
Dr Francesca Meloni
Senior Lecturer in Social Justice
Research interests
- Policy
Biography
Dr Francesca Meloni is a critical migration scholar with training in anthropology. She completed her PhD at McGill University, Montreal, Canada in 2014. Before joining King's College London, she worked as Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford and UCL and she was Lecturer at Humboldt University, in Berlin, and Northumbria University.
Research
Francesca's research focuses on the migration-citizenship nexus and the intersections between social policy, race and age.
Francesca has a background in anthropology and extensive experience conducting ethnographic and participatory research in migration contexts. Her work is interdisciplinary, at the crossroads of anthropology, sociology, and public policy.
She has experience of conducting collaborative research on: undocumented young people and social belonging; access to healthcare and education for undocumented migrants; unaccompanied minors and transitions into institutional adulthood; datafication and bordering in welfare services; the ethics of decolonial and participatory research.
She has published in major journals in social sciences. Her book Ways of Belonging: Undocumented Youth in the Shadow of Illegality, published by Rutgers University Press, examines the experiences of undocumented young people who are excluded from K–12 schools in Canada and are rendered invisible to the education system. The book won the Hart–SLSA Prize for Early Career Academics, awarded by the Socio-Legal Studies Association.
Her research interests include:
- Migration, rights and citizenship
- Undocumented immigration and experiences of illegality
- Migrant young people, children and families
- Access to healthcare and education for migrants
- Datafication and data-sharing in public services
- Ethics and participatory research approaches
Teaching
- Principles and Methods for Social Research (BA Social Sciences)
- Global Childhoods (MA International Child Studies)
Francesca is Deputy Director of the MA International Child Rights and Development.
PhD supervision
Francesca is happy to supervise students in the following areas: migration, race and ethnicity; young people, citizenship and belonging; access to welfare services; datafication and migration/bordering; childhood and ethics; participatory research approaches.
You can find out more about Francesca on her PURE research profile.
Research

Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR)
The Centre for Public Policy Research is an interdisciplinary research centre research developing critical analyses of social change and social in/justice in education and other policy arenas, sectors and contexts to inform national and international policy debate, social activism, and personal, professional and organisational learning.

Refugee Mental Health and Place Network
Network exploring post-migration and refugee mental health
News
Dr Francesca Meloni wins SLSA Book Prize 2025
Dr Francesa Meloni, Senior Lecturer in Social Justice at the School of Education, Communication and Society, has won the Hart-SLSA Book Prize for Early Career...

New studentship offered to explore the role of 'placemaking' in asylum seekers' mental health
Applications are open until 18 February for a funded ESRC Studentship to examine the role of placemaking for asylum seekers’ mental health living in camps in...

Applications open for three new studentships at the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health
The ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health invite prospective students to apply for new studentships aligned with its key research areas, with a focus on...

Events

Book launch (online): 'Ways of Belonging: Undocumented Youth in the Shadow of Illegality’
Join this talk to hear more about this book examining the experiences of belonging of undocumented young people who are made invisible and are excluded...
Please note: this event has passed.

Book launch: 'Ways of Belonging: Undocumented Youth in the Shadow of Illegality’
Book launch for 'Ways of Belonging: Undocumented Youth in the Shadow of Illegality’
Please note: this event has passed.

King's Experts Series: Forced Displacement and Seeking Sanctuary
The King’s Experts Series is a series of events exclusively for King’s alumni, this webinar will spotlight the work of King's Sanctuary Programme.
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
Researching the experiences of refugees, migration and social exclusion
Academics in the School of Education, Communication & Society talk about their research on the experiences of refugees, migration and social exclusion in the

IWD 2020: Women in the School of Education, Communication & Society
Five women from across the School of Education, Communication & Society give an insight into their work and studies.

Research

Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR)
The Centre for Public Policy Research is an interdisciplinary research centre research developing critical analyses of social change and social in/justice in education and other policy arenas, sectors and contexts to inform national and international policy debate, social activism, and personal, professional and organisational learning.

Refugee Mental Health and Place Network
Network exploring post-migration and refugee mental health
News
Dr Francesca Meloni wins SLSA Book Prize 2025
Dr Francesa Meloni, Senior Lecturer in Social Justice at the School of Education, Communication and Society, has won the Hart-SLSA Book Prize for Early Career...

New studentship offered to explore the role of 'placemaking' in asylum seekers' mental health
Applications are open until 18 February for a funded ESRC Studentship to examine the role of placemaking for asylum seekers’ mental health living in camps in...

Applications open for three new studentships at the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health
The ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health invite prospective students to apply for new studentships aligned with its key research areas, with a focus on...

Events

Book launch (online): 'Ways of Belonging: Undocumented Youth in the Shadow of Illegality’
Join this talk to hear more about this book examining the experiences of belonging of undocumented young people who are made invisible and are excluded...
Please note: this event has passed.

Book launch: 'Ways of Belonging: Undocumented Youth in the Shadow of Illegality’
Book launch for 'Ways of Belonging: Undocumented Youth in the Shadow of Illegality’
Please note: this event has passed.

King's Experts Series: Forced Displacement and Seeking Sanctuary
The King’s Experts Series is a series of events exclusively for King’s alumni, this webinar will spotlight the work of King's Sanctuary Programme.
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
Researching the experiences of refugees, migration and social exclusion
Academics in the School of Education, Communication & Society talk about their research on the experiences of refugees, migration and social exclusion in the

IWD 2020: Women in the School of Education, Communication & Society
Five women from across the School of Education, Communication & Society give an insight into their work and studies.
