Broad areas of research interest relate to education, gender, development and social justice. Within the field of education, Rekha Pappu is particularly interested in the areas of education policy, history of education, pedagogy and teacher professional development especially in higher education. Childhood studies and EdTech are emerging area of research interest for her.

I. Books 

P. M. Sarangapani, R. Pappu (eds.), (2021). Handbook of Education Systems in South Asia. Global Education Systems. Singapore: Springer, https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-981-13-3309-5 

Pappu, R. (Ed.) Rethinking Priorities: Making Policies as if People Matter. Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Social Watch. 2005.

II. Special Issue of Journals

Pappu, R, Goswami, N (eds.) Indian Journal of Gender Studies. Special Issue: Current Issues in Gender and Education. New Delhi: Sage Publication. 22: 2, June, 2015.

III. Select Journal Articles, Chapters & Book Reviews

Pappu, R. (2024) Review of 'Labour class' children's schooling in urban India: A sociological account by Reva Yunus. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education. DOI: 10.1080/03057925.2024.2377511 

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.

Sarangapani, P.M, Pappu R. (2021). Education systems in South Asia: An Introduction. In P. M. Sarangapani, R. Pappu (eds.), Handbook of Education Systems in South Asia. Global Education Systems. Singapore: Springer, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3309-5_77-1

Pappu R. (2020). Learner Diversity and Educational Marginality in South Asia. In P. M. Sarangapani, R. Pappu (eds.), Handbook of Education Systems in South Asia. Global Education Systems. Singapore: Springer, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3309-5_52-1

Pappu R. (2020). Gender Equity in Education: Changes and Challenges in South Asia. In P. M. Sarangapani, R. Pappu (eds.), Handbook of Education Systems in South Asia. Global Education Systems. Singapore: Springer, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3309-5_35-1

Pappu R., Vasanta D. (2020). Child Labor and Education in South Asia. In P.M. Sarangapani, R.Pappu (Eds) Handbook of Education Systems in South Asia. Global Education Systems. Singapore: Springer, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3309-5_73-1

Pappu R. (2019). Women’s Education and Social Reform in India: Creating ‘Angels’ in the House? Voices of Teachers and Teacher Educators. 8 (1), 50 - 58.

Pappu R., Sawhney S. (2019). Building Effective School Libraries: Lessons from the Study of a Library Program in India. International Information & Library Review, 51 (3), 217-230, DOI: 10.1080/10572317.2018.1526617

Pappu R., Satyanarayana K. (2018). Gender and Caste in Indian Universities: Some Reflections. In Anupama Rao (Ed.) Gender, Caste and the Imagination of Equality. New Delhi: Women Unlimited. 

Pappu R. (2018). The Gender of English in India. In T.V. Kumar (Ed.), People’s Linguistic Survey of India, Volume 37 English and Other International Languages. Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan. 

Pappu R. (2017). A Humanist among Social Scientists: Some Thoughts on Literature and Social Sciences. In R.Z. Hazel & L. Sridevi (Eds.), English Language and Literature: Critical Perspectives. Hyderabad: GITAM University Press

Review of Contested Politics of Educational Reform in India: Aligning Opportunities with Interest by Manisha Priyam (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2015) in Contemporary Education Dialogue, 14:2, 2017

Review of Education and Society: Themes, Perspectives, Practices (New Delhi: OUP) by Meenakshi Thapan in Contributions to Indian Sociology, 50: 1, 2016, pp. 130 – 132.

Pappu R., Goswami N. (2015). Introduction. Indian Journal of Gender Studies. 22 (2), 159 – 169. 

Pappu R. (2015). Towards a Framework for Forging Links: Exploring the Connections between Women’s Education, Empowerment and Employment. Indian Journal of Gender Studies. 22 (2), 300 – 321. 

Tharu, S., Prasad, M., Pappu R., Satyanarayana, K. (2014). Caste and Democracy: Reservations and the Return to Politics. In S. Desphande (Ed.), The Problem of Caste: Essays from Economic and Political Weekly. Delhi: Orient BlackSwan. ISBN: 978-81-250-5501-3

Pappu, R. (2011). Reconsidering Romance and Intimacy: The Case of the Single Woman. In S. Sen, N.Dhawan and R. Biswas (Eds.), Intimate Others: Marriage and Sexualities in India. Kolkata: Stree, 2011.

Pappu, R. (2010). Educational Quality and Social Inequality: Reflecting on the Link. Contemporary Educational Dialogue. 7 (1), 94 – 117. ISSN / ISBN: 0973-1849

Pappu, R. (2010). Review of Gender and Social Protection Strategies in the Informal Economy by Naila Kabeer (New Delhi: Routledge) in The Book Review.

Pappu, R. (2004). Within the Edifice of Development: Education of Women in India. IDS Bulletin. 35 (4), 27 – 33. 

Pappu, R. (2002). Constituting a Field: Women’s Studies and Higher Education. Indian Journal of Gender Studies. 9 (2), 221 – 234. 

