Dr Divya Jalan is an educationist with a special interest in the development of children with disabilities and economic disadvantages, especially in the early childhood years. She is particularly interested in ensuring that research-based evidence is translated into best practices. She is committed to working towards strengthening organisation cultures to follow principle- and governance-based actions. 

As one of the founder members of Action for Ability Development and Inclusion (AADI), Divya Jalan has been a pioneer in setting up an institution advocating for the interests of people with disabilities. Today, AADI is a leader in the country with a rights-based approach and a focus on inclusive practices in schools, workplaces and the community in general. AADI, which focuses on building the capacity of professionals and institutions in the country, works extensively on bringing national-level legislative and policy changes.

Through the Goodearth Foundation, her focus has been to work with educational thinkers and teachers in rural schools in Maharashtra and Rajasthan, run by NGOs or local government, with the goal of improving the quality of teaching and learning in these schools.

As a trustee of Pratham, Delhi, she is part of a group that develops strategies for the education of pre-school and young children with economic disadvantages in the city of Delhi.

She has been a member of the State Advisory Council and the Curriculum Reform Committee, constituted by the Government of Delhi in 2018 and 2020, respectively. She was part of a core group working towards curricular reform and improving initiatives for inclusive education in Delhi schools.

Her current work has evolved from her vast experience in the education of children with disabilities and those with economic disadvantages in rural and urban schools in India. Her work experience with the Head Start programme as well as with emotionally disturbed adolescents in the USA, and her study experience in the English school system, have deepened her understanding of general themes as well as culture-influenced issues in child development.

Divya Jalan has a bachelor’s degree in Education (Hons.) from the University of Calcutta. Further, she got a diploma in teaching physically disabled children and a master’s in early childhood education, both from the University of London. Her doctoral research at SNDT University, Mumbai, was based on her work on introducing reflective practices as a tool for skill improvement and empowerment of teachers in government schools in rural areas of Maharashtra.