Research Areas

Children, youth and families, older persons, and qualitative research.,

Profile

Dr. Mayeso Chinseu Lazaro is an Educator, Researcher, and Consultant affiliated with the University of Malawi. He holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Human Geography and Social Sciences from the University of Hull (UK), an MSc in Family Ecology and Practice from the University of Alberta (Canada), and a Bachelor of Education (Humanities) from the University of Malawi. His teaching, research and consultancy engagements focus on children, youth and families, and ageing populations (older persons). He has a strong background in qualitative research methodologies, which he applies in exploring issues of caregiving, intergenerational relationships, education, and social protection. Dr. Lazaro is recognised for his pioneering research on the role of grandfathers in the care of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Malawi. His work challenges the traditionally feminised discourse of caregiving in families, highlighting the often-overlooked contributions of older men. Through this scholarship, he advocates for inclusive social protection policies that acknowledge and support men as family caregivers. His recent scholarly contributions cover a diverse range of themes, including: 1) Corporal punishment and the moral socialisation of children in Malawi; 2) Children engagement with video parlours and its implications for intergenerational relationships in rural Malawian communities; 3) The viability of centre-based Village Savings and Loans (VSLs) in financing Community-Based Childcare Centres (CBCCs) in underserved rural Malawian communities; 4) The viability of the Child-to-Child play-based learning approach in promoting school readiness and transitions in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Malawi; and 5) Expanding ethical research with and for children and young people. He has also co-authored book chapters addressing pressing contemporary issues, including: 1) The intersections of climate change, poverty, food insecurity, and ageing; 2) The integration of disability, the arts, and social work within the African context; and 30 Critical perspectives on human ecology and rural ageing in global contexts. At the University of Malawi, Dr. Lazaro has contributed to several research and development projects, most recently in the area of Early Childhood Development (ECD). These include: 1) Strengthening Malawi Early Childhood Development Management Information System under Together for Early Childhood Evidence (T4ECE), funded by USAID; 2) Child-to-Child Learning Approach: Scaling Up Inclusive Play-Based Learning for Smooth Transition from Pre-Primary to Early Grades of Primary School in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Malawi, funded by IDRC; and 3) The Complementary Feeding Bowl Pilot Project, funded by UNICEF. Dr. Lazaro scholarship is noted for its cultural relevance, ethical grounding, and policy influence, positioning him as a key voice in advancing research and practice on families, childhood, and ageing in Malawi and beyond.

Publications

• Journal Article
  Ejuu, G., Adela, R., Lazaro, M., Mengstie, M. M., Mary, N., Jesca, A., & Miria, N. (2024). Scaling Deep the Child to Child Approach to Ease Transition From Pre-primary to Lower Primary in Uganda, Ethiopia and Malawi. Journal of Education and Development, 8(3), 20-25. (2024)
  https://doi.org/10.20849/jed.v8i3.1443

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• Journal Article
  Lazaro, M.C. (2024). Corporal punishment of children in rural homes in Zomba, Southern Malawi: Moral socialisation or child abuse? Malawi Journal of Social Sciences, 23(2), 43-67. (2024)
  https://unima.ac.mw/news/attachment/803/download

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• Journal Article
  Lazaro, M. C., Walker, L., & Robson, E. (2023). Invisible in Plain Sight? Grandfathers Caring for Orphaned Grandchildren in Rural Malawi. African Studies, 82(1), 43-66. (2023)
  https://doi.org/10.1080/00020184.2023.2212616

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• Journal Article
  Hadfield-Hill, S., Finn, M., Dudman, J., Ergler, C., Freeman, C., Hayes, T.A., Jarman, P., Leon, L., Lazaro, M.C., Latai-Niusulu, A. and Oza, E., (2023). Expanding the scope of ethical research with and for children and young people–six viewpoints on crisis, cross-cultural working and reciprocity. Children's Geographies. (2023)
  https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2023.2259331

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• Book Chapters
  Keating, N., Eales, J., Phillips, J., Avalon, L., Lazaro, M., Montes de Oca, V., Rea, P. & Tyagi, P. (2021). Critical human ecology and global contexts of rural ageing. In M. Skinner, R. Winterton and K. Walsh (Eds) Rural Gerontology: Towards Critical Perspectives on Rural Ageing (pp 52-63), Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. (2021)
  

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