Lydia Lymperis

Lydia Lymperis is an analyst in the area of home affairs and social policy at RAND Europe. Her primary research interests concern education policy and reform, with a particular focus on addressing exclusion and supporting disadvantaged students, whole-child development approaches and social and emotional learning. She has experience in designing mixed methods studies (such as theory-based impact evaluations with embedded implementation and process evaluations), and is proficient in a range of quantitative and qualitative techniques. 

Lymperis is currently involved in a variety of research projects in education policy areas (both international and domestic), including the evaluation of DfE's SAFE (‘Support, Attend, Fulfil, Exceed’) Taskforces and Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforce (APST) programmes, the development of OECD's TALIS Starting Strong 2024 survey, and the follow-up evaluation of the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI), a language support programme designed to improve the vocabulary, listening and narrative skills of children aged 4–5 years (funded by the Education Endowment Foundation).

Prior to joining RAND, Lymperis was at the UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Regional Office in Geneva, supporting the early stage development of the Learning Passport project and contributing to the programmatic activities of the Education Section, with a specific focus on strengthening quality inclusive education for the most marginalised children in the region. 

Lymperis co-convenes the Educational Technology Special Interest Group of the British Educational Research Association. She holds a Ph.D. in education from Newcastle University and an M.A. also in education from the University of Nottingham.