Tata Institute of Social Sciences

Dr. Meera Gopi Chandran

Assistant Professor
Mumbai Campus, Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education, School of Education

Qualification

Ph.D. in Education, TISS Mumbai
M.A. in Sociology, Madurai Kamraj University
M.Sc. Life Sciences, Madras University

Contact

meera.chandran[at]tiss[dot]ac[dot]in

meera.chandran@tiss.ac.in

Meera Chandran is Assistant Professor at Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, School of Education, Mumbai. Her research is located within the disciplinary perspectives of Sociology and Political Economy of Education. She has worked extensively in the fields of development and education - research and field action.

She teaches Sociology of Education; Policy Institutions and Practices; Education, Development and Policy, Teachers and Teaching; Global Teacher Education Policy and Practice; Intersections of Education and Development.

She has been a part of several research projects: Research Lead of the Connected Learning Initiative (CLIx), Co-PI of the Government of India SPARC-CLIx project and the multi university collaborative project on Global Policy and Practice in Teacher Education. She leads CETE’s Longitudinal Study in Teacher Education (LiSTEn). She is a co-PI of a research project on Estimating the requirements of 21st century schooling, commissioned by NITI Ayog (2025-26).

Sociology of Education, Policy Sociology, Education & Development

Global and Comparative Education & Teacher Education

Teacher's work, knowledge, identities

Urban schooling and livelihoods

Recent Publications

Chandran (2026). Teaching as social practice: Negotiating social divide in an
urban middle school for the poor in India. Review of Education https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.70136

Ramchand, M., & Chandran, M. (2026). Quality, equity, and scale in the Indian School Education System: Large-scale policy reforms. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 34. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.34.9013

Stump, G.S., Chandran, M., Medh, P., Balli, O., (2025).Teacher Agency: A teaching case study from the Connected Learning Initiative. Open Access Teaching Case Journals. https://doi.org/10.58067/53ft-2w82

Chandran, M., Padalkar, S., & Shimray, R. A. (2024). Motivation to Become a Teacher: Emerging Trends From a Study of Preservice Teacher Education. Contemporary Education Dialogue, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/09731849241300796

Sayed, Y., Chandran, M., & Pappu, R. (2024). Education Policy Imaginary and Crises: The Case of EdTech and the COVID-19 Crisis. Contemporary Education Dialogue, 21(1), 135-142. https://doi.org/10.1177/09731849231206217

Ramchand, M., Chandran, M., Rai, R., & Vithanapathirana, M. (2023). School Practicum Experience in Initial Teacher Education during Times of Disruptions: The Case of Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka. In: Uma Pradhan, Karen Valentin and Mohini Gupta (Eds.). Rethinking Education in the Context of Post-Pandemic South Asia: Challenges and Possibilities. Routledge. ISBN 9781032365664, 242 Pages, Published June 20, 2023 by Routledge

Maniar, V., Chandran, M. (2022). Education and livelihoods in the global south. In Nunan, F., Barnes, C., & Krishnamurthy, S. (Eds.). (2022). The Routledge Handbook on Livelihoods in the Global South (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003014041

Chandran M., Sharma, P., Kannamma, E. (2021). Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education and teaching in Asia-Pacific: Future of work in education. Education International-Asia Pacific, Kuala Lumpur. Accessed on 19/8/24 from https://www.ei-ie.org/en/item/25577:asia-pacific-living-and-working-conditions-of-educators-severely-impacted-by-the-pandemic

Chandran M. (2021). Teacher accountability and education restructuring: an exploration of teachers’ work identities in an urban school for poor in India. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/09620214.2020.1855462

Chandran M. (2020). Teachers’ Work and Identity, A Case for Strengthening Knowledge Relations. In (Ed) Iyer, P., Proceedings of the International Conferences on Philosophy of Education, Azim Premji University. ISBN:9789387676732

Chandran M., et.al (2020). Making Edtech Work for Secondary Students and their Teachers: Research findings from Connected Learning Initiative- Phase 1. TISS. Accessed on 19/8/24 from, https://clix.tiss.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Making-Edtech-Work_Research-Findings_CLIx-Phase-I.pdf

Sarangapani. P., Chandran M. (2020) Whither the Teaching Profession? Inspecting some silences in the NEP 2020, Accessed on 19/8/24, from, https://thebastion.co.in/politics-and/whither-the-teaching-profession-inspecting-some-silences-in-the-nep-2020

2025- Present

Estimating the requirements of schooling in the 21st century (study commissioned by Niti Ayog)

2020 - Present

Co-PI LiSTEn, CETE

2020-2023

Co-PI SPARC - CLIx
Principal Investigator - Study on understanding social mobility & aspirations among urban poor students

2018 - 2020

Lead, Research. Connected Learning Initiative.

2016-2017

Course Lead. Teacher Professional Development in ICT Integration, Connected Learning Initiative

2012 – 2015

Principal Investigator. Teacher Professional Development through Whole Class Technology Integration: A Study in 12 Government Schools in Karnataka

2013-2014

Lead Researcher. Professional Learning Communities of Teachers – A Study on the Voluntary Teacher Forums in Rajasthan

2010-2012

Principal Investigator, Activity Based Learning - A Study among Government School Teachers in Puducherry

2005 – 2010

Research Lead. Baseline study on Whole School Improvement in Low Cost Private Schools in Bangalore

Research Lead. Evaluation of School Safety and Sensitivity

Research Lead. Teachers as Reflective Practitioners

Research Lead. Evaluation of In-service Teacher Professional Development in Government Schools

2016 - Present (MA Eduation & B.Ed M.Ed, TISS Mumbai)

Sociology of Education
Policy Institutions and Practices
Global Teacher Education Policies & Practices
Social Marginality
Education Development and Policy
Teachers & Teaching
Research Methodology
Teacher Professional Development

2012 - 2015 (MA Education & MA Development, Azim Premji University)

Sociology of Education
Advanced Social Research
Introduction to Research

Workshops & Seminars:

Have conducted over 75 Workshops and Seminars with professionals in the field of education.