Pappu, R. (2001). A Question of Identity. Seminar. 505, 66 – 70.

Completed Research Projects

• Curation of Open Educational Resources (OERs) for use through Interactive Flat Panels (IFP) in Schools of Telangana State (Co-PI): A Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of School Education, Government of Telangana and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) was signed in December 2022 to further improve the quality of school education in the State. As part of the collaboration that has ensued, Open Educational Resources (OER) are being curated for use on the Interactive Flat Panels (IFP) being supplied to all government secondary schools in the state. Resources are being curated for 8th, 9th and 10th grades and for the subjects of Mathematics, Physical Science, Biological Science, Social Studies, English, Telugu and Urdu. The process of curation is to take into account subject-specific teaching/learning requirements, the socio-cultural context of Telangana as well as the practical realities of the classroom settings of government schools.

• Re-imagining Research and Teaching and Learning during Times of Crisis (Co-Investigator): The project involved collaboration between the Cape Peninsula University of Technology SARChI Teacher Education (South Africa), the University of Johannesburg SARChI Chair Teaching and Learning (South Africa) and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (India). It was specifically framed around crisis and disruptions, driven largely by the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic in India and South Africa, and how these countries sought to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. A key objective of the project was to work collectively and collaboratively with researchers, academics and postgraduate students through discussion and debate, by developing and implementing a rigorous and high-level symposia module that would  address  issues on the effects and impact of COVID in education. Hybrid symposia based on published and ongoing research that examined the following topics were organised between May 2022 and January 2023:

1. Understanding conceptually what COVID is and what crises are;
2. Research, Teaching and Teacher Education during times of crises and disruption in the Global South;
3. Researching Teacher Wellbeing in the Global South
4. Research about teacher educator student perspectives on education delivery during COVID ;
5. Reimagining Education Research, Teaching and Teacher Education in the 4th industrial revolution: Challenges, Opportunities and Successes
6. Research about the preparedness of teacher educators and university lecturers during times of crisis and unpredictability; and
7. Using virtual methodologies for research during times of the COVID-19 pandemic: potentials and limitations.

• Study of curricula and graduate competency for sustainable mountain futures in Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan (Co-Investigator): The collaborative research project involves researchers from Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan. It seeks to examine curricular features of mountain education and the graduate competencies that are developed through programmes in higher educational institutions located in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region of the four countries.  The study aims to provide a baseline and an understanding of the programmes and the curricular frameworks used by higher educational institutes (HEIs) for imparting education for sustainable mountain futures. It also seeks to develop a framework for assessing graduate competencies in relation to sustainable mountain futures and use the framework to provide a status report of the competencies presently produced by the HEIs. The study was commissioned by  the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), an inter-governmental organisation involving eight member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region.

• Early Child Care and Education (Project Director): The importance of early child care and education in laying the foundation for the formal processes of education and for the long term well-being of children is well recognised at the national and international levels. Within such a context, the one-year project (August 2019 - July 2020) focussed on the principles and approaches that inform the process of formulating a curriculum for early child care and education within India. Next Education supported the project and had as a key component the organisation of a conference on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) involving teachers and administrators of pre-schools.

• Early Literacy Initiative (Project Director): The primary aim of the Early Literacy Initiative was to impact the understanding and practice of early literacy in India. The 3-year project, executed between January 2017 and December 2019, received support from the Tata Trusts. The overall objective of the Initiative and the associated activities was to build the capabilities of individuals and institutions to work for early literacy in the country given the widely acknowledged and urgent need for an intervention in the area. Details of the various activities of the project as well as the resources developed as part of the project can be accessed at eli.tiss.edu

• Assessment of School Library Programme (Principal Investigator): At the invitation of Wipro Applying Thought in Schools (WATIS), a study was taken up by a 6-member team to assess the library programme of the organization Basic Research Education and Development (BREAD) Society in terms of its functioning and its effect on the children as well as the schools that participate in the programme. The study commenced in July 2016 and was completed in December 2017. The findings from the study, which revealed the critical significance of having a vibrant library programme in schools, is expected to inform the library programme of BREAD Society as well as the government programmes supporting school libraries.  The final report has been published on the official website of BREAD Society and can be accessed at http://www.breadsocietyindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/BREAD-Library-Report_TISS.pdf

• Regulation in Education (Project Director): The project involved collaboration between Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Hyderabad & Mumbai, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University (AUD) Delhi and Azim Premji University (APU) Bangalore to conduct a summer school on the theme of "Regulation in Education." The summer school was successfully held in December 2013. The Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi and Azim Premji Foundation, Bangalore provided the funding support. 

Courses Taught in the M.A. Education Programme:

Curriculum Studies (Core Course)

Education Policy, Institutions and Practice (Core Course)

Introduction to Education Research (Core Course)

Understanding the Field of Education (Core Course)

History of Education (Core Course)

Gender and Education (Elective Course) 

Education and Development (Elective Course)