Child Protection Pedagogy

About the program

Child protection is a field long neglected in academia in large part because children cannot advocate for themselves. Since its founding more than 30 years ago the FXB Center has recognized child protection as a vital component of its scholarship and teaching. Building upon this legacy, the FXB Center now offers two specialized programs in Child Protection.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 44/25 on November 20, 1989, serve as a crosscutting framework for our work. Articles of particular relevance to FXB’s child protection pedagogy are:

Graphic with connected puzzle pieces showing which articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) apply to FXB's child protection pedagogy work.

Programmatic areas

For Harvard graduate students

Child Protection Certificate Program (CPC)

Led by FXB’s Director of Research, Professor Jacqueline Bhabha and Rebecca Shin (Director of the Child Protection Program), the CPC is a key pedagogical initiative by the FXB Center, currently  entering  its 
thirteenth academic year. Transcending traditional pedagogical boundaries, the program centers the principle that effective child protection requires comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and multi-sectoral engagement, with collaboration across sectors, including health, education, social services, public policy, and law enforcement. Successful completion of the CPC requires that students take at least 12 credits across three of five domains (Systems, Violence, Family/Social Strengthening, Justice, and Leadership) from over 50 qualifying classes. A maximum of 30 students are admitted annually and the program draws applicants from Harvard graduate schools including Harvard Chan, the Graduate School of Education, the Medical School, the Divinity School, the Kennedy School of Government, the Law School, and the Design School as well as Tufts University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Learn more here.
Close-up photo of child's hands touch painting rainbow on window.
For mid-career professionals

G. Barrie Landry Child Protection Professional Training program (Landry CP Training)

Led by FXB’s Director of Research, Professor Jacqueline Bhabha and Rebecca Shin (Director of the Child Protection Program), the Landry CP Training program is one of the FXB Center’s flagship pedagogical initiatives designed specifically for mid-career professionals. Developed with a unique team dynamic in mind, participants join as a country team of three, ideally comprising individuals from a major international organization (UNICEF, IOM, Save the Children, etc.), a government partner, and a local NGO. This structure is designed to bring together professionals working on the same child protection issues in their country but through different lenses. The program provides a dedicated space for them to collaboratively tackle challenges, refine strategic plans, and benefit from the expertise of Harvard professors and instructors. Teams work on a real-world issue they are grappling with within their country and develop a case study via pre-program assignments, refining their work throughout the week based on learnings from the training.  An estimated 50 countries have been represented in the program thus far working on a wide variety of case studies such as the prevention of violence against children, illegal adoptions, child marriage, social service strengthening, and refugee education. Learn more here.
Group photo of FXB's 2025 Landry cohort.

Meet the team


Select publications