts on children and families; the RELIEF project promoting transformative education in displacement contexts; the Children Caring on the Move project investigating separated child migrants; the Becoming Adult project exploring wellbeing outcomes for unaccompanied migrant youth transitioning to adulthood; the LOHST project studying pandemic impacts on unaccompanied migrant youth's service access; and the Connecting during COVID-19 project examining care and remittance practices among UK migrant communities. She also contributes to the London International Development Centre - Migration Leadership Team funded by ESRC and AHRC.

• Life Facing Deportation: Immigration policy impacts on vulnerable families
• RELIEF: Transformative education in displacement contexts
• Children Caring on the Move: Separated child migrants' care experiences
• Becoming Adult: Wellbeing outcomes as unaccompanied youth transition to adulthood
• LOHST: Pandemic impacts on unaccompanied migrant youth's service access
• Connecting during COVID-19: Care and remittance practices among UK migrant communities
• Poverty, Shame and Social Exclusion: Comparative research on poverty's social impacts

Her teaching responsibilities include the MA Education, Health Promotion and International Development program, coordination of the Dissertation with Integrated Research Teaching (DwIRT) module, and co-leadership of the Education, Migration and Development module with Amy North. She actively supervises multiple doctoral students conducting research in related fields.

Professor Chase's recent scholarly output demonstrates a strong emphasis on education in conflict-affected contexts (particularly Myanmar), migration studies, wellbeing research, and pandemic impacts on vulnerable populations. Her work consistently addresses policy-practice-context interfaces and employs participatory, trauma-informed methodologies appropriate for working with marginalized communities across multiple continents.