Kahana completed a doctor of philosophy in human development at University of Chicago in 1967.
He was a part-time consulting school psychologist for the Jewish Education Committee in New York City.
He was the Director of Research at the Child Development Center at Washington University School of Medicine.
From 1984 to 1987, Kahana was the a professor and chair of the department of psychology at Cleveland State University (CSU).
From 1987 to 1996, he served as the professor of psychology and director of the Center on Applied Gerontological Research at CSU.