Faculty Profile - Edona Maloku P.h.D.

Dr. Edona Maloku is a social psychologist studying how people identify with social groups and how group membership shapes their worldview and intergroup relations. As a survivor of the war herself (Kosovo War 1998-1999), Edona is dedicated to help bridge group differences and promote reconciliation in divided societies. Her work has been recognized multiple times. In 2017, she received the Open Society Scholar Award for contextual significance (Open Society International, United Kingdom). She has been profiled as a rising international scholar by the Society for Psychological Studies of Social Issues (SPSSI, a division of American Psychological Association) in Forward’s 2014 Issue. Recently, she was endorsed by the former President of Kosovo - her Excellency Atifete Jahjaga (2011-2016) - to lead an education initiative in Kosovo that uses the transformative power of education to connect ethnically-divided schools and shape more positive intergroup relations in the country.

Edona is the Associate Director of the Peace and Conflict Summer Program. At RIT Kosovo she teaches courses on post-conflict issues and psychology. Her PhD research (Leiden University) focused on using the social identity perspective to explore strategies that can help shape Kosovo’s intergroup processes move from conflict to building peace. She also received her MSc (Cum Laude) degree from Leiden University (2008) where she graduated with honours. She completed her BA at University of Prishtina (2004) as part of the first generation of psychology graduates in the country. Outside academia Edona has extensive experience as a consultant/trainer for a number of international organizations, including: International Organization for Migration (IOM), Council of Europe, J-Coders Academy (STEM Certified), Kosovar Center for Advancement of Children (ANGELS), and LEAP Center. She is also an author at Prishtina Insight, where she writes articles for broader non-academic audiences.  

As a scholar, Edona has led or co-led international projects funded by various scientific bodies such as the British Academy of Science, United Kingdom Research and Innovation fund, Global Challenges Research Fund, Regional Research Promotion Programme for the Western Balkans, Open Society International and the Swedish Foundation for international Cooperation in Research and Higher Education. She has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and co-edited a book on shaping social identities in the Western Balkans after the violent conflicts of the 1990s (https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319620206).   

Currently, she serves as an elected member of Kosovo’s Association of Psychologists (APKO) and contributes to large-scale research projects that seek to foster more equal and just societies around the world.

- Education in Conflict-Affected Societies (Queen’s University Belfast)

- The Helping Kids Lab (Queen’s University Belfast) 
https://helpingkidsqub.com/global-research/

- Zurich Intergroup Contact Project (University of Zurich)
https://intergroupproject.wixsite.com/intergroup/core-members

-Project OWNERS (Utrecht University; funded by the European Research Council)
https://owners-ercproject.eu/team/   

Over the years, Edona taught: Introduction to Psychology, Senior Capstone, Genocide and Post-Conflict Justice, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Research Techniques, Creative Critical Thinking and Problem Solving.

Select Scholarship:

Selected Scholarship

For the most recent updates on Edona’s research work and output, please visit https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Edona_Maloku or her research profile at https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5961-8671

PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

Bähr, C., Dautel, J. B., Maloku, E., Razpurker-Apfeld, I., Shamoa-Nir, L., Tomasic-Hunter, J., Tomovska, A., Taylor, L. K. (2020). Helping Kids! Cross-cultural research on children’s prosocial behavior in transitional societies. Springer Peace Psychology Series (in print).

Hässler, T., Ullrich, J., Sebben, S., Shnabel, N., Bernardino, M., Valdenegro, D., ....Maloku, E …,Pistella, J. (In print). Needs satisfaction in intergroup contact: A multi-national study of pathways toward social change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Dautel, J. B., Maloku, E., Tomovska Misoska, A., & Taylor, L. K. (2020). Children’s
Ethno-National Flag Categories in Three Divided Societies. Journal of Cognition and
Culture, 20(5), 373–402. DOI:10.1163/15685373-12340090

Giroud, A., Politi, E., Green, E., & Maloku, E. (2020). Sedative effects of intergroup

contact on support for ethnic activism among Kosovo Albanians in Switzerland: The

interplay of ethnic, national and dual identification. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 50, 418– 429. DOI: 10.1111/jasp.12670

Hässler, T., Ullrich, J., Bernadino, M., Shnabel, N., Van Laar, C., Valdenegro, D., ....Maloku,E.,

… Mugnol Ugarte, L. (2020). A large-scale test of the link between intergroup contact and support for social change. Nature Human Behaviour. DOI: 10.1038/s41562-019-0815-z

Grigoryan, L., Bai, X., Durante, F., Fiske, S. T., Fabrykant, M., Hakobjanyan, A., ... & Maloku, E. (2019). Stereotypes as Historical Accidents: Images of Social Class in Postcommunist Versus Capitalist Societies. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, DOI: 0146167219881434.

