Ma Agnes Alcantara Paculdar is a Research Associate at the Social Inclusion Project of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in NUS, a research programme which focuses on the role of public policies in creating an open, diverse and inclusive society. She obtained her MSc in International Relations from the S. Rajaratnam School for International Studies of the Nanyang Technological University while working as a full-time research staff of the university, and her BA in Political Science from the University of the Philippines (Honours). Prior to NUS, she worked at the National Institute of Education in Singapore, where she assisted in studies which touched on critical thinking skills, reading literacy of students from various socio-economic classes; bilingualism and curriculum innovation. Among her areas of academic interest and research involvement are poverty; education of children among disadvantaged and migrant families; dynamics between state and civil society, as well as social and political thought.