Maloku, E., Derks, B., Van Laar, C., & Ellemers, N. (2019). Stimulating Interethnic Contact in Kosovo: The Role of Social Identity Complexity and Distinctiveness Threat. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations. DOI: 10.1177/1368430218808884

Demukaj, V., Maloku, E., Beqa, A. (2019). Gender Stereotypes and Educational Choices in Kosovo. LEAP Center.

Maloku, E., Kelmendi, K., & Vladisavljević, M. (2017). Who Is This New We? Similarities and Differences of Ethnic, Religious, and National Identity Among the Albanian Majority and the Serb Minority in Post-Conflict Kosovo. In F. Pratto., I. Žeželj., E. Maloku., V. Turjačanin., & M. Branković (Eds). Shaping Social Identities After the Violent Conflicts: Youth in Western Balkans. Palgrave Macmillan Publishing. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-62021-3

Branković, M., Turjačanin, V., & Maloku, E. (2017). Setting the Stage: Research on National, Ethnic and Religious Identities After the Recent Violent Conflicts in the Western Balkans (2017). In F. Pratto., I. Žeželj., E. Maloku., V. Turjačanin., & M. Branković (Eds). Shaping Social Identities After the Violent Conflicts: Youth in Western Balkans. Palgrave Macmillan Publishing. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-62021-3

Turjačanin, V., Žeželj, I., Maloku, E., & Branković, E. (2017). Taming conflicted identities: Searching for new youth values in the Western Balkans. In T. P. Trošt & D. Mandić (Eds). Beyond ethnic identity: Changing youth values at European periphery. Routledge publishing, US. DOI: 10.4324/9781315111049 

Maloku, E., Derks, B., Van Laar, C., & Ellemers, N. (2016). Building national identity in newborn Kosovo: Challenges of integrating national identity with ethnic identity among  Kosovar Albanians and Kosovar Serbs. In S. McKeown, R. Haji., & N. Ferguson (Eds.).  Understanding Peace and Conflict Through Social Identity Theory: Contemporary and World-Wide Perspectives. Springer Publications.

Landsman, M., & Maloku, E. (2009). Justice denied: The state of education of children with special needs in post-war Kosovo. UNICEF. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/kosovoprogramme/Eng_-_Justice.pdf

 EDITED BOOKS

Felicia Pratto, Iirs Žeželj, Edona Maloku, Vladimir Turjačanin, & Marija Branković (Eds). Shaping Social Identities After the Violent Conflicts: Youth in Western Balkans. Palgrave Macmillan Publishing (2017). DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-62021-3

 AUTHOR AT PRISHTINA INSIGHT (DIGITAL AND PRINT MAGAZINE)
Maloku, E. (2018, October). The shaping and reshaping of Kosovo identity. Prishtina Insight,
Maloku, E. (2019, February). The colors that divide. A piece about how children see group symbols and others at the wake of Kosovo’s 11^th anniversary of independence. Prishtina Insight

 REVIEWER FOR PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS
European Journal of Social Psychology (EJSP), Group Processes and Intergroup Relations (GPIR), Journal of Experimental Social Psychology (JESP), Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology (JTSP)

 MAJOR RESEARCH FUNDING

2020–ongoing Co-Investigator, Lead for Kosovo, Project: Education in Conflict Affected Societies – Connecting Schools in Kosovo, Arts and Humanities Research Council, Global Partnership Development Award, United Kingdom (£ 236,997)

2019-2021       Co-investigator, Project: Generation Peace: Children, Conflict and Competing Identities in Europe; The British Academy of Science, United Kingdom, (£ 49,993)

2019-2020       Co-Investigator and Regional Head for South-East Europe, Project: Education in Divided Societies Network Plus (EDS-N+) Development Award, Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF), United Kingdom, (£ 56,377)

2018-2019       Co-investigator, Project: Balkan Impact: Acceleration Award for the Helping Kids! Research Project, Global Challenge Research Fund (GSRF), Queen’s University (Northern Ireland), (£ 17,278)

2018-2019       Co-investigator, Project: How Gender Stereotypes Affect Educational Choices of Youth in Kosovo, Helvetas & Enhancing Youth Employment (EUR 13,000)

2017-2018       Civil Society Scholar Award, Open Society International, UK (USD 5,300)

2017-2018       National Coordinator for Kosovo, Project: Helping Kids! Promoting positive intergroup relations and peacebuilding in divided societies, Department of Economy (DfE): Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF), Queen’s University (Northern Ireland) (£ 55,646)

2016-2017       National Coordinator for Kosovo, Project: Building excellence in Social Identity Research, Regional Research Promotion Programme, Swiss Development Agency for Development and Cooperation and Fribourg University (Switzerland). (CHF 49,794)

2014-2015       National Coordinator for Kosovo, Project: From inclusive identities to inclusive societies: Exploring complex social identity in the Western Balkans, Regional Research Promotion Programme, Swiss Development Agency for Development and Cooperation and Fribourg University (Switzerland). (CHF 219,027)